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Discipline: The Key to Success in Texas Hold'em
Winning at Texas Hold'em is not an easy task, but it is very attainable. To win at Texas Hold'em a player needs a mix of patience, discipline and some more patience. This, of course, goes against human nature, for we are naturally impatient beings who want instant gratification. Sorry, but that doesn't bode well at the poker table.
When you are sitting at a poker table, either online or at a real poker room, it can get awfully boring just sitting around and not playing hands. Sometimes this boredom leads to frustration and, ultimately, a loss of patience and discipline. When this happens, players - even good players - tend to relax their starting hand requirements. This, in turn, causes a large chip stack to greatly diminish in size.
When you play low limit to medium limit poker Texas Hold'em, you are going to be playing against people who get involved in many hands and won't fold. They call these lower limit games "No Fold'em Hold'em" for a reason. What happens in this type of game is that the players who refuse to fold sometimes outdraw you on the river. The best way to mitigate this phenomenon is to play only premium hands. You must be more disciplined that they are.
To survive in live poker games, you really need to exercise patience. Unfortunately, what we always see on television does not serve as a good example for us as poker players. What we see is high stakes tournament poker in which great players make aggressive moves to take pots with lousy cards. Keep in mind that risking your tournament life in one hand of poker is much different than risking $2 to call the big blind in a limit game.
So just how tight is tight when it comes to playing limit poker? There really is no such thing. See our table of Texas Hold'em starting hands for a good guideline of which hands to play and from what position at the table.
Speaking of position, we really should touch on this very important factor as it relates to discipline. You must always consider your position at the table in relation to the dealer button when deciding whether to call, raise or fold a hand. The earlier you are to act, the tighter you must be.
Everybody knows that playing big pairs is good and playing unsuited small cards is bad. But what cards represent the most potential problems for a player?
- Connectors (ex: 7-8 offsuit) - Sure you can make a straight with connectors, but how often will it happen? Not enough to justify playing them very often. If you do play connectors, do so only when you are in good position and do not call a raise with them.
- Aces and face cards with small kickers (ex: K-4, A-5) - Playing these are just not profitable. Every poker player loves to be dealt and ace of king. The problem is that your ace or king is no good if you have a low kicker. Players also tend to compound the problem of playing this type of hand by hanging around to the river while trying to pair up their big card.
It's definitely true that you have to play some hands if you want to win some pots. Just keep in mind that you have a much better chance of winning pots if you wait for some good cards.
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