77 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE RULES OF TEXAS HOLD�EM So you're new to Texas Hold�em poker? Not a problem.
Texas Hold 'em poker is by far the best game for a beginner to learn. Instead of other poker games like Omaha High or 7 card stud which entail a great many more possibilities for calculating odds and perhaps even trying to count cards, Hold�em can be learned in a few minutes by anyone, and you can be playing fairly well with a few hours practice. In order to learn the game, however, you must play and you must play fairly often.
All Online Poker Casinos today offer a wide variety of play money tables for beginners to practice their skills until they're ready to move up to the fun at real money tables.
78 A Texas Hold�em poker game goes as follows: 1. The betting structure can vary, but most games start with two players placing out a predetermined amount of money so there is an initial amount to play for. This is called posting the blinds. These players are the two to the left of the Dealer.
2. The Dealer shuffles up a complete deck of 52 playing cards.
3. Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called your hole or pocket cards.
4. Then there is a round of betting starting with the guy to the left of the two who posted the blinds. This round is usually referred to by the term pre-flop.
5. The amount betted depends on the table stakes, which are posted before you join the table.
6. Much like most games of poker, players can check, Raise, or fold.
7. After the betting round ends, the Dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a Burn Card. This is done to prevent cheating.
79 8. The Dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table.
These cards are called the flop. These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.
9. There is another round of betting starting with the player to the left of the Dealer.
10. After the betting concludes, the Dealer burns another card and flips one more onto the table. This is called the turn card. Players can use this sixth card now to form a five-card poker hand.
11. The player to the left of the Dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games, this is where the bet size doubles.
12. Finally, the Dealer burns a card and places a final card face up on the table. This is called the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five-card poker hand.
13. There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the Dealer.
14. After that, all of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. It's called the showdown.
80 15. The player with the best hand wins! LEARNING HOW TO PLAY It's difficult to learn to play Texas Hold 'em in the traditional setting of a casino's poker room without losing to experienced gamblers. Thankfully, you can practice all you want for free with online poker rooms.
The only way to learn the game is to play. And pay attention.
Check out Online Casinos to get a feel for the action. Play all you want for free, and start playing for real money when you feel ready. They have both low limits (betting) for newer players as well as high stakes tables. Since we mention betting, let�s look at the basics.
THE BASICS OF BETTING? A bet is a declaration that either - a)?I have the best hand and I'll wager money on it? or b)?You have a poor hand, and you will fold if you are forced to wager on it?.
Typically, players are supposed to bet when they have a good hand.
Players who don't have good hands are supposed to fold.
Of course, if this was the case, we all might as well wager on flipped coins. Most players play contrary to this idea, attempting to be clever or deceptive. Don't fall into this trap when you are just learning to play.
81 Keep it simple. Don�t be clever. Bet when you think you will win and fold when you can�t. But there are going to be situations where you should bet even if your cards aren�t the best.
Here are some situations you should start looking at to improve your game.
BLIND STEALING Texas Hold�em is unique because the two blinds are �in� whether they want to or not.
As a result of being forced to bet, they are also less committed than a player who really believes they can win - but since they have to bet, they would be fools not to stay in the game.
Now imagine you are the Dealer, and only you and the two blinds are still in. In this situation, if you Raise against them, your Raise is called ?blind-stealing?. Why? Your Raise is forcing the blinds into a situation where they may fold.
Remember, they are only in the hand because they have to be.
It�s easy to push players in this situation out of the game. It�s likely that if you didn't Raise and just called, the blinds would probably check. You can make money this way, especially if the blinds are looser players. It�s also a way to get the hand over so you can go on to the next game.
THE STEAL Raise The choice spot in a betting round is the �cat-bird seat�. You are the last in sequence to bet so you get to see what the other players are up to. If all the other players have checked to you, and you bet 82 (regardless of your hand), you can often force the other players to fold. Taking the pot in this situation is called steal-raising.
Obviously, if you try this every time, the better players will be onto you and see through your tactic. It�s a great idea to steal Raise when you have a good drawing hand such as a flush draw.
THE CHECK Raise Most Texas Hold�em tables will permit raising after you have checked.
Check raising is a technique to build the pot. If you have a winning hand and you bet right away, you may chase away players who could add to the pot. So let�s say you check. Another player sees an advantage, assumes you are uncertain about your hand and Raises. Now you can Raise their bet again. It�s unlikely at this point that they will fold having committed to the round by raising the bet.
