104inc.com wonders:


Hold-em or fold-em? That is the question. And if you can make the correct decision at key times during regular cash games, or even tournaments (I’ll get into tournament play in the upcoming installments), then you’ll be on top of the game, not under the table.

The game of poker is not really a game, but rather a testament of will, wisdom, patience, and a little bit of luck. Okay, maybe more than just a little luck.

First things first, where do you play? Well, for simple and easy access to casinos and card rooms in your vicinity, log on to 104Poker.com. With its state-of-the-art geo-targeting technology, it will automatically bring up the closest casinos to you – without having to type in your zip code! I tried it and it really worked for me. I simply logged on to 104Poker.com and it gave me a listing of all the casinos in my area, conveniently with addresses, phone numbers, and even a link to get me directions.

Okay, poker junkies, now that we know how to get there, let’s prepare with a crash course on strategic play for the “Cadillac of Poker” – Texas Hold ‘Em.

Pre-Flop play (Part 1)

Everyone is dealt two cards, face down. Simple enough, right? Well, looking at your cards seems like an easy task, however it will determine the entire tone set for the hand. The key is not to look at your cards until it’s your turn. And don’t bust out your cell phone and text your friend at the next table. Look at your opponents’ reactions as they look at their cards. Did you see it? Did you see that look of disgust on someone’s face, and the eyes of another player light up? Well, it’s these subconscious pieces of information that you will need to determine whether to hold-em, or fold-em.

Stay tuned for Part II of Pre-Flop play, coming soon!

Pre-Flop play (Part 2)

OK poker fans, in our last installment we began to touch on the fine art of reading players pre-flop. The key is information – and speaking of information, if you need any help finding casinos or anything poker related, log on to 104Poker.com

Now, every single movement, action, reaction can be used against the player at the table at any time; in any case, we’ll get into reading players later in this series. Let’s deal with working on pre-flop play. The biggest deciding factor for you to either fold or hold your cards can be summed up by one word: position. Position. Position. Position.

You see that little white disc on the table labeled ‘dealer’? Where that little guy is will determine how you play your hand. If you have the ‘dealer’ disc in front of you (term known as being ‘on the button’) you are in the strongest position because you get to act after everyone else; in this position, you can see how many players have already folded, who’s raised, etc. Why is this an advantage? Simply put, would you rather face-off with 10 players or just 3 or 4? The higher the number of players in a pot, the higher percentage of your hand getting cracked by a potentially worse starting hand.

Here’s a little cheat-sheet. You want to be as close to that button as possible, so that you can see more of your opponents’ movements prior to you making your move, ultimately making your decision easier. For example, let’s say you are dealt 10-J off-suit. If you were in late position and one person raised and a few people called, you would lay down this mediocre hand. However, if you are on the button and half the table has folded, then you can pounce on your opponents with timely aggression, raising the pot to try to steal blinds. And in the event the remaining player(s) call you, you will still have the luxury of acting after they do, making your decision to check, raise, or fold that much easier.

This may be a bit of information overload at the moment, so I’ll let you soak that in until my next installment. In the meantime, go to 104Poker.com for all your poker needs!

jon don wonders:


There have been quite a few questions around here lately about Texas Hold’Em because of the recent Tournament. I’m going to try to answer as many as I can, and any further questions about the game I can answer behind this post.

OK… Let’s begin.

1. Texas Hold’Em is based on Regular Poker, except for a few minor variations. In Regular 5-Card Poker, You try to make the best hand possible out of your 5 cards that are dealt to you.

Cards are in suits and numbers. Suits have no ranking, but the numbers and letters do.

Suits:

Diamonds

Clubs

Hearts

Spades

Numerical Rank (from lowest to highest):

A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J(Jack) Q(Queen) K(King) A(Ace) (Aces may be used high or low).

The possible hands are listed below (note that no two cards can be the exact same (value & suit) at any time in your hand):

1. High card (lowest hand in poker): No 2 cards alike, unsuited. Use the highest card in your hand.

2. Pair (Beats high card): 2 like cards, with 3 other unlike cards (i.e., A A 7 3 9).

3. Two Pair (Beats a pair): 2 sets of 2 like cards (each set different from the other), with one card unlike the other sets (i.e., 7 7 A A J).

4. 3 of a Kind (Beats two pair): 3 cards all alike, with two unlike cards (i.e., Q Q Q 8 3)

5. Straight (Beats 3 of a kind): 5 consecutive cards, unsuited. A suited straight is a straight flush. (i.e., 2H 3H 4D 5C 6S)

6. Flush (Beats straight): 5 cards all of the same suit, not consecutive. (i.e., 6 of Diamonds, 8 of Diamonds, 4 of Diamonds, A of Diamonds, J of Diamonds)

7. Full House (Beats flush): a 3 of a kind plus a pair. (i.e., 5 5 5 8

8. 4 of a kind (Beats full house): 4 like cards plus one unlike card (i.e., 10 10 10 10 K)

9. Straight Flush (Beats 4 of a kind): 5 consecutive suited cards (i.e., 7 8 9 10 J, all of clubs).

10. Royal Flush (beats straight flush): Essentially the highest straight flush possible (i.e., A K Q J 10 of the same suit).

In No-Limit Texas Hold’Em, there are some slight differences in the play of the game, however the hand rankings remain the same.

Before any cards are dealt, 2 people are “forced” to make a bet. These people are called “blinds.” The “small blind” must post one-half of the required minimum bet, while the “big blind” must post the entire minimum bet. Then, all players are dealt 2 cards face down, so that only the player may see them. A round of betting then occurs. Players at this time decide whether they’re in or out. Each player must post a bet equal to the big blind in order to remain in the hand. If the player does not want to bet this hand, s/he folds his/her cards and sits out the hand.

However, if a player wants to post a bet larger than the big blind, they may do so. This is called “raising.” The raise must be equivalent to double the big blind or greater. All players who wish to stay in must bet again or fold their cards. Once the bet gets around to the big blind, they may choose to bet again or “check,” which means they do not want to raise their bet, however, they want to stay in the hand.

At this time, all chips are collected and placed in the center of the table. In a regular game at an online poker room (player-vs-player), the house at this time will take a percentage of the pot, known as a “rake”, as payment for its services of hosting the game (explained in further detail below). Now, the top card on the deck is “burned” (placed face-down and out of play) and 3 “community” cards (cards that can be used by everyone) are dealt face-up. This is known as the “Flop.”

Another round of betting then occurs. Players may check if no bet is on the table, bet at least the big blind, raise, or fold. After the completion of betting, the chips are collected, the house will take its rake, the top card is burned, and the fourth community card will be dealt, known as the “Turn.”

Another round of betting occurs. After all bets are complete, the rake is taken, another card is burned and the fifth and final community card is dealt, known as the “river.”

A final round of betting then occurs. When all bets are complete, the players remaining in the hand reveal their cards. However, if a player reveals their cards before another and the player decides not to show what they had, they may “muck” (leave the cards face-down and pass them to the dealer) and let the other player take the pot.

If two or more players have the same hand that cannot be improved by their hole cards (a community hand), then those players shall split the pot. If players’ hands are equal, but not by a community hand, the tie shall be broken by using the players’ highest hole card. If these are also equal, then both players will split the pot.

THENKS TO www.blackjake.net

THENKS TO www.blackjake.net

Jared Sid Maher wonders:


Like most everything else, poker has its own language and terminology, and online poker has even more in-words that make sense only to those in the know. You can play poker without knowing what most of these terms actually mean. You can, but it helps if you know at least the basics. Aside from helping you to look like an experienced player, instead of a novice, it can also help if you do any reading about poker.

There is quite a large amount of poker terms, and it can seem quite daunting to a new player – almost like a foreign language! But you can break it down into easy to manage segments. Learn the basics first – there isn’t that much – and the rest will most likely naturally follow. Then get to grips with the abbreviations used at the poker tables in the chat box, and before you know it, you’ll be talking like a world champion poker pro.

First things first; the deal, the flop, the turn, the river. These are terms you really do need to know. The deal – every one in the game gets dealt two cards. The flop – the first three community cards dealt face up in the middle of the table. The turn is the next card, or fourth card, dealt, also face up in the middle of the table. And last, is the river. That is, you guessed it, the last community card dealt face up in the center of the table.

That’s not so complicated after all. They are really just ‘trade’ names for the cards that are dealt.

Next, the ‘blinds’. They are basically just bets. Why are they called ‘blinds’ then? Well, they are bets that you must make before seeing your cards, so they are ‘blind bets’. Small blind and big blind? The big blind is twice the size of the small blind, that’s all. Call, fold, raise? Ok, ‘call’ isn’t really obvious; it just means to match any bet made. To Fold simply means to ‘fold’ your hand, or choose to not continue playing that particular ‘hand’ or game. To Raise is obviously to increase the bet, or bet more. To check is to not bet

It might seem like a lot, but after very few hands most players have picked up the basics. Those few terms will be enough to know in order to sit and play a game of poker. Of course it gets more complicated than that. The thing is, you can sit at an online poker table and nobody else need know that you haven’t a clue what term means what. At an online poker table you can just point and click. It would help if you knew that clicking on the Fold button meant to ‘muck’ or ‘throw in’ your cards, but after doing that once or twice you’ll figure it out.

The tricky thing about online poker rooms is that the players do like to chat with each other – in the chat box – and lots of these players use abbreviations for the most common phrases in use. This can be really hard to pick up on, especially for players whose first language isn’t English. But you know what? If you don’t understand anything you can always ask. Ok it might give away the fact that you are a new player, but when you are a world champion professional player – you can still ask! Then they won’t know what hit ‘em!

Sam Strasting wonders:


First off if your going to play this wonderful game you will need a place to play, here is my favorite site.(This is not a site to play poker, this site refers you to the best site for you!)

WWW.CRUCIALCASINO.COM

The complete rules for Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Texas Hold ‘Em (or Texas Holdem) is the primary version of Poker played in many casinos, and it’s the version seen on television shows like the Travel Channel’s World Poker Tour and ESPN’s World Series of Poker.

These are the basic rules for Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.

The Shuffle, The Deal and The Blinds

The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck.

(In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc — known as a "dealer button" — moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the game went along.)

Most Texas Hold ‘Em Poker games start with the two players to the left of the dealer (the button) putting a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there’s something to play for on every hand. This is called "posting the blinds." Most often, the "first blind" — the player to the left of the dealer — puts up half the minimum bet, and the "second blind" puts up the full minimum bet.

Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the "hole cards."

Betting Begins

A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet.

The Flop

After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop."

NOTE: Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table. Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer (the button). During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet.

Fourth Street

The dealer burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn" or "Fourth Street."

The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

Fifth Street

The dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the "river" or "Fifth Street."

Final Betting and The Winner

Players can now use any combination of seven cards — the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them — to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (the button).

After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first.

The player with the best hand wins.

Marty Smith wonders:


Playing poker while in the blinds is almost guaranteed to be a losing proposition, especially the small blind because you often have to turn down great odds while holding brutally weak hole cards. In sit and go tournaments, it’s critical that you don’t lose your cool over having to fold too much from the small blind, because what you are actually doing is making it as profitable as the unfortunate position can be.

If you are using a poker calculator like tournament indicator while playing sit and go tournaments, you will find that the odds display will show that to “fill up the small blind” are actually favorable to call almost any hand when there are multiple limpers. It’s fair to call in some of the spots, but most times you should still fold with the real bad Group 9 (or worse) Sklansky hands like J3os, 92os, or 84os. You should be looking for one, two or three gapped connectors, suited cards with an ace or face, and T5s for straight potential.

The advantage of calling with a wide variety of hands in a passive mode from the small blind is that your opponents will not be able to put you on a hand after the flop. So your AJos or your 68s can turn into monsters, but the successful strategy is to keep those hands very cheap to see pre-flop. Don’t get caught out of position against multiple players, with weak hole cards calling raises.

One of the biggest challenges in playing in the small blind is psychological, in that you may always feel you are being pushed around. That can be very frustrating, but that’s also what you should feel here because your position is always inferior after the flop. It’s like that age old office desk strategy during negotiations. The big guy behind the desk is always in a bigger, more expensive chair looking down on you. He too has “position”.

When playing the small blind in online NL hold’em tournaments, self control is a critical piece of your skill set, where you are constantly fighting the urge to fight back with a re-raise or “taking a stand” as they call it. Still, it is most prudent, especially in the lower levels to be more tight and passive in the early stages, and simply wait for the chips to come to you. Given time and patience, the aggressive players are often too aggressive and you will eventually win bigger pots by letting them give you chips, rather than starting little fights over small pots, in the early blind stages.

