|
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
|
|
|
Almost
every type of poker game requires chips. 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.
|
|
|
|
The Best Books and DVD's for Learning Poker
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Didn't find what you were looking for??
|
|
Try searching below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 
