Tips to Become a Texas Hold’em Guru
These days, if you want to play poker (either online or at a weekly card game), you better know how to play Texas Hold Em. The Texas Hold Em craze is sweeping the country, from college campuses to the World Poker Tour.
The game itself is pretty straightforward and easy to learn. While it can be helpful to be able to calculate odds and count cards, it’s not necessary to play well. It’s more important to play often and be able to bluff and read a bluff. The basic rules are the same whether you play online or in person. But, depending on where you play, there are different tips to improve your game.
The rules
Initial bets are usually made by the two players to the left of the dealer. The player closest to the dealer posts the “small blind” and the next player posts the “big blind”. The dealer then shuffles a standard 52-card deck and deals each player two cards face down. These are called the “hole” cards or the “pocket” cards.
Then there is a round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the “blinds”. Players can check, raise or fold at this point. The amount a player can bet will be determined by the betting structure of the game. Some games are called “no limit” hold em, which allows a player to bet as much as they want. Other games limit the amount of bet that can be made. For example, in a game with a $1/$5 betting structure, a player can bet up to $1 on this first betting round and up to $5 on subsequent betting rounds.
After this round of betting, the dealer will discard the top card of the deck and turn over the next three cards in the middle of the table. This is called the “flop” and these cards become community cards that any player can use with their hole cards to make a hand.
After another round of betting, starting with the player to the dealer’s left, the dealer discards the top card of the deck and flips over a community card in the middle of the table. This is the “turn” card.
There is another round of betting and then the dealer turns over the last community card, the “river”. At this point, players make their best five-card hand using their two hole cards and the five community cards. There is a final round of betting and then the players who have not folded show their hands. The player with the best hand wins.
For true beginners, the hands and their order of priority are: One Pair, Two Pair, