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In this free texas holdem poker article you’ll learn how and why it’s so important to vary your hand play approach according to table size when playing buy in or free Texas holdem poker online or in a live room.

Numbers of players at the table and how this relates to your hand strategy is another part of Texas holdem where the math aspect of the game is important, sorry to say that but that’s a fact, but don’t get scared if math and you are not friends, it is not that hard once you get the hang of it.

If you are a free online poker tournament player and you can get this subject down well then you’ll give yourself a serious edge. Most of the “farm animals” you play with won’t have a clue about this, so learn and clean up!

I have 4 different size tables that I put into categories.

1. Heads up

2. 3 and 4 people

3. 5-7 people

4. 8-10 people

Basically what we want to avoid os a coin flip situation, e.g., all in at the preflop. An integral part of being consistently successful Texas holdem player is risk reduction in every aspect of your game. Here now is how I advise you apply risk reduction to hands play depending on table size.

1 – Heads up

Basically any 2 cards are live in heads up games and I generally like to see a flop. If however I have 2 cards which I don’t like coupled with a raise I’ll fold . I love it when they make a big raise because it’s easy for me to fold.

If I have decent cards, unless it’s a really big raise I’ll call and see the flop after that it all depends on the feel of the player and what they do. If I suspect it’s a tight player and I’m on the button I’ll raise in order to see where I’m at. Most times if they do not have anything they fold but if they’re drawing or have a pair they might call so I will be careful from now on.

2 – 3 and 4 players

With so few people at the table any cards with “letters” on them get played to see a flop. Most times when you are at a table like this the players are mostly tight players. So if you are on the button call most of the time and aim to steal pots by betting on into the pot.

3 – 5-7 players

Now this is really where it gets tricky. Only pocket pairs and very high cards should be played. Small pocket pairs should be limped into the pot hoping to hit a set.

With medium pocket pairs aim to limp into the pot. If you can call a small raise you can hope to hit a set.

Now with high pockets you should be raising same deal with any 2 cards that have letters on them (J-A).

4 – 8-10 players

Here you have to play real tight. I only try to play the top 10 hands which are pockets thru 10s and then the letter cards. Anything less than a 9 in my hand is almost non playable. I will limp into a pot with any pockets however.

Now knowing the “position” and the “math” is important because of the amount of people on the pot and the people left to act after you.

The reason why you play a shorter table different is the amount of cards left in the deck.

In Heads up money or free Texas Holdem poker games there are 48 cards left in deck so anything can come out on the flop.

In 3 and 4 player scenarios there are at most 44 cards left in deck thus a better % of your cards hitting.

With 5-7 players there are at the least 38 cards left in deck and therefore more chance that someone else has some of the cards you need or folded them.

At 8-10 now you are down to 22 cards left in deck and it is most likely that some or most the people folded cards you need or have the cards thus the reason for mostly playing pockets.

This all being said when the river is dealt if there is a four card straight or flush on board you don’t need to be in the hand if someone bets.

If it’s folded to you then you can sometimes bet to try and steal pot. If they check raise you just fold and live to play another hand.

I realise that this may sound complicated but if you focus and try to break it down logically I hope you can see that more players = more cards in play and therefore you must play tighter with better cards as player numbers increase.

So good luck at the tables and try to remember that no matter whether you are playing high stakes or simply fun free texas hold em the principles remain the same with only the financial risk varies – and that is a totally different type of risk to that of hand probabilities.If you’re new to poker or can’t risk much money start off on free online texas holdem poker sites and progress up from there as your skill, bankroll and confidence grow

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