Theories behind playing Texas Hold Em poker

Texas Hold’em has exploded in popularity in the last few years following the win of amateur player who made millions in the world series of poker. Texas Hold’em has been around for a long time but only got recognition now for the great game that it is. Just search poker on Google and you will find all sorts of websites offering poker strategy, videos, software, hand trackers, statistic trackers, etc.

Texas Hold’em requires skill, and the best players are always the ones who do no depend on luck and play with odds in their favor. In short run however a donkey (slang term for a bad poker player) can beat the shark (the professional player), due to the luck factor. You must understand that in the short-run there is luck involved, but it will eventually even out after thousands of hands. This is where the Theory of Poker comes into play. The professional players know that losing is part of the game and you are bound to have at least one losing session in your poker career.

Poker is based on a lot of theory and math. First thing to consider when playing poker is whether you have enough money to play with. Sure you might have $20 and take that to a 10c/20c table, but what if you get a bad beat? You must follow proper bankroll management. A general rule is that you must have 20 buy-ins for a cash table. For example, you need $400 to play 10c/20c. The theory behind this is that when you sit on a table, in the short run your opponent might get lucky and take your whole stack. If you only have one buy-in, then you can lose all that money in one unlucky hand and then never be able to play again.

The bankroll management theory states that a poker player more money than a single buy-in to play to the best of his ability. Poker money must be set aside only for poker and not for personal use. This way you can climb up limits and start playing higher stakes. If you lose, you can easily drop down a stake and still have enough money to come back. Bankroll Management must be followed at all times, because it is one of the most fundamental theories, without which you are bound to go broke.

Then comes the pot odds theory. Pot odds refer to the money in the pot and the strength of your hand. This way you can make a mathematically correct decision and make money in the long run. For example, imagine you are button on a $1/$2 game, and you are holding 78s. Everyone calls and according to the pot odds, you can profitably call