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Professional poker player and 1995 WSOP champion Dan Harrington believes that there are four fundamental laws of poker. These laws apply not only to no-limit Texas Hold'em but also to all poker games. Expert players deeply understand these principles, and they serve as the cornerstone of a rational and comprehensive playing strategy.
Law 1: The Law of Hand Strength
Typically, you should bet with strong hands, check or call with medium-strength hands, and fold or bluff with weak hands. Each aspect of this law is easy to understand, so let's quickly recap the reasons behind it:
- Betting your strong hands is obvious because you want to build a larger pot when you're highly likely to win.
- You want to check or call with medium-strength hands because betting with them won't yield much return. Better hands will call or raise, while weaker hands will fold.
- Folding weak hands is self-evident. Using weak hands to bluff might be less intuitive, but the basic idea is that once you successfully bluff with a weak hand, you've gained value from a hand that had no inherent worth. Bluffing with moderately strong hands (like a middle pair) can be riskier because if you lose, you forfeit the value those hands initially held.
Law 2: The Law of Aggression
Typically, aggression (betting and raising) is better than passivity (checking and calling).
Aggression offers two ways to win: making your opponents fold or winning at showdown. Conservatism provides only one path to victory: winning at showdown. Two paths are better than one, making aggression more favorable. Expanding fold equity (FE), the value gained from forcing opponents to fold, is a crucial component of no-limit Texas Hold'em.
Law 3: The Law of Betting
Typically, a successful bet must accomplish one of three things: force stronger hands to fold, get weaker hands to call, or create unfavorable drawing odds.
Betting can be profitable in three ways:
- If you can push better hands out of the pot, you win a hand you should have lost.
- If you can get weaker hands to call, you can win more money.
- If your opponent is drawing, you want them to pay more for their draw. This can also be profitable.
If you don't believe your bet can achieve any of these effects, then don't bet.
Law 4: The Law of Variation
Poker is a game of human competition where players observe each other closely. Since opponents aren't unchanging robots, your playing style cannot be entirely static. Avoid repeating fixed patterns of play. Instead, learn various strategies, adapt to your opponents' changes, and stay flexible to maintain an edge over the long run.
In this ever-changing world, the one constant is change itself. |
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Post time 24-9-2023 12:25:34
