Playing Texas Hold'em Online, The Professional Guide - Chapter 5

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.

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.

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.
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 such as Pacific Poker or PartyPoker.

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.

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 (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 your 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 player's 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.