Category: Gambling and Casinos

There are multiple ways in which you can win a hand while playing Texas hold em online. One mistake that novice Texas holdem players make is to go all in as soon as they have what is most likely the best hand. For example, if a player has an ace and a king, and the flop comes with a queen, jack, ten, many novice players will immediately go all in when playing Internet Texas holdem.

A better strategy may be to let the other players bet into you with a check raise. A check raise is when you have players who will act after you and you check your hand. Once the other players bet, you then raise them. If you were to bet at your very first chance when playing Texas holdem online, the players after you may simply call or fold. By using a check raise as a Texas holdem strategy, you are able to garner more money from the hand.

In the above example, if you go all in on the first chance that you get and all of the other players fold, you will make minimal money from the hand. Another option to this example is to simply call the bet that the other player makes. Now you can call every bet that is made all the way until the last card is dealt. Implementing a check raise when playing online Texas holdem you can get more money for your winning hand.

A check raise bet is considered to be a deceptive play when you play a Texas holdem poker game online. This type of play will not make you any friends while playing, but it will help you to win the game. Knowing when to utilize a check raise when you play Texas hold em is crucial to winning games.

Players who move all in right away with the best hand hope to have other players call them, but more experienced players that know how to play Texas holdem will fold leaving you to win only a small pot.

Many Texas hold em poker players understand that it is very important to be the aggressor when playing online Texas holdem. While it is true that aggressiveness is an important Texas holdem strategy, some players take it too far and forget to fold when they are beaten.

Many players who have a losing hand will opt to go all in when raised, instead of folding when they know that they have a losing hand. This may work on occasion, but in the long run the player with the best hand will call your bluff.

Some people that play Texas holdem online will call large bets in hopes of catching a winning hand. For example, if you have two clubs and the flop comes out with two aces and one club another player will bet, and probably has an ace. Here many people who know how to play Texas holdem will fold their three clubs. Some who value aggression will call in hopes for catching two more clubs. This is not a smart way to play Texas hold em.

While it is true that you will get lucky from time to time by playing this way, in the long run you will lose by going all in with marginal or unmade hands. It is often much better to fold and to be patient, waiting until you actually have a very strong hand when you play Texas holdem online.

This type of aggressive behavior is seen more when you play free online Texas holdem poker than when you play for real money. Having patience and folding is the best practice when you play free Texas holdem for fake money online.

If you were to calculate the odds of winning a hand after the flop comes you would have a good idea of whether or not you should fold. As a rule of thumb, many players will fold to a large raise after the flop if they have nothing. If, after the flop comes, you do not have even a pair, an open ended straight draw, or a four card flush, you should probably fold.

Bluffing will work when you play Internet Texas holdem, but bluffing when there are three or more other players in the hand will often result in someone calling you that actually has a good hand. Do not forget the art of folding when you play a Texas hold em game online.

The subject of this article is basic Texas Holdem strategy; the common sense guidelines to smart poker that you’d better know well, because your opponents sure do, and they’re using it against you right now. Here we go!

Fold
Forget about what you see on TV. In real Texas Holdem you will be folding more often than anything else. And if you’re not, then you’re probably playing too frivolously. Texas Holdem is about seizing opportunities, not barnstorming through every hand. If you stay in to the Showdown on more hands than you fold, we wager that your time as a Texas Holdem player will be brief.

Check
Overzealous poker neophytes will often fold out of a hand they could just as well have stayed in, if only they’d waited to see if everyone checked before them. Often everyone will check in a hand, and then you — having folded instead because you thought your hand unsalvageable — missed out on a chance to see your next card for free. Oops. If you’re the first to bet and you want to fold, check instead (unless you plan to bluff and then, may the force be with you). Worst case scenario, someone bets after you and then you fold after all. Big deal.

The Nuts
This is when you have the best possible Texas Holdem hand that can be had at the table at that given moment in time. If you’re not sure whether you have the nuts or not, you probably don’t. And if the River hasn’t been dealt yet, the subsequent card or cards in the deal could totally alter what The Nuts becomes.

Slow Play
A passive strategy, whereby you, holding a winning hand, feign weakness to keep more players contributing to the pot. If, after pulling off a slow play to the end, you still believe you have the winning hand, you may want to go all in on the River.

