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Afterthought: First Two Cards
We have seen that in Texas Holdem it is relatively easy to specify exactly how the first two cards should be played. This is because at this stage of play, proper strategies is not yet that complicated.
This doesn’t mean that you cannot make mistakes, but it does mean that if you understand the situation and have good judgment, it should be fairly clear as to what the correct play online poker should be.
Unfortunately, as we shall soon see, this is not always true with play on the flop and beyond.
We would also like to stress again that unless you are in the blind, you should not be calling many raises, particularly if the pot is short-handed.
You should usually reraise or fold, with folding being much more prevalent.
To do otherwise is the classic “weak player” mistake, and it is the easiest way to tell if an opponent does not understand the game as well as he should.
Another idea to keep in mind when playing holdem is that it is easy to become frustrated and to start playing too many hands.
For example, a hand like can begin to look almost as good as a hand like
♣♠
♦♥
In some situations, such as when you are in a steal position and no one has yet entered the pot, this is probably true. But in other spots, having the bigger kicker is crucial.
If an ace flops, a queen should win where a ten may not. You are also much more likely to flop top poker pair with a queen than with a ten.
In addition, if you do flop top pair with a queen rather than a ten, you don’t have to worry as much about overcards hitting on a later betting round.
This adds up to a lot of extra pots and extra money.The ideas in this chapter are all very important.
But even though playing your first two cards correctly is absolutely crucial to winning play, it will not automatically make you a winner.
Perfect play on the first two cards will enable you to only break even at best if you are not adept at the later rounds. So read on. ( poker hand ranking.)