Today’s Texas holdem strategy is what to do when playing live or online poker and you find yourself in possession of trips. Most poker players who discover they are suddenly the owner of a three of a kind in Texas holdem usually can see victory in the hand just around the bend.
Poker is a funny sport, and from a Texas holdem strategy perspective, it does matter how, and under what circumstances the trips have made their way into your poker hand. Let’s say you are playing online poker and you holding a rather pedestrian 9h-10d. In this poker hand you are sitting in a middle seat, and none of the poker players sitting in the late position chairs have given you a compelling reason to fold your cards. In this poker hand your are obviously playing for the straight, but the flop drops a 2c-9d-9c. Your poker hand has suddenly upgraded from a dicey straight draw to a solid three of a kind, so what is the proper Texas holdem strategy to use against your opponents. This is the time to put the hammer down and end things quickly. All the poker players at the table can see the two 9s sitting on the table. If you suddenly become aggressive, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you have. The only question the other poker players will have is if you are bluffing or not and whether or not it is sound Texas holdem strategy to challenge you.
The reason you want to end things quickly is that the same two cards on board that are giving you your tips also work for the other poker players as well. If somebody else is holding another pair, and now has two pair, they are a threat for a full house. It is bad Texas holdem strategy to just let them have an opportunity to complete that hand. Things are a little different if your poker hand is pocket nines, and the flop is an Ad-10h-9s. At this point you have a stealth set sitting in your poker hand, and there is not a pair on the board to help the other poker players. If nobody has acted in a crushingly aggressive manner before the flop, you can pretty much guarantee that nobody has a pair of aces that have matched up with the one on the board. So you can slow play this hand and probably come away with a substantial pot. That is the Texas holdem strategy for today.
