Texas Holdem Betting Strategy Chart

There was an earlier thread I posted on here, on finding - searching, actually, - for the most 'elegant and easy' strategy for Playing UTH, Ultimate texas Hold 'em. (That thread is here.)
So many players play UTH quite poorly, - so very poorly - (and everyone here agrees..) - but UTH strategy shouldn't be hard to do.
So far, NO one here at this place could come up with a one-sentence, one-line Holy Grail of 4x UTH strategy, in a nutshell. No one, - not even CRM or Mike.

• The aim of the game in Texas Holdem poker is to make the best possible decisions in terms of betting to ensure you win as many chips as possible over multiple hands.
• This is the most basic foundation of any winning Texas Holdem strategy. Don't get sucked into playing bad hands like so many amateurs do! Playing in Position is Winning Poker My next Texas Holdem tip is to make sure that you are playing the majority of your hands from the preflop charts above when you are in position.

He provides a mathematical proof for this in his advanced holdem strategy book, Applications of No-Limit Hold'em. Applications shows that in order to bet with a balanced range (a range composed of the optimal number of value bets and bluffs) on the river, we need to bluff less on each progressive street. Let's now take a closer look at Texas Holdem strategy and the pattern that is essential for beginners to learn. The chart shows how many hands you are supposed to play depending on which position you sit in at the table. Example: You are sitting as player 6 to the left of the dealer button and you have a king of spades and a 7 of spades.

So..I HAD to bounce THIS one off of 'old school casino bastard' Frank Rajek himself.

And he gave me a concise, terse, and VERY accurate strategy for the game, something akin to Mike Shackleford's 'Wizard's simple Strategyfor Blackjack.' I had to post this, because Frank showed up old' Danny Boy on this one - I had missed it!!!!
I was telling Frank recently over dinner at Sergio's Italian Restaurant that my wife plays the sh]t out of Three Card Poker every time we go the Orleans - but SHE CANNOT seem to get the BASIC 4x play move in UTH!
Frank said UTH raising is the same thing as three card poker, and that is actually it:
-
If you would PLAY a three card Poker hand with Q-6 or better, then you would also Raise it 4x on UTH with the same hand! Just do it, it's perfect.
Takes balls, though, but you gotta do it, as the 4x raise is where it is at. He argued that Q-6 is almost the same as Q-8, - and lowering to Q-6 accounts for dropping the J-10 4x bet anyway, and is essentially the same, statiscally. Different games, but same 'accurately ballpark' strategy.' I disagree with that fine-tuning logic, but as a simple strategy, it seems very accurate.
I love it: my old school friend/pit boss Frank Rajek giving ME the Strategy for Ultimate Texas Hold 'em: Raise 4x with a Q-6, - just as you would in three card poker, else check. Fucking Simple, and SO close to all 4x strategies on this game - just nuts!!! I am pissed at myself - and CRM - for not seeing this nutshell!At the VERY least, it is one hell of an easy strategy point.
Maybe you do learn something in the pit!!

Q-6, chunk 4x, else check - just like Three Card. That is it. How the f*ck didn't I see this??!! This is 90% of the player's side of the game.

Maybe easy enough for the people on here but 99.9% of all the other UTH players wont play this way. Most players have no poker sense what so ever. Hard rock casino biloxi slot machines play. Hell, they won't even raise with a big ace let alone Q,6. For these people aren't trying to beat the dealer. They think they need to make a good hand to win. They simply want to win the trips bet because, 'thats where the money is.'

Most players think like they're playing against the table, not the dealer. Once you get comfortable with the understanding that you only have to beat one guy, it gets easy to follow the correct strategy. From there, the biggest problem is bankroll management: bring enough money to weather the strings of x-x and the bad beats!

Most players think like they're playing against the table, not the dealer. Once you get comfortable with the understanding that you only have to beat one guy, it gets easy to follow the correct strategy. From there, the biggest problem is bankroll management: bring enough money to weather the strings of x-x and the bad beats!

