Texas Holdem and the Terrible Twos

When people sit down to a game of live or online Texas holdem, one of the most annoying things is to try to play poker hands when one of your hole cards is a 2. Handing someone a 2 to play poker with is like sending Spartacus into battle against the Romans with only a dead carp. In short, from the perspective of Texas Holdem at the live or online poker table, a 2 is pretty useless. To even suggest that this card has its place is to say you prefer losing poker hands to things like full houses and royal flushes. With that said, the poker table reality is that this card is occasionally going to find its way into our Texas Holdem hand and force us to make decisions about our poker hands based on its inherent weakness. Usually the most logical, long term, poker table strategy to employ when a 2 shows during a game of Texas Holdem is to get in the practice of folding any poker hands unfortunate enough to get this particular card. This is a message that is getting lost on a lot of online poker players. Many of those who ply their trade at the online poker table approach the game with the attitude that they can with any of the poker hands they are dealt. All it requires is a little aggression. This is wrong. While almost nothing can turn this hand into a winner when you play poker, there are a few tips that will help you along. The first tip is when playing poker hands during a cash game, fold your hole cards if you are holding a 2. I know we mentioned this once, but it is worth mentioning again. The second tip is when you fold your 2, let your opponents see that what you are folding. This is setting up your fellow live and online poker competition for a bluff later on. Bluffing with something like a 2 in your hand is only successful if you have a table image that suggests you not the sort of person to take a chance on hole cards with a tiny, impotent card like that in the lot. Finally, if you have the right sort of table image, betting big from out of position and staying with the bluff gives you the opportunity to win when you play poker with a substandard hand. In this case your power at the poker table doesn’t come from the cards you have, but the cards your live or online poker opponents think you have. Your Texas holdem cards are actually irrelevant on a bluff of the nature and you will actually play poker with your reputation and the impression your opponent has in his head about you. So to recap; if you have a 2 in your hand, for the love of God, fold the hand. If you are going to play it, make sure you have the sort of reputation that gives your bluff a chance of success.