Check-Raise
A deceptive strategy whereby you, holding a strong Texas Holdem hand, initially feign weakness by checking the right to bet to the next players; then, when a player does bet and your turn comes around again, you don’t just call the bet, but your raise it (and usually raise it big). With this strategy, even if all players fold at that moment, you still get the chips they threw in after you checked.

Keep Your Emotions at the Door
They will kill you at the Texas Holdem table. You must keep your wits about you, and if you can’t — as will sometimes be the case — get out of the game and get out while you still can.

Change It Up
Whatever your personal favorite strategies, to be truly successful at Texas Holdem, you must mix up your game. Don’t let yourself fall into a rut, and by all means, do not become predictable — it is Texas Holdem’s kiss of death. Keep your opponents guessing, or suffer the consequences.

Position
Consider where you’re sitting in the sequence of betting for each hand. Your strategy must change depending on whether you’re betting first, last, or somewhere in the middle.

Attack Weakness
Texas Holdem players are either predators or prey. And if it’s often very difficult to tell one from the other. So proceed with caution, and when you smell fear, pounce!

Chip Leaders
There is one way, and one way only, to play Texas Holdem when you are the chip leader: as a Bully. When you have the most chips, it is your prime opportunity to wipe out as many players from the game as you can. All of them. That is your best chance to win.

Texas Holdem has become the darling of the poker scene, and many are rushing to find the rules for this popular poker game. If you aren’t familiar with some of the terms used in Texas Holdem, you may be at a loss for understanding its rules. To get a firm grip on the rules for Texas Holdem, it’s a good move on your part to be familiar with some of the terms used before jumping into the actual how to of the game.

First, let’s cover the types of Texas Holdem poker games. There are three main types, and depending on locality, there may be slight changes of the rules within each type of poker game. For the sake of simplicity, we will target the three main types of Texas Holdem.

Fixed Limit Texas Holdem is a game where the betting is set within a certain monetary range. As an example, you may see games played where the betting is limited from the five dollar, to ten dollar range. This would indicate that the bets are limited to five dollars in the pre-flop and flop, and limited to ten dollars in the turn and river.

Pot Limit Texas Holdem has a form of limited betting also, however it is not predetermined before the game. The limit in Pot Limit Texas Holdem is limited to the amount currently in the pot. This allows the betting limit to increase as the pot increases.

No Limit Texas Holdem is where you’ll find the betting is only limited to the amount the players are willing to bet. There are no set betting limits in this game. If played within a casino, players may be limited on how often they can raise within each game. No Limit Texas Holdem is most often played by the experienced players with high bankrolls.

Now that we’ve covered the types of Texas Holdem, let’s get down to the terminology used in all of those games.

Blind bet: The blind bet is the bet made by players before the cards are dealt for the round. Blind bets are usually made by the first two players on the left of the dealer.

Call: When a player matches the bet of another player, it’s referred to as a call.

Check: When a player “checks”, they are not placing a bet. When a player checks they are opting to not place a bet. A check can only occur if there have been no other bets placed in the round. Checking means that the player chooses not to bet, but still stays in the game.

Fold: When a player folds, they are quitting the current game and will no longer be placing any bets on that game. They will continue play on the next deal.

Raise: To raise simply means you’re betting more than the last player.

All In: To go “All In” means the player is betting everything they have on your hand.

Dealer Button: The dealer button is a token used to determine who the current dealer is and who is to place the blind bets. It is passed in a clockwise direction to the next player after each round.

Pre-Flop: This is the very first round of Texas Holdem. The dealer gives each player two cards, which are called pocket cards.

Flop: This is the second round of Texas Holdem poker, and is when the first three communal cards are placed face up on the table. These communal cards can be used by all the players to create the best five card hands.

Turn: The third round of Texas Holdem is referred to as the turn. It’s this round in which a fourth communal card is placed face up.

River: This is the last round of Texas Holdem. A fifth communal card is placed face up on the poker table in this round.

Now that you’re familiar with Texas Holdem terms, you’re ready to get down to the business of learning the rules. May Lady Luck be with you!