Category: Gambling and Casinos

The most popular and probably the best type of poker game for a novice to try his hand at is texas hold em poker. In a matter of minutes, anyone can learn the rules, which usually begins with the two players to the left of the dealer placing blind bets. Two face down cards are then dealt to each player. A round of betting ensues, this time beginning with the person to the left of the first two people who placed the blinds in the beginning. Players can choose to check, raise, or fold when the turn to bet comes to them.

Afterwards, the dealer places three cards face up on the table. Called a flop, players can use these cards with the two that they already have to form their hands. Following this is another round of betting, after which the dealer places another card, known as the turn card, face up on the table. This card can be used to create a five card hand, if it improves the hand they already hold. The players place their bets, and the dealer places a final card on the table. Known as the river card, players can now use this as well as the other four on the table and the two that they have to create their final poker hands.

After one last round of betting, the players still in the game reveal their cards this is called the showdown. With a few rounds of practice, anyone can master the rules. However, mastering the game of poker itself is another story. Not merely an exercise in luck, texas hold em, despite its simplicity involves both brains and practice, thereby, continually challenging those who play it.

Texas hold em poker has become increasingly popular as a growing number of online sites attract people to play from the comfort of their homes. More and more people are starting to play the game competitively, brushing up on their skills and strategies, often in the hopes of earning some extra money. Many also participate in online texas hold em tournaments where the cash prizes can be very high.

Numerous sites and other resources have also sprung up to help people perfect their game, offering winning tips and proven strategies, as well as directing them towards the top sites at which to play. Organizations that bring together players are also gaining prominence. Television shows, such as “Celebrity Poker” on the Bravo network, where celebrities compete with each other playing texas hold em has proven to be a ratings success. This too has helped to raise the profile of a game once relegated to the casinos or to weekly male bonding activities. A broader, more diverse range of people are getting involved, from Ivy League college students to stay at home moms, many from the comfort of their homes as they log into the thousands of online sites. Sales of poker paraphernalia have seen a rise as well, as people are either taking the game much more seriously than they once used to or they are discovering it for the first time. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether this resurgence of texas hold em is merely a passing fad or one that will prove to have strong staying power.

In a perfect world, we would all get high pairs as starting hands, but, in truth, that rarely happens. What players will see more often are lower pairs of cards. For newer players, a pair of anything looks pretty good, but be careful, especially if you are playing for real money, when it comes to low pairs.

In general, there are no hard and fast rules that say what constitutes a low pair. For my own reasons, I consider anything below a 6 to be a low pair. As you gain experience and learn your own style of play you will be able to set your own standards as to what is a low pair and what is not.

One of the most useful tips that I can share with new players is this: 90% of the time (and this is especially true if you are holding a low pair of pre-flop cards) you want to see a cheap flop. What I mean by this is you want to see the flop for as little of your money invested as possible. Put another way, if you’re holding a pair of 3’s you want to see the flop but you do NOT want to put in a lot of money (by calling big bets or raising) in order to see that flop.

The key to remember is that a low pair has potential for becoming a huge hand if you pick up a set (another card matching yours comes up, giving you three-of-a-kind) or a quad (two matching cards come up on the flop, giving you four-of-a-kind) or a full-house, but the important word here is potential. Until you see the flop all you have is a lowly pair, and in a ten-handed game and even in a seven-handed game, that generally isn’t worth very much, and the lower the cards, the less they are worth. Keep in mind that a pair of 4’s will beat that pair of 3’s.

Again, we come back to position play and why it is important to always know where you are in relation to the Button. If you are the first person to act (meaning, you are first to either call the blind and play or fold) you must exercise caution. In fact, this is true with low pairs if you are seated anywhere on the first half of the table. The reason for this is simple. If you are the first to play (or even the second, third, or fourth) all the others players behind you will have the option to raise the bet, forcing you to put even more money in before seeing the flop. If you are playing with aggressive betters, the cost can skyrocket in no time at all. Now if you are sitting there (pre-flop) with a pair of King’s or a pair of Ace’s you might welcome that aggressive betting. But with a small pair in your hand, it can spell doom, real quick.

It is worth repeating. The key to playing small pairs is to see the flop for as little money as possible. A well-disciplined player will happily fold a small pair if the betting becomes too rich. Why will they do this? Experienced players will reason that aggressive betting before the flop usually (not always, but usually) represents a player with a strong hand, and in many cases, it may be two or three players with strong hands.

But what if you are holding a small pair and you are at the far end of the table line? Perhaps you are in the blinds (either the big blind or the small blind) or perhaps you are on the Button itself. What do you do in that case?

Well, it depends. If everyone else has folded, you would want to call the blind and see a flop. If only one or two earlier players have called the blinds (but not raised) you may want to go ahead and call yourself to see the flop as well. However, if one player has made a big raise or if several other players have called and or raised, then you go with your gut, and in most cases, your gut should be saying, “Fold”.

If you are in the blinds and can see the flop for a small additional amount of money, then go for it. If you hit your set, you will be in a very good position to probably win the hand.

If you don’t hit your set on the flop, it is time to think hard about folding your hand unless the other players check and you can check as well. If you can see a free card, see one.

It’s important to understand that you have about a 12% chance of hitting your set on the flop. Another way of looking at this is you have about a 1-in-8 chance of getting that third card on the flop.

The odds of getting that third card to fill your set decrease dramatically after the flop. In fact, the odds of seeing that third card by the River are only about 9%.

These statistics apply to all pairs and not just to small pairs.

