How to play No Limit Texas Holdem (Part 2) - Premium Hands

Hello guys, last time I touched on how your best weapons in any poker game are patience and discipline. Some losing players could be big winners if it wasn't for a couple of basic mistakes they make each session. With this in mind we will move on to how you should play the big pairs.

A pair of Aces, Kings or Queens are the most powerful pre flop hands you can be dealt. On the flip side many amateur players place too much value on these hands and end up losing huge pots because they were too good to lay down, this is where your discipline comes in. How many times do you hear someone complaining they got busted with a premium hand when most of the time they put the majority of their stack in, when they were already losing?. Don't get me wrong, when you get dealt one of these hands you're looking to be paid off, just don't fall into a trap!

An important fact to remember is that Aces are vastly superior to Kings just as Kings are extremely better than Queens. This is because with Aces there are no overcards an opponent can hit, no higher pairs they can have, and also you have the top flush cards for two of the suits. In many Pre Flop, all in situations with Kings or Queens, you will be up against an Ace which generally will have a 34% chance of winning. Those odds are not bad considering the situation your opponent has put themselves in. Additionally this is one of the factors that make AceKing such a powerful hand.

Playing the premium hands before the flop

So how should you play them, here are a few points to remember:-

• Almost always play them very aggressively
• Aim to get heads up or get all the money in the pot before the flop
• Play carefully on the flop if you have multiple players on a coordinated board
• Protect your hand on the flop, do not attempt to checkraise

As a general rule you should not try and slowplay anything before the flop. If the game is very aggressive with most pots being raised you may want to occasionally limp with Aces if in an early position looking to reraise. This can be very profitable and it also limits the players in the pot if the game is very loose. Many players however will put you on Aces so don't make it cheap for them to call and out flop you.

After the flop you should always bet straight out if checked too. You are the aggressor and you should always make a continuation bet even if the board is not too favourable. After this bet you can fully assess the strength of your hand. If the board is coordinated, don't make anyone draw cheaply for a card. If it looks like you have been out flopped then get out of the hand if you still have most of your stack left. If you are in doubt as to who is ahead and you have committed most of your stack then you have to go all in with your hand.

Betting and Raising

This is what Poker is all about. The size and timing of your bets is what makes you a master. You may have heard about players making a ‘Pot sized bet' in a No Limit Holdem game, there is a good reason for this. After the flop, a bet of the pot gives a drawing player bad odds to continue. If both players have a large number of chips, this negates that factor as the potential win is huge compared to the bet. Almost all bets should be between half and all of the pot. This allows you to manipulate the pot as you wish. In a live cash game it is not uncommon to see bets larger that the pot. These bets can be made by inexperienced players or from someone really wanting to protect their hand. If players are calling bets like that then don't be afraid to make them with your top hands.

Pre flop you should bet between 3 and 5 times the Big Blind or the previous bet. If you have callers behind you then look to bet 5 times or more if the game is loose. If you think a player is on any type of draw after the flop then you need to be charging them a high price to continue in the hand, don't be tempted to checkraise and give them a free chance to check behind for a cheap card.

In part 3 I will expand on playing the smaller pairs and the situations that frequently come up with them.