by Paul Schingle

Created on: June 15, 2008

Texas Hold'em poker can be one of the best ways in the world to spend your time. The strategy, the suspense, the psychological parts of the game can be endlessly entertaining. However, the game can also be frustrating-and expensive.

Like any gambling game, poker does require a bit of luck to be successful. Anyone who tells you different is kidding you or deluding him/her self. Yes, you must get good cards once in a while in order to have a chance of winning. But hold'em is about a lot more than just "luck of the draw" with cards. It's about people. It's about position. It's about patience. And, it's about paying attention.

There's a huge psychological aspect to poker. Reading an opponent correctly can often make or break a hand. In tournament play, you have some clowns who just go all in every pot until they're eliminated. Okay. These guys don't count. Inevitably, they will be eliminated before the blinds even get high enough to matter. If you play at the same table, with the same players long enough, you can get a feel for the way each of the players thinks. You have to be willing to sit out a few potentially winning hands and watch two (or more) other players reach showdown. Players will start to show patterns, if you give them enough time.

This leads to patience. Patience is actually a two-pronged animal. Yes, you have to wait for good cards, occasionally. But patience also means waiting long enough to see the betting patterns emerge among your opponents. The really good players will recognize their own patterns and try to switch those up, themselves.

You've probably heard or read it before. It's all about position. Position may be the single-most important factor on a player's choice of action. Ideally, the further you are left of the dealer, the better off you are because you are betting towards the end of each round within a hand. Of course, the dealer button moves and your position changes with every hand. If you're one of the blinds or a person closer to the left of the dealer, your betting strategy is going to change. Why is this important? The closer you are to being last to bet, the less likely you are to have to tip your hand. Conversely, if you bet towards the beginning of each round, the more you may have to reveal about your hand's strength. Good players play well from any position, but any good player will also tell you how important position is.

Finally, you have to pay attention. Are your opponents aggressive (play almost any hand)? Are they tight-aggressive (play only good hands, but when they have a good hand bet high to chase weak hands)? Do they slow-play a lot (feign having a weak hand until later in the betting cycles, hoping to trap someone else into doing the betting for them)? These are all patterns you will see among your opponents. And, like I said, the good ones will change the patterns.

Honestly, if you have the time, the patience (and the bankroll), Texas Hold'em poker can be one of the most exciting and fun-filled ways to spend an evening. But, beware. It can also be one of the most frustrating and expensive.

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