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Games : Poker

 

     Poker is not only a challenging game but very entertaining. One of the most popular card games around, poker makes for a great way to spend a relaxing night with your friends or family. There is allot of skill and mental agility necessary to be successful and that makes the game all the more fun. Below are great online resources for learning to play, improving your game, and eventually playing with your friends or online.

Good Luck and Have Fun,

Duncan Davis

 

 Learning Poker Contents

Discover a Hobby offers you four ways to learn about your new hobby

  1. 4 Intro Articles - Texas Holdem Introduction, Texas Holdem: The Checkraise, Rakeback Poker Intro ,  and Online Casino Games

  2. Handpicked Links Page - A collection of the most useful free online resources for Poker

  3. Multimedia Page - Free instructional videos on Poker.

  4. Books / Products Page - The best chips sets packs and instructional books available

 

Texas Holdem Introduction


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...........

 continued here

 

Texas Holdem Strategy:The Checkraise

Courtesy of The Poker Junkie is the following tip:

There are many elements of Texas holdem 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 Texas Holdem Poker?

There are a number of reasons to check-raise in Texas holdem. 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 Texas Holdem 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 Texas Holdem Poker

A check-raise can be a powerful bluffing weapon when you battle it out on Poker Stars or some other site. 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.

 

Rakeback Poker Introduction

Article sponsored by Rakebrain

Rakeback is normally the concern of poker players who play a fair number of games a month. Serious poker players can potentially take in thousands of dollars a month on money that they've already spent on rake.  Rake is the tax that poker rooms take out of each and every pot. If you are a serious player, there’s no reason to lose this money, especially if there’s an alternative. At the same time, poker players who play only occasionally can also benefit. Even if you just save 50 dollars a month, this is worth the extra effort. $50 saved is $50 earned.

If you bet a set amount every month, or keep diligent tabs on your current account, rakeback could potentially affect your style of play. You might end up being more aggressive with your bets if you know you’re going to make a thousand extra dollars back on rake..... continued here

 

Online Casino Games

 Play Online Casino Games to Win

It’s a lot of fun to play online casino games, and naturally they are more fun when you are winning. Unfortunately in all online casino games besides poker, the odds are stacked against you. Although you can win in the short term, possibly even a large sum, over the long term, most people should expect to lose. There are some things you can do and online casino articles to read however, to maximize your expectation when you play online casino games.

Play Low House Edge Games

The House edge represents the amount of money that the online casino can statistically expect to win for every $1 you play. If a game has a five percent House edge, you can expect to lose five cents out of every dollar in the long term. Games like Pai Gow poker, blackjack and bacarat have very low House edges, less than two percent under the right circumstances. Some slot machines have House edges as high as 15 percent or more. That’s why you see so many more slot machines in a live casino than anything else.... continued here

 

Poker Chip Buying Guide

When buying poker chips you must choose weather you want plastic chips or the more durable and quality clay and composite chips. For clay and composite chips higher weight and multi colors are signs of better quality. Depending on the size of your poker group you will need from 100 to 1000 chips. The guideline for this is:

100-200 chips...2 players
200-300 chips...3-4 players
300-400 chips...4-5 players
400-1000 chips...6+ players

Economy Set

Deluxe Texas Hold'm Tin - $19.99 - This bargain beginner set includes poker rack, felt layout, 200 chips, 1 deck of playing cards, and dealer button. Great for people wanting inexpensive chip set for playing casually.

Clay Chip Sets

New Premium 500 Clay Composite 11.5 gram Triple Crown Poker Chips Set - $57.99 - Top of the line multi color molded 11.5 gram chips. Includes 150 white, 150 blue, 100 red, 50 green, and 50 black chips, 2 decks of cards, and 5 dice. Perfectly balanced and have professional sound and feel.

Poker Table Top

Poker Table Top (4) Folds - $49.99 - Four fold poker table top opens to 47" to 47" for up to eight players including individual section for playing, drinks, and poker chips.

 

The Best Books and DVD's for Learning Poker

 

    

Book List: Play Poker Like a Champ

 

    

BOOK / DVD List : Win at Online Poker
 

         

DVD List : Poker DVDs, watch and learn

 

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