Texas Holdem Strategies: Basics of the Overcall

Different situations call for different measures in Texas Holdem, and in a lot of situations, you may find yourself needing to use the overcall to maximize your potential profit for the hand. Of course, before you use it, you need to be familiar with how it operates.

The overcall is a Texas Holdem strategy that you can best use when you have obtained a strong hand. Usually a player will make a raise, and then you will make a call. You can make the call when a player makes a call before you, or you are the first to answer the raise.

What this Texas Holdem strategy does is conceal your strong hand. If you make this move in a loose table, the other players will not realize what you are holding, and by calling, you will encourage the other players, both in early and late positions, to stay in even though you hold the nuts.

The use of the overcall as a Texas Holdem strategy will have a different effect if employed in a tight table. Here, if you make a call to a raiser, particularly if someone else had called before you, it will signify strength.

If you are going to use the overcall, it is best if it is done with a strong hand (this is not a bluff). If you want to try this in the pre flop, it is best used with pocket pairs, because they can hit the set, or Ace/face card combinations. In general, the stronger your hand is, the better chance of success your overcall will have.

Another thing that must be considered with this Texas Holdem strategy is your position on the table. If you are in late position, it is not worth using, because there will be no one else who will call after you. The ideal place to use it is when you are in the middle spot.

However, there will be times when it can be difficult to use the overcall. If you prefer, you can opt to raise instead. By raising, you will send a message to the raiser and the caller that you are strong. The original raiser will likely fold, and the caller will too, since in most of these cases they can only match one raise.

Overcalling is one of those Texas Holdem strategies that you can use to throw your opponents off track, and is in fact utilized in other Poker variants like Omaha Hi Lo. When using this tactic, do not forget to employ your reading skills as well, for they will help you gauge the players' reaction.

By learning to use this concept you will gain a decisive advantage over your opponents.