Texas Hold ‘Em Tips and Strategies
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Mucking
The card term “mucking” refers
to not showing your hole cards in
the showdown. All human players
can choose to muck (leave their
hole cards face down) or to show
their cards. All computer players’
hole cards are automatically
shown (not mucked).
During the showdown, a mes-
sage will be displayed on the tele-
vision:
SHOW CARDS
?
STEP
-
YES
;
SELECT
-
NO
.
Players can choose to show their
hole cards by pressing the
STEP
button on the controller within
approximately 20 seconds. If a
player does not press either of
these buttons within 20 seconds,
his hole cards will be automatical-
ly mucked (left face down).
The winner is automatically
declared, and all of the remaining
players have the chance to decide
if they want to reveal the hand
they were playing with.
Players who did not win the
hand can choose to show their
hole cards by pressing the STEP
button on the controller within
approximately 20 seconds. If a
player does not press either of
these buttons within 20 seconds,
the hole cards will be automatical-
ly mucked (left face down). The
players have the chance to decide
if they want to reveal the hand
they were playing with.
Here are some tips and strate-
gies to help elevate your novice
poker skills to advanced poker
prowess.
Tips and Strategies:
General Poker Play
No matter what variation of
poker you’re playing, these prac-
tices are always beneficial.
• When you know you have the
strongest hand, convince your
opponents to put their money into
the pot. When you know you have
the weakest hand, keep your
money out of the pot as best you
can.
• Be prepared to make adjust-
ments when players are eliminat-
ed. The fewer players there are,
the more hands you’ll have to
play.
• Don’t get too attached to a
hand, since almost every hand can
be beaten.
• Chips you’ve put into the pot
are not yours. Don’t protect them.
• Don’t bet to keep someone
honest or bet recklessly on a win-
ning streak. You’ll lose your
money quickly.
• Consider all the possibilities of
your hand, but don’t waste time
and money on long shots.
• Always be unpredictable.
Tips and Strategies:
Betting
In poker, betting intelligently is
half the battle.
• When you have a good hand,
bet strongly, right from the begin-
ning. Make others spend money to
stay with you.
• If your hand is second best, it’s
likely to stay that way. It pays to
be patient.
• Bet according to pot size.
Don’t bet 150 on a 7000 pot; the
others will certainly call. And
don’t put a large number of your
chips at risk in order to win a
small pot.
• If you raise, you could have
the best hand, or your opponent
could fold. If you call, you have to
have the best hand in order to win.
It’s almost always better to raise
than to fold.
• Play more hands in the late
position, where you have the ben-
efit of watching your opponents
make their first bets. Play fewer
hands in an earlier position.
• Play aggressively when “short
stacked” (when your chips are
only 5-7 times the big blind).
• If you are dealt strong pocket
cards, bet and raise, if possible,
before the flop. This increases the
value of the pot and encourages
weak hands to fold.
• If you are dealt unconnected
low cards of different suits, fold
the hand unless it is very cheap to
stay in.
Tips and Strategies:
Pocket Cards
Learn how to deal with the
“pocket” or “hole” cards.
• Be careful when dealt and Ace
and a lower card (like 4, 8, or even
10). You might get sucked into
losing a big pot when your oppo-
nent has a better kicker.
• Play small pocket pairs cheaply
before the flop. If you hit the third
and/or fourth in the flop, try to trap
your opponents. If you don’t, fold.
• Percentages: with a pocket
pair, there’s about a 12% chance
you’ll flop a set. If you have Ace-
King, there’s a 40% chance you’ll
flop at least a high pair.
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