I think Bad beats are key in making the Average Joe mistrust the strategy. My wife had an A-9, chunked 4x (while giving me this 'you better know what you're doing' eye), paired the ace on the flop, - and then lost to a straight. I checked, and lucked out with the same straight. But Her reaction? 'You see, the strategy is WRONG - I lost! And There's the PROOF! You gotta go with your gut!'
yikes..

If you would PLAY a three card Poker hand with Q-6 or better, then you would also Raise it 4x on UTH with the same hand! Just do it, it's perfect.
Takes balls, though, but you gotta do it, as the 4x raise is where it is at. He argued that Q-6 is almost the same as Q-8, - and lowering to Q-6 accounts for dropping the J-10 4x bet anyway, and is essentially the same, statiscally.

I don't know that I'd say that it 'accounts for' it. These errors compound; they don't cancel out (ie, raising hands that you shouldn't costs money, just like not raising hands that you should costs money)
I agree that this is a WAY better strategy than most players follow. You are only misplaying a few hands (raising Q6o, Q7o, K2o, K3o, K4o, 22, and not raising JT, J9s, J8s). Having said that, the correct strategy is pretty simple to learn, too.
It doesn't matter. Anyone who cares to play well will learn the correct strategy and play properly. It's not hard, and you can always just get a strategy card. Most people don't understand math, and just don't want to risk the big bet on a hand that wins barely more than 50% of the time. They think that they are being smart by betting conservatively. They don't understand how much money they are giving away by playing this way, and they never will. They win the hand anyway, so they get positive reinforcement for their terrible play.
FWIW, this is a good thing. UTH is a slow game. The HE is too low for a game that has that few hands per hour. I suspect that most players give up a 10% edge, or more. If everyone started playing properly, and so the house profits dropped by 80%, I suspect that the game would get removed from most casinos. Plus, they would stop comping it so well :)

If you would PLAY a three card Poker hand with Q-6 or better, then you would also Raise it 4x on UTH with the same hand! Just do it, it's perfect.
I don't know that I'd say that it 'accounts for' it. These errors compound; they don't cancel out (ie, raising hands that you shouldn't costs money, just like not raising hands that you should costs money)

Yes, they [the errors] do compound, but it is still very close, extremely close, to the full strategy - which is ALWAYS worth fully learning. I find that learning the 'easy and close' strategy helps lead a person seek the full, correct strategy, when hooking into a new game - IF they have the courage to bet.

.Most people don't understand math, and just don't want to risk the big bet on a hand that wins barely more than 50% of the time..
FWIW, this is a good thing. UTH is a slow game. The HE is too low for a game that has that few hands per hour. I suspect that most players give up a 10% edge, or more. Poker basic rules.

Yes, I think they give up a HUGE percentage, - moreso than 'hitting or not hitting 16 vs. 7' in blackjack by comparison, as giving up the 4x raise is huge. But It does take courage to chunk 4x on K-3 suited, but the real problem with so many UTH players is that they 'trust their gut more than they trust the math.'
I think it is far more a 'gambler's gut and courage' issue, than an 'understanding the math issue,' - or obeying the best strategy dictates. A gambler's nerves may rule him in the end, and in many situations. The nature of the game can make any lesser gambler hesitate and fail.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategy Chart

Texas Hold'em Betting Strategy Chart

NO other game has this problem to this extent. Here, in UTH, having 'the heart,' or having the Gambling Cojones to actually TRUST the strategy is so VERY hard to do; you're betting a quarter on the ANTE and the Blind, and you get K-10 offsuit. 90% of the UTH players will say, 'Aw, sh]t, now I gotta bet $100 by best strategy? I can't DO it!! CHECK!' I've seen CRM whip it out 4x on the PLAY bet without batting an eye at any level, and I do so, too - (and with my wife yelling at me, 'Jesus, Dan, R U F-ing crazy??') The fact of the matter is that I'd be crazy NOT to, but so FEW see it, - that the ballsy play is actually the brainy play in this case; they coincide.
And you are right - with UTH having a 0.53% house edge (when accouting for the element of risk, with RARE proper play!) UTH would be unsupportable. But I can tell you this, - and I believe it now - no WAY will the vast majority of players put their cash and cojones on the line as needed - when real push comes to shove. The mistakes in UTH are NOT like minor cover play mistakes in Blackjack, a fraction of a fraction of a percent. A mistake at the 'Raise Four Times on the hole cards alone' level in costs a LOT in percentage, but costs even more in terms of player courage, and so it will not be done. I don't know HOW many times I've seen a UTH player quietly utter, 'I just can do it..' - and Check.
When you add in strategy complexity after the flop, it now becomes a matter of brains - and after the potential 4x raise was a matter of balls, so to speak. Between the two, UTH operates as a 3%+ House edge game because of these factors.

