Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Still Playing Top 10 Hands?

By Eddie Parker

When you first begin playing poker it is recommended to stick to the top 10 hands, as this makes learning and winning the game easier for a novice. Once you have mastered the basics, though, you should consider moving onto the more advanced hands; otherwise your play will become too predictable. Anyone who wants to become a true poker player has to begin playing other hands besides the top 10 hands.

Many good hands do not fall into the category of top 10, yet they are still very hands. Some of these hands are actually better than a top 10 hand, so learning to play them will increase your chances of winning big.

If you had pocket 7's and you were up against 4 other competitors with Ace King then I am pretty sure you would be very happy to be the one with 77. Of course, that is a very unreal example, but you get the point. You just cannot rely on only the top 10 starting hands to be successful.

There are occasions when a top 10 hand is best, yet there are other occasions where they need to be folded. You could be playing a big pot and have a 6-7 suited, while the other players have a KK or AA. In this case the two players with the pairs have lower odds than you do of winning. If you can stick with it, and the other players don't handle their bets appropriately, you could be in for a big win.

A top ten hand is good to have when you are at a table against one or two other players and it is prior to the flop. Before you decide to go all in or place a big bet you will want to make sure you are ahead when it happens, which means that you will want to have at least a top 5 starting hand to begin with. Once the flop is laid it doesn't matter anymore, either you get your hand or you don't.

Figuring out pot odds is a very important part of playing hands that are not top 10 starting hands. Moving beyond the top 10 starting hands means knowing pot odds. That is a big reason why so many beginners start off playing only the top 10 starting hands. Once you learn the essentials of winning poker, you can concentrate on more hands.

Even the good hands are not good all the time, it depends on the pot and how the other players are betting. A 6-7 suited seems like a great hand, and it is, but there are still times where you will need to fold before you get too deeply invested in the pot.

Learning the odds means getting to know pot odds, implied odds and position so that you are better able to judge whether your hand can win the pot. While the top 10 starting hands don't require a lot of thought or strategy, at the same time they are not going to get you very far. To get to the next level you need to start learning the odds.

Beginner players can do very well for themselves with the top 10 starting hands, but there will come a point where they notice that they aren't winning like they used to, likely because the others around them have been doing their homework on what other hands they can play successfully. By taking the time to learn other great hands and when to play them you can win bigger pots more often.

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