Poker Pros Avoid Troublesome Hands

When you are playing Texas Hold’em poker do you actually know when you hold the 2nd best hand? When you play poker you have to realize when your hand could be dominated. This is more critical in No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker because you can lose everything if you make a mistake. Poker professionals understand this principle and avoid playing troublesome hands.

To win at Texas Hold’em poker the pro takes advantage of his wins and minimize his losses. More often than not in Texas Hold’em the professional poker players gets away from those 2nd best hands while the average player does not. Getting away from hands like A-7, K-8, Q-10, etc, is a big key for professional poker players. Technically a dominated hand is one that has 3 outs or less to win. The pros avoid playing these types of hands before the flop and know how to get away from them after the flop. Sometimes in the blinds or from late position, these hands will be played. For example, let’s say the poker pro has an A-7 and the flop comes A-K-5. The pro realizes that his Ace could already be beaten if someone has a better kicker. He could be facing straight draws if someone has QJ or Q10, and it is possible that someone could have hit a set of 5’s and the possibility of two pair exists with AK. The pro defines his hand by immediately betting. If he gets called then he knows his hand is in trouble. The poker pro is very cautious playing troublesome hands.