THE OPENER This is a very traditional Bluffing move. The first person following the blinds in the round Raises aggressively, making all other players call both the blind and the Raise. The only reason a player would do this so early in the game is to limit the number of players. Usually you will see a number of players fold. The ones left though will have great hands or will refuse to be intimidated by this tactic. Some people call this move �betting for information�.
This only works with small groups of players.
83 HOW TO WIN MONEY IN TEXAS HOLD�EM BEFORE THE FIRST CARD IS EVEN DEALT Decisions, decisions, decisions. Poker is a game of constant decisions. They range from the critical to the mundane and they occur at a dizzying pace; often dozens of times per minute. Online card play is especially fierce and the pressure can be intense.
Do I Raise? Do I stay? Do I call? Do I fold? Even when a loss attributed to a wrong decision is small, it eventually adds up. Making the best decisions based on the information you have at hand is the key to beating your opponents.
84 A great example of a critical decision in Texas Hold'em that happens on almost every hand is the problem associated with defending a Small Blind. Suppose that while playing online in a Texas Hold'em game, with $1 and $2 blinds, a player always defends their Small Blind � stays in even with a garbage hand because they�ve already invested the $2. Based on the random distribution of cards, you're typically dealt such a throwaway hand about one-third of the time.
At 50 - 60 hands per hour - a typical pace in online card rooms - the average player is dealt the Small Blind six times every 60 minutes. If they always call, they wind up calling twice each hour when they should be folding. That's $6 per hour minimum. If you play ten hours per week, at the end of the year you've given away over three thousand dollars. Ouch.
That�s only one example of the kind of �big picture� thinking that can make the difference between being a winner or a loser over the long haul.
All the latest research (from the online casino�s themselves) show quite clearly that over 50% of your winnings at the online poker table will be determined BEFORE YOU ARE DEALT A SINGLE CARD (some would suggest it�s even higher than 50%).
Here are the Ten key non-card based �decisions� you must make in Texas Hold�em poker to be successful. Few of these have anything to do with the bricks and mortars version of the game. After the summary, we will go into more detail. But even if you never read the follow-up, if you adopt these simple basics your winnings will increase dramatically.
85 1. SELECT A CASINO. Rule number one. Be a member of no less than six online casinos so you can rotate and move around from casino to casino during play. Select only well-known casinos with excellent reputations for paying quickly and maintaining industryaccepted randomizing algorithms (more on this later).
2. SELECT A BETTING LIMIT. But only if it�s $1/2, $2/4 or $5/10 blinds. This section will discuss the research, the math, and the studies on human nature that prove conclusively that high-stake limit tables are not the place to make money. They are however an excellent place to lose large amounts of cash in a big hurry. The return on investment (ROI) is best at medium limit tables.
3. SELECT YOUR STAKE. No decision here if your smart. You must have 50 to 100 times the Big Blind. Any less and your chances of making money nose dive. More will only improve your table �cred� and help to intimidate weaker players.
4. SELECT A TABLE. Spend at least 15 minutes watching the play at each table. Review your notes if recognized players are present.
Check out at least three tables before you start. Then select the loosest table. To win at Texas Hold�em Poker you must play tight in loose games and play in loose games only. If all the tables are tight, run. Go back to Step 1.
5. SELECT A POSITION AT THE TABLE. Watch for the tightest player at the table. Pick a spot to that players left. We have dedicated an entire chapter later on to table position strategy.
6. TAKE NOTES ON PLAYERS. Record playing styles. Do they Raise before the flop? Do they fold before the flop? What�s the size of their stake? Do they react quickly or slowly when their turn 86 comes up? What kind of cards did they play on? Everyone should take player notes at casinos like Party Poker where they offer the feature. Don't know how to take notes? Just right-click on the avatar (picture) of the target player and click ?Player Notes?. That feature is there for a very good reason � use it.
7. TURN OFF CHAT. It�s distracting and rarely valuable. If you want to chat, use MSN � but never while you�re playing for money.
8. TURN OFF TV�s, MUSIC, OTHER DISTRACTIONS. Now is not the time to catch the score on your favorite game or consume a bucket of chicken. If anyone�s going to be distracted, it should be your opponents. Let them miss cues, watch their Stack disappear and wonder what happened.
9. PLAY TIGHT. Follow the Food Chain Theory. Learn the rules.
Understand the odds. Bet like a �shark�, not a �fish�.
10. PLAY FOR ONE HOUR � then take a break, regardless of whether you� re winning or losing. This will keep you sharper than the other players who are hanging on for that one last win.
