Mistakes to Avoid When Playing Texas Holdem at US Poker Sites

Texas Holdem is easily one of the most popular games played at online US poker sites. With so many people playing, it’s not surprising that there are a lot of rookie mistakes being made. If you’ve got an account at one of the many US player poker rooms, you’ll want to avoid this mistakes when playing Texas Holdem online.

Going in on Every Hand

You don’t have to get in on every hand – and not just to save your chips, either. Sitting out a hand or two gives you a chance to observe the play and get to know how other players tend to play their hands. That gives you an edge when you decide to get in on a pot.

The players who do best at Texas Holdem in US poker sites only see the flop between 20 and 30 percent of the time. When should you go in? According to the pros, you should play your hand when you’re holding quality cards, or conversely, if you’ve got middling cards, but the majority of other players have folded.

What kind of “quality cards” are we talking about? Some players will tell you that you shouldn’t even think about it unless you’re holding a high pair, but there are some other power positions that qualify as quality – a couple of suited face cards, for example.

Bluffing

Lots of players in US player poker sites pride themselves on their bluffing abilities. That’s not usually a good strategy in Holdem, where there are enough community cards that most players can figure out whether or not you’ve got the goods in your hand. If you’re going to bluff, time it right.

Aggressive Playing

You’ve got a decent hand, so you should play the heck out of it, right? Not necessarily. If you raise too much too early in the game, you could end up knocked out of the game way too soon if someone overtakes you on the flop or the turn.

Chatting

Save the chatting for when you’re not playing or at least, when you’re not playing for money. Chatting is a distraction, and even more so when you’re playing online. Most US poker sites have a chat facility so you can exchange banter with others playing at your table. It’s a good way to lose. Just play your cards.

Of course, you’re bound to make mistakes when you first start playing at online US poker sites, but if you pay attention to what’s going on around you, you’ll soon be playing like a real pro.