Introduction
Below we will give you a basic strategy which should enable you to earn money with longhand limit Texas Hold\'em at tables with 7 players or more. The strategy is intended for beginning players who play on the lower limits (maximum $1/$2).
Just to be sure one more time:
a = Ace
K = King
Q = Queen
J = Jack
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3 and 2 = Speaks for itself
x = a random card
s = "suited" which means that the cards are of the same suit/figure, for example they are all hearts or all diamonds.
bet = Make a bet/commitment
raise = Make a higher bet than the bet required, in other words to raise the bet
re-raise = raise a bet after it has already been raised
call = Go along with the bet/raise of your opponent
button = Place at the table from where the cards are dealt
flop = The first three cards to appear on the table
river = The fifth and last card to appear on the table
draw = The chance of a card on the table with which you could end up with a good hand (for example end up with a street/flush or higher)
Starting hands before the flop
The most important moment when playing longhand limit Texas Hold\'em is the selection of the starting hands which you want to play before the flop Most beginning players start loosing money straight away because of the simple reason that, they play too many hands. For example, many beginning players play each hand with an 'a' before the flop whereas this is absolutely loss-making in the long run. Patience and discipline are the most important skills to become a winning player at longhand limit Texas Hold\'em. In fact, it is simply a matter of waiting for the right hands. In that way making money in the long run will be way easier.
Hand categories
Which hands should be played and which not? The hands can roughly be classified in 4 categories:
1. Top hands
AA, KK QQ JJ AK AKs and AQs
These are the very best hands. With these hands you should always raise or re-raise before the flop (except of course when you think that your opponent has AA or KK whereas you have AK). There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that you want to have as much money as possible in the pot because you most likely have the best hand. The second and most important reason is that you want to get people with less good hands out of the pot. This way you sort of protect your hand in that manner (or in other words: the fewer people in the pot, the lower the risk that an opponent has or will end up with a better hand). Remember, however, that in case you have, for example, an AK you still need an additional a or K on the flop Therefore, do not re-raise endlessly if you do not have a pair already. Also pay attention when you have KK and an a appears on the flop The chance then is that someone else has AA especially in case many players stayed in the pot before the flop (didn't fold after the first round of betting).
2. Good hands
1010, 99 AQ AJ AJs KQ and KQs
These are good hands but they are not very good. In general you need some help to win. When you have 1010 or 99 on low limits you almost always need another 10 or 9 to get three of a kind in order to win. a low pair is in most cases not enough. Nevertheless you should also always play these hands. Furthermore it is also favorable in this case to have as few players in the pot as possible, so you should again force people out of the pot by raising. On the other hand you should also limit the amount of money you put in the pot before the flop because the hand you have has relatively low value, before you've seen the flop So in case someone already has raised and someone else already has re-raised, you should fold You then have no more advantage before the flop because someone else probably has a better hand.
It is important to remember that when playing limit you want to have an advantage before the flop with respect to the other players. Once again: before the flop! In case there has been only one raise and you're in a late position it is also possible to just call Exception is when a player in early position has already raised. In that case he probably has a top hand (first category) which makes it more sensible for you to fold
3. Reasonable hands
88, A10s A10 KJ KJs QJs QJ and J10s
These hands are ok but no more than that. Generally you will not win with these hands. In this situation you have to watch out for people with a high kicker (= high second card in your hand). Reasonable hands are very vulnerable for high kickers (for example AK against AJ and then there appears an a on the table). In case these cards are suited you can play them more often, especially in case there are many players in the pot. When having reasonable hands the position and the behavior of the other players is very important (it's always important but in this case even more important than usual). In case, for example, if many players raise you should definitely fold In case everyone folds and you are in a good position, you can raise
4. Marginal hands
Axs, Kxs (only 9 or higher), 77 66, Q10s 109s 98s, 87s and 76s.
Generally speaking, you will not win with marginal hands, however they are profitable in the long run because in case you hit a good flop and you win, you are likely to win a very big pot (for example, in case you get a street or a flush)! Therefore, you should only play these hands in case there is a pot with at least 5 other players in it and nobody has raised before the flop
All other hands should not be played
Yes, this also means you should not play A9 or 55 and lower!!
The reason for this is that, although some of these hands can be slightly profitable, for the beginning player in the long run the margins will be simply too small. You have to be a really good player to be able to recognize the margins and to then also realize them. Therefore playing these hands will probably lead to a lower profit or even a loss. In case you want to play these hands anyway, then at least only play them when there are many players in the pot and when nobody has raised before the flop
After the flop
After the flop 4 situations can be distinguished:
1. You have nothing
This is the most simple situation. In case you do not hit anything on the flop you should fold (unless of course nobody raises, which means you can see the next card for free).
Example: you have 109s flop is AK3, there are 5 people in the pot and someone raises. In this case you should fold
2. You have a good hand
This is quite a common situation. You probably have the best hand however your hand is easy to beat. Think, for example, about a situation in which you have a top pair with a top kicker or an over pair You should in this case raise in order to get as much money as possible in the pot and as many people as possible (who still might have a winning draw) out of the pot. In case someone raises over you (re-raise) and after that someone else raises that as well (re-re-raise), you should fold Someone else then probably has a three of a kind or higher.
3. You have a top hand
You have a three of a kind a street, a flush or higher. In that case the situation is different. You still want to have as much money in the pot as possible, however there is no reason to raise other players out of the pot given that it is unlikely that you will loose Only in case of a draw on a combination which is higher than what you have you should raise enough to scare other players out of the pot.
4. You have a draw
You have a chance on, for example, a street or a flush When you're in this situation you will have to calculate odds with respect to the pot in order to know whether or not you should call For more information about this please check our article about pot odds
So that was the basis! Yeah, in fact it's actually quite simple! Just remember that the more people are in the pot, the more likely someone else has better cards than you do or the more likely that someone else has the nuts (= best hand possible). Just pay attention to that! In case you have, for example, AK and the flop is AQQ, you should be way more careful when there are still 5 players in the pot, than in case there's only one left. In case a lot of players raised before the flop you're probably beaten and thus you should fold even with AK!!
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