And there you are. Ten steps that will make you thousands, maybe a lot more over time. Interested in understanding the machinery behind these basic rules? Read on.
Never Start Stack">Short Stacked! One of the keys to winning Poker is having enough chips. You need to be able to weather a streak of bad cards and be there when the cards finally turn in your favour.
87 So what would we suggest for a minimum Buy In? If you are playing a $2 - $4 game, start with at least $400 to $800 (roughly 100 times the big bet). The degree of variation accounts for your style of play. A super aggressive player should bring more to the table than a tighter player.
Bigger Stacks tend to get bigger respect as well. Especially from new players. So keeping a decent amount of chips in front of you not only improves your chances of winning, it provides an intimidation factor. However, you should always have enough chips available in your bank to jump into a different game. If you keep your whole Bankroll in front of you, you can't buy-in to second game without cashing out of the first.
The Awesome Power of Short Playing Sessions One big difference between the Internet and live bricks and mortar play is that players are constantly moving in and out of games.
The accessibility of the Internet allows players to just sit down and play a few hands, a few minutes, or maybe just an hour. In a live game, you generally are playing with the same opponents for at least a few hours and maybe even up to seven or eight hours. This rarely occurs on the Internet. How does this affect strategy? Your opponents will not have a very long time to evaluate your play. This means that you should play more straightforward and less deceptively than you would in a live game. One of the benefits of playing deceptively or trying a Bluff is the advertising value you receive on future hands when your opponents think you are a loose wild player. A loose table image can help you earn more chips later when you hold strong hands that your opponents call because they think you might be Bluffing. On the Internet, you 88 may not be sitting with the same opponents long enough to benefit from this image.
Against regular opponents, you still need to mix up your play on the Internet, but overall, you should mix it up less than you would in a live game. Against new opponents, the best strategy is to simply play a straightforward tight game without worrying too much about how your table image might affect future hands.
Some Useful Online Bluffing Tips On the Internet, you are dealing with names and avatars, not faces.
Some of the most powerful cues used in poker are no longer available to us. This psychological part of poker makes for a different type of game on the Internet. For example, there seems to be more Bluffing on the Internet compared to live games. Players feel far more anonymous on the Net and are therefore prone to wilder, less cautious moves.
Another reason why players may tend to Bluff more online than in a casino is the ease in which you can Bluff. Online you just have to click your mouse. In a live game, you have to physically move your chips and stare down your opponents at the table. Chips are popular in casinos because they remove us emotionally from the concept of real money. Studies have shown that players are more reckless with chips than with real cash. Online, we are even more removed from the idea that this is real money (they are virtual chips) so the average Bluffs are larger and more common.
�Overall, if you look at the data, players tend to be more deceptive online than in a live game. � Insider Tip 89 This impacts online strategies in two ways. First, you can�t assume your opponents are Bluffing all the time, but you will need to call and Raise a little more often against those opponents who are trying to win every pot.
On the other hand, you should probably Bluff a little less often since your opponents will tend to call you a little more. They also realize that players online Bluff a lot, so they will tend to call more even with weak hands. They will also find it easier to just click the mouse to call compared to physically moving their chips in a live game.
Remember! Early Decisions Matter Most Early choices in Texas Hold�em usually mean more than later ones because of their impact on subsequent decisions. Whenever you make an incorrect move up front, you run the risk of rendering each subsequent decision incorrect as well. That's why your choice of starting hands is usually much more critical than how you play on future betting rounds.
� Pre-flop: The person with the best two hole cards is most likely to win at showdown.
� After the flop: The player currently holding the best fivecard hand is most likely to win at showdown.
� After the turn card is dealt: The player currently holding the best five-card hand is most likely to win at showdown.
� After the river card is dealt: The player currently holding the best five-card hand has won at showdown.
What have we learned from this? The value of your present cards is always much greater than the expected value. If your opponent has you beat now and you know it, calling heavily for a card to 90 come is not tight play. Evaluating the hands of your opponents will only help your game if it helps you to avoid unreasonable risk.
Working The Lobby Don�t rush through the lobby of your favorite online casino.
Spending some time there can be as important as the time you spend playing the game itself. Take a walk around the room.
Check out the games and the limits being played. The online lobby offers a wealth of valuable information that is only a click away: info on the number of players seeing the flop, the average pot size, number of hands played per hour, names of the players in each game, who is on the waiting list, and how many games of a particular limit are in play.
This information is essential to choosing the right game and limit.
Some folks prefer wild games. Some prefer more Passive ones.