Eric Madsen wonders:


Call: When a player matches the prior bet on the table, that action is termed the call.

Cap: The last permitted raise in a betting round is called the cap. We allow three raises beyond the initial bet in limit games. The third raise is the cap.

Check: If there is no bet on the table and you do not wish to place a bet, that action is termed a check. You may only check when there are no pending bets.

Client: The term for the software that you download to your computer, allowing you to interact with the poker room’s servers.

Collusion: A form of cheating where two or more players attempt to gain an unfair advantage by sharing information. We do not tolerate cheating.

Community Cards: Face up cards on the table that are shared by all players are termed community cards. Texas Hold’em and Omaha always have community cards. In stud games, a community card is dealt in place of the last down card when too few cards remain in the deck for each player to receive a down card.

Dead Blind: In a situation where you have missed your blinds and wish to re-enter the game before your turn to post the big blind. You must post both blinds and the small blind is termed a dead blind, meaning it does not count towards calling a bet.

Dead Hand: A hand no longer in the game.

Door Card: The first face-up card dealt with the two down cards in 7 Card Stud games.

Down Cards: The face-down cards dealt to a player.

Drawing Dead: This describes the situation when a player is trying to draw a card to complete a hand when there is already a hand that will beat it, even if made.

Drop: To drop your hand when you decide not to go further with your hand; to return your cards to the muck. Same as fold.

Face Down: Dealt cards that are not visible to other players.

Face Up: Dealt cards that are visible to all players.

Fifth Street: The term for the fifth card in 7 Card Stud and the fifth board card in Hold’em.

Flop: In Texas Hold’em, the set of 3 face-up community cards; the first three cards on the board, all dealt at the same time.

Flush: Any 5 cards in one hand that are all the same suit.

Fold: Withdraw from further participation in the current hand. Also see drop.

Forced Bet: A mandatory bet. In certain games, a player is required to bet, having sat-in the game. Also see bring-in.

Four of a Kind: A great hand … all 4 of one rank. For example, 4 Tens.

Eric Madsen wonders:


Screen Name: The identity you select by which you are known in the poker room. We only allow one player to use a screen name so please understand if the one you have selected is already taken.

See: This is a synonym of call. It is often used in conjunction with the term raise, as in “I’ll see your $10 and raise you $10.”

Self-install: The term used to describe how the file you download from our web site is automatically installed and configured on your computer when you double-click on the file.

Server: The computer, or set of computers, providing a service to client computers. In this case the service is the poker room.

Showdown: After the final bet, when all players show their hands or muck, is known as the showdown.

Side Pot: This is a pot created when a player goes all-in. The side pot is the pot available to those players not all-in at that point. There can, on occasion, be more than one side pot.

Single Table Tournament: A poker table at which you may buy-in to a seat. All buy-in money goes to the prize pool. The prize pool is returned to the top finishers per the payout table on the tournaments page. A fee is normally required to play at this table. Players are staked to equal numbers of chips and play until one player has won all the chips. Single table tournaments begin as soon as the table has filled.

Sit Out: We permit you to hold your seat at a table while not participating in some hands. Under most conditions, we limit the time you may sit out to a small number of hands. In blind games, you may be asked to post the equivalent of the blind if you return to your seat prior to the blind reaching you. To sit out you click a check box on the table screen. To return, you unclick the “sit out” check box.

Small Blind: In Hold’em and Omaha, this is the mandatory bet required of the player to the left of the dealer.

Speed Tournament: A fast-paced single- or multi-table tournament where the blinds levels increase every 3 minutes.

Stakes: See buy-in.

Straight: A hand in which the player has five cards in rank order. Suit does not matter. For example, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen.

Straight Flush: A straight all of the same suit.

Stud: The generic term for poker games where players receive the first card(s) down followed by some up cards where those up cards are exclusively for the use of that player. There may be a further down card as in 7 Card Stud.

Suit: One of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, or Spades (in rank order).

Table Stakes: The value of the chips with which a player sits down at a table. Also a term for no-limit poker.

Texas Hold’em: The poker game where each player gets two down cards followed by five community cards face-up.

Third Street: The nickname for the third card in any game of Stud.

Three of a kind: A hand consisting three cards of the same rank.

