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Texas Holdem
If you want to play Texas holdem,
you have plenty of company. Texas holdem is the most popular poker game
in the world, both live and online, and Texas holdem players have made
millions on television.
If you’re ready to get into the action, here are the basics of Texas
holdem.
Poker Hands in Texas Holdem
There are two ways to win a hand of poker. If you make a bet that
no one else is willing to call, you win the pot uncontested. If all
bets are called to the end, there is a showdown and the player with the
best five-card poker hand wins the pot. Poker hands are ranked as
follows:
The lowest hand is
a high card hand, where the highest card in your hand is compared to
the highest card in the hands of your opponents. Beating high card is a
pair, two cards of matching rank. Any pair beats any high card hand,
and higher ranked pairs beat lower ranked pairs, so a pair of threes
beat twos, fours beat threes, all the way up to a pair of aces, which
beats any other pair. If two players have the same pair the player with
the highest unpaired card wins.
Beating a pair is
two pair, followed by three of a kind, then a straight, five
consecutive cards such as 6 7 8 9 T, then a flush which is five cards
of the same suit, followed by a full house which is three of a kind
plus a pair, then four of a kind, a straight flush which is five
consecutive cards of the same suit, and a royal flush which is the
highest possible straight flush of T J Q K A.
Structure of
Texas Holdem
In Texas
holdem, each player is dealt two cards. It doesn’t matter if it’s
fixed-limit or no-limit Texas holdem. The player to the left of the
dealer (or the button representing the dealer in a casino-dealt game)
puts in a forced half-bet (sometimes two-thirds bet) called a small
blind.
The player to his
left puts in a forced full bet called a big blind. Play then proceeds
clockwise around the table with each player either calling the big
blind, folding or raising. The small and big blinds also have the
option to call, fold or raise even if no one has raised before them.
Play of the
Texas Holdem Hand
Once all
bets have been called or folded to, the dealer puts three cards face up
in the middle of the table, called the flop. Starting to the left of
the dealer and working clockwise, players may now check or bet, or if
there has been a bet, they can call, raise or fold.
Players who have
not folded their hand now see a fourth card, the turn, there is another
round of betting and a fifth card, the river is dealt.
After a final round of betting, the player remaining who can make the
best five card hand using the two cards he holds plus the five on the
table wins the pot.
The basic strategy is not to play too many hands, but play them
aggressively. Better to raise than to call!
The Checkraise
There are many elements of
Texasholdem
strategy, but one of the ones that it may be the most important to
master is the check-raise. In home games when growing up, many people
may have had a rule that check-raises, “sandbagging,” was not allowed.
However in casino poker,
check-raising is a perfectly valid strategy and in fact, one that you
must be able to use if you are to succeed in the long term.
Why Check-Raise in
TexasHoldem
Poker?
There are a number of reasons to check-raise in
Texasholdem.
The most obvious is to get more money in a pot. However, it is just as
important to check-raise so that opponents will not bet every time you
check. Since you will often check when you have a weak or speculative
hand, you don’t want your checks to be an invitation to your opponents
to attack. If you occasionally check-raise, opponents will be wary
about assuming you are weak when you check.
When Should You Check-Raise
in
TexasHoldem
Poker?
Deciding when to check-raise will depend very
heavily on the specific situation and the poker variation you’re playing,
if you play cash games or online
poker tournaments, and so on. However, a good time to
check-raise is when you have a hand that is strong but vulnerable, like
two pair. You would like to get action on the hand so you don’t want to
bet out and chase everyone away, on the other hand, you would be happy
to end the hand quickly since many cards can come that will put your
hand in jeopardy.
The Check-Raise Bluff in
TexasHoldem
Poker
A check-raise can be a powerful bluffing weapon.
Since a check-raise usually indicates a very strong hand, opponents
will rarely put you on a bluff when you check-raise. Make sure if you
try this move that your opponent has enough chips to fold when you check-raise.
If he is pot committed, he may put in a crying call and ruin your
bluff.
Poker Tournaments
A good way to get started when you are learning the game is by
playing poker tournaments. In a regular tournament you know exactly how
much money you will be risking. A tournament has a certain buyin (entry
fee) and that fee is the maximum amount that you put at risk.
The object of a
poker tournament is to build up your chip stack and outlast your
opponents, once you run out of chips you’re eliminated from the
tournament. The price pool is divided between the players that lasts
the longest and the largest part is usually awarded to the players
finishing top three. Most poker sites also offer freerolls, tournaments
with no entry fee where you can win cash prices. They are great for
beginners who want to practice their game. When you’ve started to get
the hang of the game you might want to try the cash games.
Choosing a
Proper Limit
It’s
important in poker to be able to choose the right limits at which to play.
If you play online, there is a dizzying assortment of games and stakes
to choose from. You can play fixed-limit, pot-limit or no-limit, at
stakes ranging from microlimits of a few pennies to minimum $2,000
buy-in no-limit games. What your ideal limit will be will depend on a
variety of factors.
Betting
Structure
The first
thing you will need to decide is what type of betting you want in your
poker game. You will typically be able to choose from fixed-limit,
pot-limit or no-limit. Remember that as you move towards no-limit, you
will experience more volatility. Major swings in no-limit games are
common, no matter how strong a player you are. For this reason, you
will need a significantly larger bankroll for a no-limit game than for
a fixed-limit or even pot-limit game with comparable blinds.
Stakes
You should
play at stakes that do not require you to put a majority of your
bankroll at risk every session. You should be able to buy back into the
game three or four times without using more than 10 percent of your
bankroll. While this is not always possible, you should play at low
enough stakes to get as close to this goal as you can. In no-limit, it
is especially important that you be able to buy back into the game a
few times, since games that are very good can still leave you at the
mercy of short-term luck.
Changing Limits
in Poker
Moving up in
limits should not be done haphazardly, but as part of a careful plan in
which you track your results to be sure they
merit a change in limits. Premature limit changes can be very
detrimental to your bankroll.
Have fun
Remember
that the main objective when playing poker is to have fun. Most poker players will sharpen their skills with
games of
blackjack online at intercasino and other online options. Never play
in limits you can’t afford or with money you can’t manage without.
Playing poker should be an enjoyable experience and hopefully you can
win some money doing it if you practice and study
it carefully. | 