And he gave me a concise, terse, and VERY accurate strategy for the game, something akin to Mike Shackleford's 'Wizard's simple Strategyfor Blackjack.' I had to post this, because Frank showed up old' Danny Boy on this one - I had missed it!!!!
I was telling Frank recently over dinner at Sergio's Italian Restaurant that my wife plays the sh]t out of Three Card Poker every time we go the Orleans - but SHE CANNOT seem to get the BASIC 4x play move in UTH!
Frank said UTH raising is the same thing as three card poker, and that is actually it:
-
If you would PLAY a three card Poker hand with Q-6 or better, then you would also Raise it 4x on UTH with the same hand! Just do it, it's perfect.
Takes balls, though, but you gotta do it, as the 4x raise is where it is at. He argued that Q-6 is almost the same as Q-8, - and lowering to Q-6 accounts for dropping the J-10 4x bet anyway, and is essentially the same, statiscally. Different games, but same 'accurately ballpark' strategy.' I disagree with that fine-tuning logic, but as a simple strategy, it seems very accurate.
I love it: my old school friend/pit boss Frank Rajek giving ME the Strategy for Ultimate Texas Hold 'em: Raise 4x with a Q-6, - just as you would in three card poker, else check. Fucking Simple, and SO close to all 4x strategies on this game - just nuts!!! I am pissed at myself - and CRM - for not seeing this nutshell!At the VERY least, it is one hell of an easy strategy point.
Maybe you do learn something in the pit!!
Q-6, chunk 4x, else check - just like Three Card. That is it. How the f*ck didn't I see this??!! This is 90% of the player's side of the game.

Maybe easy enough for the people on here but 99.9% of all the other UTH players wont play this way. Most players have no poker sense what so ever. Hard rock casino biloxi slot machines play. Hell, they won't even raise with a big ace let alone Q,6. For these people aren't trying to beat the dealer. They think they need to make a good hand to win. They simply want to win the trips bet because, 'thats where the money is.'

Most players think like they're playing against the table, not the dealer. Once you get comfortable with the understanding that you only have to beat one guy, it gets easy to follow the correct strategy. From there, the biggest problem is bankroll management: bring enough money to weather the strings of x-x and the bad beats!

Most players think like they're playing against the table, not the dealer. Once you get comfortable with the understanding that you only have to beat one guy, it gets easy to follow the correct strategy. From there, the biggest problem is bankroll management: bring enough money to weather the strings of x-x and the bad beats!

I think Bad beats are key in making the Average Joe mistrust the strategy. My wife had an A-9, chunked 4x (while giving me this 'you better know what you're doing' eye), paired the ace on the flop, - and then lost to a straight. I checked, and lucked out with the same straight. But Her reaction? 'You see, the strategy is WRONG - I lost! And There's the PROOF! You gotta go with your gut!'
yikes..

If you would PLAY a three card Poker hand with Q-6 or better, then you would also Raise it 4x on UTH with the same hand! Just do it, it's perfect.
Takes balls, though, but you gotta do it, as the 4x raise is where it is at. He argued that Q-6 is almost the same as Q-8, - and lowering to Q-6 accounts for dropping the J-10 4x bet anyway, and is essentially the same, statiscally.

I don't know that I'd say that it 'accounts for' it. These errors compound; they don't cancel out (ie, raising hands that you shouldn't costs money, just like not raising hands that you should costs money)
I agree that this is a WAY better strategy than most players follow. You are only misplaying a few hands (raising Q6o, Q7o, K2o, K3o, K4o, 22, and not raising JT, J9s, J8s). Having said that, the correct strategy is pretty simple to learn, too.
It doesn't matter. Anyone who cares to play well will learn the correct strategy and play properly. It's not hard, and you can always just get a strategy card. Most people don't understand math, and just don't want to risk the big bet on a hand that wins barely more than 50% of the time. They think that they are being smart by betting conservatively. They don't understand how much money they are giving away by playing this way, and they never will. They win the hand anyway, so they get positive reinforcement for their terrible play.
FWIW, this is a good thing. UTH is a slow game. The HE is too low for a game that has that few hands per hour. I suspect that most players give up a 10% edge, or more. If everyone started playing properly, and so the house profits dropped by 80%, I suspect that the game would get removed from most casinos. Plus, they would stop comping it so well :)

If you would PLAY a three card Poker hand with Q-6 or better, then you would also Raise it 4x on UTH with the same hand! Just do it, it's perfect.
I don't know that I'd say that it 'accounts for' it. These errors compound; they don't cancel out (ie, raising hands that you shouldn't costs money, just like not raising hands that you should costs money)

Yes, they [the errors] do compound, but it is still very close, extremely close, to the full strategy - which is ALWAYS worth fully learning. I find that learning the 'easy and close' strategy helps lead a person seek the full, correct strategy, when hooking into a new game - IF they have the courage to bet.

.Most people don't understand math, and just don't want to risk the big bet on a hand that wins barely more than 50% of the time..
FWIW, this is a good thing. UTH is a slow game. The HE is too low for a game that has that few hands per hour. I suspect that most players give up a 10% edge, or more. Poker basic rules.

Yes, I think they give up a HUGE percentage, - moreso than 'hitting or not hitting 16 vs. 7' in blackjack by comparison, as giving up the 4x raise is huge. But It does take courage to chunk 4x on K-3 suited, but the real problem with so many UTH players is that they 'trust their gut more than they trust the math.'
I think it is far more a 'gambler's gut and courage' issue, than an 'understanding the math issue,' - or obeying the best strategy dictates. A gambler's nerves may rule him in the end, and in many situations. The nature of the game can make any lesser gambler hesitate and fail.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategy Chart

Texas Hold'em Betting Strategy Chart

NO other game has this problem to this extent. Here, in UTH, having 'the heart,' or having the Gambling Cojones to actually TRUST the strategy is so VERY hard to do; you're betting a quarter on the ANTE and the Blind, and you get K-10 offsuit. 90% of the UTH players will say, 'Aw, sh]t, now I gotta bet $100 by best strategy? I can't DO it!! CHECK!' I've seen CRM whip it out 4x on the PLAY bet without batting an eye at any level, and I do so, too - (and with my wife yelling at me, 'Jesus, Dan, R U F-ing crazy??') The fact of the matter is that I'd be crazy NOT to, but so FEW see it, - that the ballsy play is actually the brainy play in this case; they coincide.
And you are right - with UTH having a 0.53% house edge (when accouting for the element of risk, with RARE proper play!) UTH would be unsupportable. But I can tell you this, - and I believe it now - no WAY will the vast majority of players put their cash and cojones on the line as needed - when real push comes to shove. The mistakes in UTH are NOT like minor cover play mistakes in Blackjack, a fraction of a fraction of a percent. A mistake at the 'Raise Four Times on the hole cards alone' level in costs a LOT in percentage, but costs even more in terms of player courage, and so it will not be done. I don't know HOW many times I've seen a UTH player quietly utter, 'I just can do it..' - and Check.
When you add in strategy complexity after the flop, it now becomes a matter of brains - and after the potential 4x raise was a matter of balls, so to speak. Between the two, UTH operates as a 3%+ House edge game because of these factors.
Got to hand it to Roger (Pacman) on this one. just brilliant. Roger Snow understands more than just the casino math of his games. He also fully understands the casino player.Matter over both mind and math.