Tournament Buy-In: The cost to enter a tournament. All buy-in money is returned to the players via the prize pool.

Tournament Entry-Fee: A small fee the house charges to enter a tournament.

Trips: A nickname for three of a kind.

Turbo Tournament: A lightning-paced tournament. For single tables, the blinds levels increase every 1 minute; for multi-table tournaments, every 2 minutes.

Turn: The nickname for the fourth community card in Hold’em and Omaha.

Two Pair: A hand in which the player has two pairs of cards.

Under-raise: This occurs when a player raises a prior bet but has to go all-in to do so. If the player under-raising … going all-in to raise … has less than ½ of the expected raise for that betting round, the betting round is locked. The term locked here means that any player who has already acted in the round (checked, called, or raised) may no longer raise. They may only call or fold. However, players who have yet to act (betting has not reached them yet) may raise the expected raise for that betting round, after calling. If the under-raise is ½ or more than the expected raise, the lock rule does not apply.

Up Card: A card dealt face up, so that all players may see it.

Wheel: A nickname for the best low hand: 5, 4, 3, 2, A.ze pool.

Freeze-out: A game in which players start with a specified amount and then can buy no further chips, with the game continuing until one player has all the chips. This is a common tournament structure. Also written freezeout.

Full House: A hand in which you have a combination of 3 of a kind, and a pair.

Graphics: The term for the artwork used to present you with the images of a poker room, including the table, chairs, avatars, cards, and chips.

Hand: A set of cards used by a player during a single round. Another word for a single round of shuffling, dealing, and betting.

Heads Up: A game where only two players remain in contention for the pot.

Head to Head: A game where only two players may participate.

High Card: The card with the highest rank.

High/Low: A variation of a game where the pot is split between the best hand and the worst hand. The worst hand is comprised of the 5 lowest cards. Most poker rooms, including this one, consider 5, 4, 3, 2, A (the wheel) as the lowest possible hand, despite it also being a straight.

Hold’em: Also called Texas Hold’em. One of the most popular poker games. Each player gets 2 down cards and can use 3, 4 or 5 of the community cards.

Hole Cards: The down cards in a player’s hand.

In: A term for being an active player; one who has not folded.

Inside Straight: The term applied when a player has 4 of 5 cards needed for a straight with the missing card being inside the sequence rather than at either end, and gets the missing card. For example, a player holding 3, 4, 5, 7 needs a 6 to complete the straight. Getting that 6 is termed “making the inside straight.”

Jackpot: A bonus opportunity to win under specific circumstances set by the poker room.

Kicker: The term for the card used to break ties between two of a kind or between Two Pair.

Live Blind: A blind that counts towards any bet you call or raise.

Main Pot: The initial pot of money. When one or more players go all-in, a side pot is created for each all-in player.

Muck: As a noun, this refers to the pile of folded cards and discarded cards. As a verb, at showdown time, the act of returning a losing hand to the dealer face-down.

Multi-Table Tournament: A tournament where players at more than one table compete, starting with equal numbers of chips, until one player has won all the chips. Prize payouts are a function of the number of entrants, and are posted on the tournaments page. Multi-table tournaments have a posted start time, and require registration in advance.

No Limit: A variation of the betting rules in which each bet is unlimited up to the number of chips a player has on the table (NL).

Omaha: A game in which each player receives 4 face-down cards and shares 5 community cards. The winning hand must use exactly 2 down cards and 3 community cards. This game also has a High/Low variant.

Omaha High/Low: This game allows players to compete for a pot split between the highest and the lowest hands using 2 down cards and 3 community cards. A player may use different sets of cards to make up the best high and the best low hands.

On the button: This term means you are in the dealer position in Texas Hold’em and Omaha games. The dealer position is marked by a “button” with a “D” in the center.

One on One: See head to head.

Option: This term refers to the option given the big blind player the option of raising before the flop.

Overcard: In stud, if you assume your opponent has a pair of sevens, then every card above seven in your hand is considered an overcard.

Pair: Also called two of a kind. This is a hand where the player’s best hand is made up of 2 cards of the same rank.

Pass: Can be used in place of either pass or fold depending on the context.

Play Chips: The chips used for play money games. Play chips have no monetary value.

Playing the Board: Using all the community cards in Hold’em as your best hand.

