The game of Texas Holdem poker takes minutes to learn, but theres so much going on during an actual hand that it can take many years before a player is good enough to win consistently. It all starts with the first two cards. Knowing when to play and when to skip on a hand is the first crucial step to winning at Texas Holdem poker. Today, I am going to run down a series of starting hands and what you should think about doing when you get them. This list assumes that you are playing at a table with seven or more players and that you are somewhat new to the game of Poker.
The Big Hands
If you receive any of the following four hands, you should raise when its your turn to bet. If someone raised the pot already then re-raise.
The four big hands are: AA, KK, QQ and AK.
The Limp Hands
If you find yourself with an upper level pair of eights, nines, tens or Jacks, you want to limp in the pot, which means to simply call the minimum bet. However, if someone has raised the pot, you want to consider folding. You are most likely beat. Some players will limp in with any pair, some with pairs of fours or higher and so forth. This is something you will figure...