While betting, you would rather wish to focus on hands - which common hands you would beat and what hands would beat you.

If you happen to get a pair of aces at the beginning of a game, it is a great foundation to build upon, still an ace and king of the same suit have a greater potential for muscle. Both these hands would actually lead you to bet heavily on.

Opponents also figure in a decision to bet. When you find an opponent checking it means either that they do not have a good hand or that they are trying to tempt you into betting more while they secretly hold a strong hand. In either case, if you are already sitting on a good hand, bet, or else, checking yourself is a free shot at the next round of cards & betting.

Value betting/return odds – Deciding to bet 500 chips with a pot sitting at 20,000 is a extremely good risk when considering the potential return. Make out how many cards are out there and of what suits, and know how many of those cards will help your hand and how many would not. Use those odds to help decide how much to bet by figuring that out before planning your next move. For instance, if you are going for a flush draw, you know that there are three suits that would not help and only one that will. Here there are 4 to 1 odds that you will get the one card that you need to accomplish the flush. If the amount in the pot for a hand is four times more than you would require to bet to call, than your risk is balanced by the possibility of getting one of those cards to win the hand.

Blinds or forced bets are an easy way to get hold of your way in a game. In some games you are required to bet certain amounts, so you may as well journey further to see how far that forced bet takes you.