Before going All-In it helps to know some key Statistics like we saw in Poker Pro Magazine:

Pocket Pair Versus Two overcards -55% Chance of winning
Pocket Pair Versus One overcard -69% chance of winning
Pocket Pair Versus Higher Suited Connectors -50% Chance of winning
Pocket Pair Versus Lower Suited Connectors -77% Chance of winning
Pocket Pair Versus Lower Pocket Pair- 82% chance of winning

If you are playing in a re-buy tournment home game set the rules upfront and make sure that they make sense. A good rule of thumb is to allow re-buy when someone is at felt or has less than 20% of the original starting chip stack. Also no more re-buys once you are down to final payout positions. You do not want people buying their way in to the money.

If you are on a losing streak sometimes you just have to walk away from the table. Many people go on a mission to win back what they lost but sometimes it’s just not your night. Take a break, change tables or call it a night. If you try too hard to win it back you usually wind up losing more especially if you are on tilt. Poker is a game of continuity so you will have a chance to get it back later on.

Many of you have writen about the appropriate re-buy schedule. A few options :

Option 1 - only players who have less than a certain amount in chips can rebuy. They can get a full stack at full price or a half stack at half the amount of whatever level you begin with. Usually the requirement for this option is to have less than 20% of the original chip buy left. So if the original buy is 2000 in chips rebuy would be allowed if the stack is under 400. You can pick the number. Some games require players to have zero chips left.

Option 2- Anyone can rebuy/add-on for a full amount regardless of stack size. You may want to limit this rebuy/add-on to 1 per person. Some games only allow rebuy the first hour or before the final 4 players are left seated.

When Playing Limit Texas Hold’em it is much harder to protect your hand than it is in no limit. This is especially true in a low limit game. It is very easy to get rivered with people chasing straights and flushes . Someone will call you for a few bucks so you need better hands to stay in a limit game versus a no limit. You need to adjust your play based on the game you play.

Seems obvious but you have to learn to walk away when all things point to failure.

Sometimes the worst thing to happen to a beginner is to win early on. Remember you need to put some time into this game to get good. Read books, watch TV, play with people better than you. . It may cost you a few bucks but it is money well spent and besides you just may get lucky.You can’t play once a week and expect to be a pro.

Calling or raising too fast can be a major tell. Get in the habit of taking your time when you play a hand. Good or bad, don’t give away the strength of your hand by acting too fast. People will wait for you. Understand you do not want to drag it out so long that a fellow player calls the clock on you but by all means slow it down a bit.

As the amount of players gets smaller at the table , you can begin playing more starting hands. Should you be lucky enough to make it to the final two at a table you need to know what starting hands you have the best chance of winning with.

According to Dan Harrington these are the top 20% of the best starting hands for heads up play:

Any pair AA-55

Suited AK, AQ,AJ,A-10,A-9,A-8 , A-7, A-6,A-5, A-4, A-3, KQ, KJ, K-10,K-9,K-8, Q-j, Q-10

Non Suited AK,AQ, AJ,AT,A-9,A-9,A-7, KQ,KJ,QJ

Beginners seem to think Queen - 4 of Diamonds look pretty but stay away. You only have a 1 in 188 chance of flopping a flush. Suited cards that are not connnected are not a good hand .