Over the past couple of years, the WPT and WSOP have seen tremendous growth. The tremendous growth in poker has been due rank amateur players winning the most prestigious tournaments in the world. It is obvious that anyone can win a large poker tournament if he puts his mind to it. The first part of becoming a poker player requires you to learn starting hand requirements. In the early stages of a tournament, the blinds will be small with a lot of chips on the table. There will be a lot of terrible players at your table and you need to build your chip stack gradually. In any position, raise three times the big blind when you pick up: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, and AQ. Regardless of the flop, follow up with a continuation bet about three quarters of the pot size. Continue betting at the pot if you believe you have the best hand.

In any position, limp with any small pair: 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, and 22. With these hands, you are hoping to hit a set. If you hit a set, you want to play it aggressively and bet about three quarters of the pot size. If you do not hit a set, you should fold this hand most times. In later position, you can raise with: AJ, KQ, and KJ. Position allows you to play weaker hands since you will have the advantage of being last to act on each hand. You should also limp in late position with any suited connectors such as 78 of clubs. If you hit a big flop, you can win a huge pot. If you miss the flop, you can simply fold the hand with very little damage to your chip stack. As you progress as a player, you will learn to raise a wide range of hands in position. In order play aggressive with less than premium hands, you will have to get reads on your opponents. Observation allows you to pick up betting patterns and tells that indicate the strength of your opponent’s hand.

By: Napoleon Will

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