Pocket Cards: The term for the two down cards at the start of the hand.

Pot: The chips available to win in any given hand.

Pot Limit: A variation on betting where each player may bet up to the current amount in the pot (PL).

Profile: A term describing the information a player may enter about himself/herself that may be available, at the player’s option, to other players in the poker room. Your profile may include your favorite hobby, favorite web site, favorite quote, and more.

Rake: The amount of money, in chips, taken by the house as the service fee.

Raise: The act of increasing the amount bet by a prior bettor.

Sacha Tarkovsky wonders:


Texas holdem is the poker player’s game of choice and where the big prize money is to be made. Many players want to play Texas Holdem to win and win big.

Here we will cover the basics to get you started on your route to playing Texas Holdem and hopefully winning some big pots.

In its no limit form, it is used now in world class poker tournaments, and is the most popular of all the poker games today by far.

The game is played from two to ten players usually, though it can accommodate up to 22.

Playing the Game

To begin, the dealer will deal 2 cards face down to each player (these are known as a players ‘hole cards’).

The first round of betting will then follow immediately.

As the initial round of betting completes, the dealer will deal the first 3 ‘community cards’ face up (this is also called the ‘flop’). The second round of betting then follows.

At this point, the dealer will deal the 4th community card, again face up (called the ‘turn’ or fourth street). The third round of betting then follows.

The dealer will deal 5th community card face up (called the ‘river’ or fifth street), and the 4th and then the final round of betting begins.

All players use any combination of their 2 hole cards plus the 5 community cards to create the best possible 5 card poker hand.

The highest scoring hand then wins the pot and the hand is completed

Rules and Playing Etiquette

Although it’s a relatively easy game to learn, there is still a great deal of strategy to follow if you aim to win. Let’s start with the basics of the game and the order of play.

Where you happened to be sitting can be crucial in Texas Hold’em.

For example, if you are the last to act on a particular hand, it allows you to watch and react to what opponents are doing.

Keep in mind if your first you are at severe disadvantage as you do not know how to react as the players have given you no indication of how strong or weak their hands might be.

The rule is that the dealer is always the last to act in a given round of Texas Hold’em.

So, in order to keep the game fair, there is dealer rotation around the table.

The ‘dealer’ (or virtual dealer) has the advantage of acting last for any round. After the end of every round the dealer button rotates one player clockwise.

In Texas Hold’em not every player will paying an ante.

Instead, the first 2 players to the left of the dealer must post ‘blind bets’ before the dealer deals the first 2 cards.

They are known as ‘blind bets’ as the player pays the bets before seeing their cards. They therefore enter the game ‘blind’ with no idea how strong or weak their hand is

Actually the first player to the left of the dealer makes a ‘small blind’ bet, and the second player to the left of the dealer makes a ‘big blind’ bet. This works in the following way

The ‘big blind’ bet will equal the small bet, and the ‘small blind’ bet will be about half of the small bet.

For example a $20/$40 game would have a big blind of $20 and a small blind of $10. The first round of betting use the blinds to begin

Therefore, the $20 big blind would be the starting amount players must call to remain in the hand.

Also if no players raise the starting bet, the blinds are not required to re-pay their bet to remain.

That is, if no player raises the starting bet the big blind would not need to pay anything more to stay in, the small blind would have to pay the balance of the $20 bet, which in this case would be $10 to remain.

Also, it’s crucial to remember that players ‘hole cards’ are only as good as the community cards. What does this effectively mean?

It means that having an A-K in the hole is not very good odds for the player.

If the community cards are, say Q-Q-9-9-J. The cards do not match into any hand of value.

Furthermore, it can be assumed some other player could make a full house of queens or nines!

Finally, it’s very useful to watch the flop.

You can gauge the quality of your hand as 5 of your 7 cards can tell you how good your hand is in relation to the others, by watching the way they bet or react.

The Best Hand Does Not Always Win!

This covers the basics of Texas Holdem; the rest is strategy and experience.

Texas Holdem is a game of psychology and not always the best hand wins.

The psychology of Texas Holdem is not learned over night. It takes a long time and you need practice on how to play your cards, or more importantly the players you are competing with.

It is the psychological aspect that makes the game so exciting. In Texas Holdem it’s a brutal battle where only the strong survive but if you can the rewards can be immense.

Good Luck!