One of the biggest mistakes that beginner Texas Holdem players make is that they bet very poorly. Betting poorly does not only mean playing every hand, although that is the single biggest betting mistake. Unless, of course, you have the poker skills of Gus Hansen and know how to play your hand to perfection with each turn of the cards. When you play Texas Holdem, looking down and seeing AA in your hand brings you joy like nothing else can. Yet, many players will finish the hand winning with much less than they should, or even worse, allowing other players to draw out on them beating their pocket aces by the river. When playing a Texas Holdem tournament, it is not always the player who gets the best cards that wins. Instead, it is the player who played his cards the best. Every time you place a bet, you should have a goal in mind. Never just randomly toss money into the pot and say, "Let's get some action started." If this is the thought that goes through your head, please just get up from the table and send me half of the money you were planning to play with. Doing this will actually be a 50% investment, because it was all but a certainty that you were going to lose 100% of it at the table. Second, before you bet, make sure you fully understand the ranking of hands. Too many times a beginner player has checked the best hand in last position on the river because they saw four diamonds on the board and they were just not certain that their full house would beat a flush.

Let's assume you understand the basics of the game. You feel like you are a decent player, but you can't make the jump into winning money at your home game. Here are a few betting tips that may help. Since you should never just toss money into the pot, you should have a plan of attack before you make a bet. So, try thinking only one of four things:

1. I have a decent hand. It's good enough for a small bet (value bet) to feel out my opponents. Maybe I will win the pot right there. Maybe they will just call and I can see another card. Or, maybe they will raise and I'll have to decide if my hand is the best, if I'm beat, or if my opponent is trying to steal the pot. An example of this situation could be when you are holding a K10 against 3 opponents with the flop of K42. You have a pretty decent hand, but there are hands that can beat you so you don't want to throw too much money in the pot.



2. I know my hand is best. I want to make as large of a bet as I think my opponent will call. I'm going to win the hand and I want to take their money with me. I don't want to underbet, but I also don't want to scare them out of the hand. This can be a tough decision because it happens so infrequently. Often times when the hand is over you reflect back thinking I should have bet more, or I bet too much.



3. I'm pretty certain my hand is the best right now. I want to make a bet large enough to either scare away my opponents that may be on a draw, or I want them to pay some good money to stick around if they need some additional cards to make their hand. An example would be holding top pair with an ace kicker, when there is a straight draw on the board. If you bet, your opponents may not be willing to call. However, if you slow play the hand, one of your opponents may stick around and get the card they need to complete their hand. If looking down and seeing pocket aces is the best feeling in Texas Holdem, the worst is knowing you slow-played a good hand and allowed your opponent to see some cheap cards and beat you by the river.



4. My hand can be referred to as "El Crapo" but I have a strong suspicion that my opponent's hand isn't much better. This can happen if you can sneak into a hand from the big blind, or maybe you had a decent pre-flop hand that missed everything on the flop. You now know if you check your way through the river you have nearly no chance of winning the pot. Even if you suspect your opponent's hand is weak, I don't recommend putting all your chips in the pot with an all-in bluff. Unless you play Texas Holdem regularly, you may miss the times that your opponent is sitting back waiting for you to make the move. Personally, I like Phil Hellmuth's philosophy that you don't want to have all your chips in the pot unless you feel that you have the best hand. If the pot is worth winning, take a stab at it. If you lose it, try to learn something about how your opponent played the hand for next one.

In a future article, we will take a look at the things you should be thinking when someone in front of you places a bet...