Tamarisk Country ClubTamarisk Poker ClubTexas Hold’em← Back

Beyond the basics

None of this is needed to play. It is for after a few nights, when you know what you are doing and want to start doing it well.

Read this in any order, or not at all

Everything on the main page is what you need to sit down and enjoy yourself. This section is the next layer: where you are sitting, when a draw is worth chasing, and which hands to play in the first place. Each one has a practice drill, because none of it sticks from reading.

Where you sit Acting last is worth more than most cards. The single biggest thing separating a beginner from a decent player. Which hands to play About one hand in five is worth playing. Knowing which five is most of the battle. Is this worth chasing? Counting your outs, and a piece of mental arithmetic simple enough to do at the table. What could beat me? Reading danger in the shared cards. Cheaper to learn here than at the table. How much to bet Bet sizing in one sentence, and what to do once the blinds have eaten your stack. The five mistakes What beginners actually lose their chips to. Worth reading even if you skip everything else.
A warning about all of this

Knowing this material will not make you win on the night — poker is far too luck-driven over one evening for that. It makes you win over a lot of nights. Anyone who tells you a strategy guarantees a result on a given Tuesday is selling something.

Practice on the table → Glossary of terms