Category: Gambling and Casinos

Texas holdem poker, known as Hold’em, is the most favorite poker game, played both at homes and in casinos. Poker is the no 1 casino game and texas holdem is the no1 poker game. And there is no doubt about it! People love to play its different version because it is easy to learn, amusing to play and best to gamble. Due to its huge popularity, it is a main event of the World Series of Poker. Not only in casinos and at homes, texas holdem is also played over internet. Infact online casinos have ranked it the most liked and most played game. Playing online is as exciting and amusing as in atlantic city and las vegas.

If you want to become a professional texas holdem poker player, or at least an intermediate player, then you must be fully aware of the general and basic texas holdem rules and the texas holdem hands to play. You can learn how to play texas holdem poker within a day or so, but mastering the game of poker takes lots of patience and practice. General texas holdem poker rules are:

1. The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. Players are dealt with two “down” cards and five “up” cards. Five “up” cards are called community cards and are shared by all players on the table. This game can be played with at least 2 players and at the most 11 players.

2. One person acts as a dealer. His duties include shuffling the cards, distributing the cards and controlling the flow of the game.

3. The two players on the left side of the dealer start the game by making the blind bets. Now each player is given 2 “down” cards. These are the “hole” cards of the players. This round is called “pre-flop” round.

4. Now dealer turns over the three cards in the middle of the table. Now the second betting round starts. This betting round starts to the player on the left of the dealer and continues to the left. In this round a player can call, raise or fold, if there is a bet on the table. If there is no bet on the table then a player can make the bet or check.

5. As the second betting round ends, the dealer distributes another “up” card. This card is called “turn”. Players can use this sixth card now to form a five card poker hand. The player to the left of the dealer starts the betting round. In this round the bet amount becomes equal to the maximum table bet.

6. Now the final betting round starts. Dealer distributes the final card which is called “river”. A player can use any combination of cards to make the hand. A hand may be one pocket card and four community card or 2 pocket cards and 3 community cards.

7. Now all the players which are in the hand show their cards. The best hand wins the pot. However, during the game a player can fold and can get out of the hand in any time.

Texas holdem poker is the name of entertainment and jackpots. The cheat game of the past is now the no 1 casino game. And this popularity is due to the simplicity, tricks and chances. Texas holdem poker rules help you to learn and to play texas holdem games. So learn them to play!

The first step for a new player who desires to learn how to play Holdem poker properly is read one of the hundreds of excellent books obtainable about the game. You can find a huge assortment of poker books at online stores such as amazon or ebay, or have a look in your local bookstore. Another good way to learn the game is by watching some of the poker tournaments on TV closely watching how the professionals play; the commentators usually explain the player’s actions reasonably well, and talk you through the game. When starting out you should always play at the low limit tables until you begin to grasp the basics of the game.

The play of a hand is as follows: Each player is dealt two cards face down before the first betting round, unless you have placed a small or big blind bet you have the option to continue or fold. The next deal is to the center of the table with the dealer placing three cards face up for everybody to see. This is followed by two more deals of one card each and one card to the center of the table with rounds of betting between, eventually making a total of five cards in the center of the table. These five cards are common to all of the player’s hands. When all of the betting is completed the player with the best five-card poker hand created from the seven cards that make up his hand wins. Occasionally the five cards in the center might be the best hand and in this case all of the players who are still in the game would tie and share the pot.

Your starting hands and the advance play are the main reasons to read and watch the way good players play the game. Excellent starting hands start with pocket aces and decline in value to lower pairs. Ace King suited or unsuited are reasonable starting hands, but can also be chip burners if the flop does not pair either the ace or the king. Just watch any tournament on TV to see how often this starting hand is beat by a low pair or forced to fold by aggressive betting.

When you bet and are raised by two or more players, its best to fold unless you have a really good starting hand and you are confident. If two players keep raising it is unlikely they are bluffing. If the table folds or checks to you and you are the last potential better you should consider betting with a raise since they have all checked to your call. When playing poker you must watch out for the “sand bagger” this is a player who is holding a excellent hand but plays it quietly waiting until the end to place a large bet, every now and then you can figure these players out by betting or raising. Some say poker is a game of luck, but there is definitely a skill element involved, which you can become skilled at with practice

When you eliminate Texas Holdem betting strategies from the poker table, Hold em is nothing more than a game of luck. However, when the chips are on the table poker turns out to be a game of sheer tactics and mental shrewdness

The game of Texas Hold em requires two forced bets (per round) called the big blind and small blind. When the betting comes around to you in a clockwise sequence, you have one of four choices:

1. Bet – When you are “under the gun,” you place an amount of chips equal to the big blind. This goes into the pot.
2. Call – Calling is matching the the amount of the prior bet.
3. Raise – To call a raise requires you first match what another player bet. Afterward you can “raise” to whatever amount you choose.
4. Fold – To fold is simply dropping out of a hand. Nothing to win. Nothing to lose.

