It takes me about 16 hours to calculate each of these preflop points, and it took the Wizard 2 months of compute time to calculate the EV over each of the possible starting hands (pairs, suited & offsuit combinations). My program comes up with the exact same EVs as The Wizard of Odds, as we’re probably doing the exact same recursive calculations. The table below shows a few pre-flop decision points, and the difference between raising 4x and just checking. Not bad as far as “bonus” (“sucker”) bets go. This is the player advantage bet, you should always bet when indicated, to overcome the Rake Push if dealer doesn’t qualify (and player didn’t fold)īuilt-in “bonus” bet pays 500x for a Royal Flush, of ante The “play” bet is where you make all your money Bet It’s really important to raise your 4x preflop opportunities. Queen and 6 suited, or Queen and 8 or higher.

any suited King, or King and 5 or higher.The hands that are good enough to raise 4x: If your starting hand isn’t good enough to raise, then just check, and wait for the flop. If your starting hand is equal to, or better than the hands listed in the above table, you raise 4x, and you wait to see if you win. It’s very simple to make the optimal pre-flop decision. At a 2.2% (of the ante) house edge, the game is very cheap, since your average 4.2 unit bet reduces the house take to 0.5% of your action. With a little experience, you’ll play faster than the dealer. Near-optimal play is very simple, and easy to master. So, to help out the fans of this game, I’m writing this basic strategy tutorial. Many of these mistakes cost 20% or more of the ante, or $1 of $5. Conversely, on the river, people frequently call with a bad kicker.

On the flop, people check pairs, waiting to just call on the river.

They’re very surprised to see me raise with J8s, or K5o. From what I’ve seen, people are very reluctant to raise pre-flop (4x) without a big pocket pair, or at least Ace + face. Granted, my site is the first to publish strategy for post-flop play, but I thought that people would instinctively figure it out. I find that people play quite differently from basic strategy. Basic Strategy Card for Ultimate Texas Hold'em.

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