Some like full games; some like short-handed. Players who are nearly equally competent in all games can choose between a dozen or more games at the limit of their choice.
Game and table selection is a critical part of casino poker.
Fundamentally, it is even more important online. At first glance it might seem that table selection is less important online because it is extremely easy to move from one game to another. This is not the case. The tools are available for players to be constantly aware of where the good games are. Constant vigilance is a price of winning online.
When signing up for games, never choose the ?any game? at this limit option. This takes away your ability to manipulate your position on each sign-up list. For instance, if you�ve signed up for any $15/30 Hold�em game, and your name comes to the top of the 91 list in a game filled with players you don�t want to play with, if you Pass this game, you are removed from all the $15/30 lists automatically. Likewise, if you rise to the top of the list on a game that doesn't look good now, but has potential because of others behind you on the waiting list, you may want to un-join that list and then rejoin again at the bottom -- perhaps when your name, now sixth, rises to the top, the game will be good. If you�ve signed up for ?any game,? that option is not available to you. You simply will be put at the bottom of every single list you are on! At the most popular online card-rooms, you have greater options - and a lot of information to use in choosing. Don�t restrict yourself.
Keep several card-rooms on your computer to choose from. Look for the games that fit with your style. When your game style evolves and improves, cruise the lobby for a better fishing hole.
Keep constantly vigilant. Field intelligence is the key to winning.
Look For Distracted Players Many players assume that strategy for online and live games is the same. After all, you still receive two down cards, five community cards, and play against nine opponents. However, there are several characteristics unique to Internet play that requires subtle adjustments including playing shorter Sessions, adjusting your playing environment, and avoiding distractions at home. Let�s discuss these unique characteristics in a little more detail and the impact they may have on your strategy.
You�d be surprised how many players play two poker tables at one time, read e-mail, watch television, or even talk on the telephone while playing online poker. Those delays we all experience waiting for someone to take their turn is often caused 92 by something other than a complex odds calculation. Based on all of these distractions, some of your opponents may not be aware of all the action that is taking place. This is yet another reason to use less deception in your game, since some of your opponents will not even see some of your plays so that you can gain some future value out of them.
Since players move in and out of games a lot, can�t see your face, and are distracted by many other things, they tend to notice less that you are playing a tight game. In a live game, if you sit there a couple of hours without playing a hand, don�t expect a lot of action when you decide to bet or Raise. On the Internet, you can play a straightforward tight game for a long time and still get good action when you bet since opponents either do not notice or have not had enough time to realize that you are such a tight player.
On the other hand, if you don�t play many hands in a live game, your chances for pulling off a successful Bluff are high, while on the Internet I doubt this gives you much of an advantage. A Bluff on the Internet is usually only profitable by the merits of the play of the particular hand, not by table image.
So remember, table image is not as important online as in a live game. Play a more straightforward game with fewer Bluffs and protect your hands against those opponents who try to win every pot by Bluffing too much.
Look Around For Awhile Once you have a solid low limit game plan, this becomes extremely important for becoming a profitable online player. What good is being a good player if you only play against other good players? Everyone will shuffle his or her money back and 93 forth and the house will Rake it all. Fortunately there are many easy games online. Find games with players playing 50%+ hands pre-flop, most sites keep statistics of this on their table lists. Many sites also have note-keeping systems; you can flag a player as a fish. Every time you see players making poor decisions, mark them. If you spend enough time on a given site you�ll notice many players have been marked as poor. Join the games with these players. Look out for players with large (800$+) Bankrolls playing very low limit games (1-2$). These are usually tight aggressive players.
Monitor Their Stack Sizes Keep a very close eye on the exact size of the Stack">Short Stacks of the other players. Paradise Poker has a very poor rule where a bet of any size below a full bet does not constitute a Raise. For instance, playing $10/20, on the turn you check with the intention to check Raise. A player bets all-in for $19, and another calls. Your plan is screwed. All you can do is call. On the other hand, if you know that player has $21, you will be able to check Raise. In bricks and mortar casino poker, you very often can�t tell how many chips a player has left. Online you know within $1.
Another thing to consider is be careful about completing bets. If two people check, then somebody bets $19 all-in, you better have a super-monster to make it $20. Those first two players can�t check Raise the $19, but they can check Raise you when you make it $20. Likewise, a player behind you can Raise it to $40 if you make it $20, but can only Raise it to $20 if you just call.
While everyone has his or her favorite sites, it's best to Spread yourself around. Having six different online poker accounts makes it easy to find soft games at any given time. Don't miss out on profitable games because you have confined yourself to one site.