Read up on enough poker strategy and you’re bound to come across the concept of value betting.  Basically value betting boils down to trying to get the most value out of the situations where you probably have the best hand.  When you value bet you’re trying to predict the maximum amount you can raise without the opponent folding.

However, there are also situations where you want to play hands with value without making any raises.  This typically amounts to playing hands with showdown value since they’re not good enough to guarantee you a win, but are good enough to go to the showdown with.

The benefit of having hands with showdown value comes from the actual showdown itself, hence the name.  So your goal with a showdown hand is simply to make it all the way to the showdown as cheaply as possible.  Here is an example of how to play a showdown value hand:

You’re holding T-T in middle-late position and decide to raise the big blind $5.  Everyone folds except for the big blind who checks before a flop of Ks-4h-2d is shown.  The big blind decides to check while you bet another $5 which is called by the big blind.  The turn comes as a queen and you both check while the river is an 8 which also prompts a check from the big blind.  Now you’re faced with the decision of whether to bet or simply check to see the showdown.

In this instance, you should simply check because there is nothing to be gained by betting into the player since they’re just going to fold with a weaker hand.  Plus your hand is only good for its showdown value anyways so betting into this river is pointless anyways.  The basic rule of thumb here is that any bet which doesn’t make a bad hand call or a better hand fold is a bad one.

Some people might point out that, by simply checking and going to the showdown, you’re only accomplishing the same thing as a bet which makes the other player fold.  However, you’ve got to realize that a pair of tens doesn’t ensure victory either; thus you only want to get to the showdown cheaply in case you lose.  If the other player cooperates in letting you make it to the showdown then go with it.

The key to playing hands with showdown value is keeping your aggression in check.  Sometimes aggressive players are bad at playing hands with showdown value since they want to bet and raise all of the time.  This only prompts a bad hand to fold well before the showdown which is the opposite of how you want to play a showdown value hand.

Of all the concepts that can help a struggling poker player out in the beginning, learning to play fewer hands is the most important.  The reason being is because many poker players fall into the trap of wanting to play every suited hand, ace, or pair of connectors they get.  Unfortunately when you do this you’re not only playing outside of the basic starting hand requirements, but you’re also focusing on the cards rather than the players themselves.

What you have to realize is that, in a normal game of Texas Hold’em, there are a total of 169 different hands you can start off with (not including different suits).  What this means is that there are about 100 different starting hands that you want to completely steer away from.  And in many situations, you don’t even want to play what’s left over.

If you’ve got AA-JJ or AK, this typically warrants trying to jam the pot as much as possible pre-flop.  But as your reading abilities grow, you may even discover that playing QQ, JJ, and AK isn’t the best move when raises have been made before you.  Other solid hands to play include TT, 99, AQ-A10, KQ-KJ, and QJ; the non paired hands here really pick up value when they’re suited.

When you add up the hands that have been mentioned, there are only15 that can be considered true quality starting hands.  With this being the case, beginner players should avoid playing anything that falls outside of this range which means they should fold about 90% of the time.

If you’re a beginner then you’ll want to stick to the aforementioned starting hands until your reading abilities and experience grow.  This is a great way to make yourself a tight player which will minimize losses in the beginning.  After you’ve picked up more experience then you can increase the number of hands you play, and become a more aggressive player too.

So then I say...

People who want to better their poker game are often told that they need to play against tougher players plain and simple.  The reason for this piece of advice is that you’re supposed to learn so much more from playing against better competition provided you study their moves.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always great advice because there is no way you can study a better player when you don’t know what they’re thinking or what cards they’re holding.  And, as uncomfortable as it might make some players, the only way to truly get better by playing against tougher competition is to ask them questions afterwards.  Otherwise, you’re just going to be losing more money by facing off against better players.

This first thing you need to do is make sure you’re an amicable person at the table because, if you’re not, then no good players are going to want to discuss anything with you.  Try to befriend as many good players as you can either in live play or online, and then talk to them about poker afterwards.

Once you’ve befriended and identified somebody who is better at poker than you figure out whether or not they can communicate their thoughts clearly to you.  While some players may be far better than you at the game, they might not be able to clearly explain why they do what they do at the table.

This all goes back to the concept of how great players don’t always make the best coaches since they aren’t good at explaining their skills.  Sometimes a great $10/$20 No-Limit player can provide much better advice than somebody who’s got a WPT or WSOP title to their credit.

When you find somebody that can definitely talk poker then bring up clear mistakes you made in the game with them.  Using specific situations you were involved in is so much more important to the learning process than simply using hypothetical situations.  Most people are more than happy to tell you what you’re doing wrong since it makes them feel like an authority figure on the game.