Short Hand Texas Holdem Poker
Short Hand Texas Poker refers poker games that have less than 4 or 5 players at the table. Being a good short hand player is vital if you're interested in either moving up to higher level games or playing in poker tournaments where the rewards are much higher.
Short Hand Texas Holdem Poker games will quickly expose the weaknesses of most players, because you will be playing many more hands against the same players. Your opponents will eventually be able to pick up your style of play and use it to get an advantage over you - if they're good enough.
The strategy used for these games is dramatically different from the strstegy you'll use at a full poker room. The main reason for this is because the odds that anyone at the table will be dealt strong hands are much lower. So bluffing and semi-bluffing becomes a lot more important and being able to read your opponents' hands will give you the edge over them.
Remember that if you get caught bluffing, it won't be a total loss. There's no better feeling than reading and calling your opponents bluff and often players will start to call everything. You'll be able to use this to your advantage and maximise your profits by inviting them to bet against your strong hands.
The hand selection changes as well when playing at a table with fewer players. A winning hand could be anything with a single Ace or King, and of course any hand you'd consider to be good at a full poker table is great for Short Hand Texas Holdem Poker games.
If you're one of the two players that posted a blind bet at the beginning of the round then connected cards (9, 8 or 7, 6) or suited cards are also hands to bet on. Otherwise you can feel confident betting on any pair or unmatched high cards.
Always try to keep the initiative, betting is always better than calling because you have the upper hand and it's normally easier to push players off their hands when you're dictating the play.
Now you're be able to use the advantage of the knowledge you've acquired from this website to produce more profitable poker hands. Go check out the Trident Poker online casino - you can choose to play for free or real from the wide variety of short hand poker tables...
Stanley Majors is an experienced online poker journalist who writes articles on a range of poker topics. You can read more on Short Hand Texas Holdem Poker. Plus find other articles at Texas Holdem Net, which provide useful and actual poker information and insight.