So, if you are holding a small pair use common sense and watch your betting. Try to see the flop as cheaply as possible. If you hit your set on the flop, then go for it! If you do not hit your set on the flop, consider folding before putting anymore money into the pot. More often than not, you will be glad you did.

In online Texas hold’em the hands you can hold will be usually grouped with the help of two different big categorizations.

There was a need from the beginning of the poker game for some way to tell exactly which hands are weak and which are strong, which are weaker when comparing and which hands should be kept or thrown. This is why, sometime ago, there has been created a chart that explains and clarifies the hand rankings in hold’em. Each and every possible hand has been evaluated and included in this chart, and the odds for each hand, in all types of drawing situations, have been compared to the odds of similar hand and then accordingly classified. The hand grouping is made in eight distinct groups, starting from group 1, the group considered to have the highest odds and ending with group eight which is with little exceptions the group of very low hands, with very low odds, that are usually not to be played.

Also, in each group the hands are placed in order, from the ones that have been proved to be the strongest to the ones that are the weakest within that group.

The most known and appreciated chart of hands has been developed by two poker analysts and writers that have written book and analysis on poker strategies and theory. Their names are David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth and their hand grouping has been first published in the book named “Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players”. The Sklansky Hold’em Hand Groupings are presented below:

Group 1: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, A-Ks
Group2: T-T, A-Qs, A-Js, K-Qs, A-K
Group3: 9-9, J-Ts, Q-Js, K-Js, A-Ts, A-Q
Group4: T-9s, K-Q, 8-8, Q-Ts, 9-8s, J-9s, A-J, K-Ts
Group5: 7-7, 8-7s, Q-9s, T-8s, K-J, Q-J, J-T, 7-6s, 9-7s, A-xs, 6-5s
Group6: 6-6, A-T, 5-5, 8-6s, K-T, Q-T, 5-4s, K-9s, J-8s, 7-5s
Group7: 4-4, J-9, 6-4s, T-9, 5-3s, 3-3, 98-, 4-3s, 2-2, K-xs, T-7s, Q-8s
Group8: 8-7, A-9, Q-9, 7-6, 4-2s, 3-2s, 9-6s, 8-5s, J-8, J-7s, 6-5, 5-4, 7-4s, K-9, T-8, 4-3

After this table has been successfully used by many experts, someone has researched for a diploma paper in the university’s senior year a different hand grouping. This is based on the one above and it demonstrates it, but it also shows that it is not complete and additional hands have been added and improved. The Modified Hold’em Hand Grouping is:

Group 1: A-A K-K Q-Q J-J A-Ks
Group 2: T-T A-Qs A-Js K-Qs A-K
Group 3: 9-9 K-Ts Q-Js K-Js A-Ts A-Q
Group 4: A-8s K-Q 8-8 Q-Ts A-9s A-T A-J J-Ts
Group 5: 7-7 Q-9s K-J Q-J J-T A-7s A-6s A-5s A-4s A-3s A-2s J-9s T-9s K-9s K-T Q-T
Group 6: 6-6 J-8s 9-8s T-8s 5-5 J-9 4-3s 7-5s T-9 3-3 9-8 6-4s 2-2 K-8s K-7s K-6s K-5s K-4s K-3s K-2s Q-8s 4-4 8-7s 9-7s
Group 7: 8-7 5-3s A-9 Q-9 7-6s 4-2s 3-2s 9-6s 8-5s J-8 J-7s 6-5 5-4 7-4s K-9 T-8 7-6 6-5s 5-4s 8-6s

There are many important things to learn about Texas Hold’Em before you play the game. One of the most crucial things you need to learn is a good basic strategy for betting. This is also a learning necessity with most other poker games and variations as well.

Fixed limit games are the most common types of Texas Hold’Em games. In fixed limit games, there are two different betting amounts, the low and the high betting amounts. For example, if you were playing Texas Hold’Em at a $10-$20 table, the first betting rounds all the bets would have to be made in $10 increments. So if the bet is currently at $10, you could only raise it to $20 or call. Dependent upon the game you are playing, at some point in the game the betting limit would double, so that all the bets would then be made at $20.

One basic strategy that can be used for betting in Texas Hold’Em is to try to focus on what cards you think the other players are holding in their hands. It will be important to watch the other players to get clues on what they may have or may be planning. One of the most important keys to betting successfully is to understand the other players at the table and try to place bets without them being able to guess your next move.

Most casinos limit the number of max raises to three or four a round. The number of allowed raises in each betting round should be a crucial element in planning your betting strategy.

A bet that is called a check is a nothing bet. Players make these bets when they don’t want to up the amount of their bet, but still want to remain in the game. If there have been no bets made during the round and play comes to you, you can check and pass play to the next player. A round of checks can be good for your poker play, assuming you have developed a good strategy. As always, you will need to study your hand well, and decide on the strength of the other players hands.

Sometimes using bluffs can be a boost to your poker betting strategy for Texas Hold’Em. It is important to remember that bluffs will work best when they are unexpected, if you bluff too often no one will fall for your tricks. On the flip side, if you never use bluffs and bet on a good hand, other players are more likely to pick up on the hand and fold rather than bet against you.

As with any poker game, you should remember that there will always be the element of luck involved, and that play may never go as you expect it to. Having a good betting strategy can tremendously help you in game play, but it is not the only part of the game you need to learn. The more you play the game, the better you should become at developing an effective strategy. Keep in mind that it is crucial to your success that you don’t become predictable in your play, as other players will be fast to pick up on it. Becoming a predictable player will make you lose far more often than you will win.