Poker Tournament Strategy – How to Play a Big Hand

Playing a big hand at the poker table is a definite possibility, especially when playing No Limit Holdem. Whenever you have the opportunity to play a hand worth more than three times the big blind you should definitely take it. One of the most common hands that you will play when you raise pre-flop is pocket sevens.

Why is it a big hand worth more than three times the big blind? Simply put, you have a better kicker than the majority of the other players at the poker table.

The kicker is your factor of strength. The better the kicker the better your hand is in poker. With jack suited you have a chance at becoming a mediocre to decent hand. Conversely, you don’t want to become a machine always calling to see the flop and folding at the first sign of trouble.

If you’re holding pocket sevens and the flop is 7-7-7, if you bet out you will probably only earn the blinds. If you raise though, you could expect the blinds to put you in the muck, or worse in many cases.

What you want to accomplish here is to make the smallest amount of money for your hand, in terms of stack size. You want to try and get into the money as cheaply as possible. In other words, use your chips as strategically as possible. For instance, push all in with a hand like A-9 even if you’re holding pocket 3’s because you’re more likely to win the hand than the blinds.

Now, as the blinds go up, you need to be more selective. At low blinds, like 2-4, you can afford to play a little bit worse than normal. In other words, the blinds are no longer stealing your blinds, but rather pressuring you to play with better hands.

At high blinds like 5-10, you may want to play a little bit worse, but still hold your head above the rest. No longer should you be afraid to call the big all in bet unless you’re 100% sure you can’t win the hand.

Just keep in mind, poker is often about big hands. The more expensive your hand, the bigger the opponents are calculating to beat you. Therefore, when you have the best hand, make sure they pay to see it.

Now, the next time you’re playing in a tournament, remember this. If you have a big hand, you need to make certain that the other players at your table cannot possibly call you. If they have the right cards, they will have you dominated. However, they fail to notice that they’re paying a high price for their cards. Pretty soon it won’t matter how strong their hand is because they’re going to be blinded out.

Therefore, if you want to frustrate your opponents, don’t raise pre-flop unless it’s a real big hand. Players that do not respect big hands are often train by other players to call in hopes of a small hand. Don’t be afraid to call the big money in poker, especially if you’re talking about heads up play. You want to take calculated risks. However, when you find yourself with a big hand, you absolutely need to bet it aggressively for your opponents to recognize that you have the nuts. unless, of course, you’re playing heads up and your only concern is money well well well.

Tournaments are often about big hands. When you have the best hand, take control. Of course, this is advice that can work for cash games, but not for tournaments. When you have the best hand, go for it. Lawrence farmers and banker vowels. When you’re getting close to the bubble, bet it big. BePrada, baby.

This article is offered to you as is, and no warranty is offered expressed or implied that any of the methods discussed will assist you in earning a living. You are solely responsible for yourself and your own decisions regarding your poker selections and financial matters. If you select to engage in this game only on chance, luck and nothing else, you may find yourself in a position to win some money.

By now you should know that the best Dewacasino players are largely untrained in one or two particular Texas Hold’em strategies. Many new players try to use the strategies outlined in this article but without understanding why they fail, and why those that succeed incorporate many other strategies. You will only succeed with the combination of tried and tested Texas Hold’em strategies. Consider the information presented in the article carefully, spend some time on reading it, and incorporating it into your poker game. If you reject any part of it, you may lose a lot of money.

Some of the strategies provided may not be suitable for younger players.