When you sit down at the poker table, you will quickly observe there are two extreme bettors.

1. Manic – The Maniac pushes the action, whether he has a hand or not. At first, the Maniac is quick to double or triple his chip stack. For all that, the need for action often leaves the Maniac knocked out of sit and go’s or refilling his bankroll.

2. Passive – The Rock often checks or calls and never raises unless he possesses a monster hand. Due to his passiveness, the Rock constantly loses chips and is in the long run out of the tournament and having to refill his account.

Texas Hold em betting is not just throwing chips into the pot, or paying to see the flop. Actually, there is a strategy, which should be involved. David Sklansky said there are five reasons why you place a bet:

1. You want to get more chips in the pot.
2. You want to drive other players out.
3. You want to bluff (or semi-bluff).
4. You want to get a free card.
5. You want to gain information on the other player (s).

Here are five poker betting strategies you can use to improve your Texas holdem poker play.

1. Value Bet: With the value bet, you are proding for information. The feeler bet will always let you know where you stand in the hand. If you never bet, you will never know what your opponents are holding. It is for this purpose you use it to get a “feel” for the strength of your hand also the strength of your opponents hand.

2. Stealing the Blinds: A strategy worth expanding in poker is taking down uncontested blinds and pots! Stealing the blinds over time will win you more money than you will lose. There some things you should give thought to before you start stealing the blinds is the caliber of players at the table, your own table image, sensing weakness at the table and the size of the bet.

3. Check Raise: This is also known as trapping. The check raise works by acting weak in hopes of hiding your strength. With any luck, this will induce a bluff or at least a misinformed bet from your opponent to get him to put his chips to the pot.

4. Continuation Bet: Representing the Flop is showing strength before the flop, most often with over cards. Oftentimes you will miss the flop, but continue to show strength through betting, as if you have a real hand. The secret to successfully pulling off the continuation bet is to narrow your opponents down to one or two at the most. Here is the rule of representing the flop: If you make a pre-flop raise, you must bet after the flop. Period. This includes when you do not hit your cards. Do not be one of those morons who raises with Big Slick before the flop…only to check after the flop when it comes out garbage. Players who do that are faint of heart.

5. Squeezing: You squeeze when you believe someone is on a flush or straight draw but does not have it. Raising in this situation may keep the player from staying in the hand, not wanting to put at risk his stack on the likelihood of missing his straight or flush. Watch out, unless you already have a strong hand, this type of texas holdem betting strategy could boomerang.

Try putting into practice these five Hold’em betting strategies and watch your Holdem game improve.

With the help of television the poker game Texas Hold’em has found it’s way into the living rooms and onto the tables of amateur poker players everywhere. The result is an explosion of curiosity and interest into how this game is actually played.

There are two types of poker players. The one’s you usually see on ESPN and other television shows are called no-limit players. The other kind is called the low-limit, and that is amateurs.

Most low-limit Texas Hold’em games have a betting structure of $2/4, $3/6, or $4/8. These kinds of Texas Hold’em betting structures can be found mostly in online game rooms.

So, the basics of Texas hold’em are that you are given 2 cards initially. These are called pocket cards. These players will match the cards with the five community cards which are dealt later in the game. You will match your pocket cards to the five community cards to make the best poker hand possible. The one with the best hand wins.

Suppose we use the Texas Hold’em betting structure of $2/4 where you have a limit of $2 for each of the first 2 rounds. At the last 2 rounds, your bet limit increases to $4. Your raise or your bet depends on the limit set for that round.

The game starts with two “blind” bets. The player to the left of the dealer posts a small bet which is half of the bet that was set before the start of the game. The player next will the place the bigger blind bet that is equal to the minimum bet. The third player to the left of the dealer will start the first betting round.

In Texas Hold’em, the first betting round ends with the player who made the small blind. The player who posted the big blind can either raise or “check” the bet if the player before him made a call. In Texas Hold’em, to check means to pass up the chance of making a bet.

After the last player makes his move, the new dealer will deal the first three cards face up. This stage in the game is called the flop. The second round of betting begins at $2. When the flop round is completed, the dealer flips the fourth card, or the turn. Following the Texas Hold’em betting rules, the bet now starts at $4. After the forth round, the dealer will now turn the first card face up. This is called the river. After this turn you will be able to start forming your poker hand. The player with the best hand wins.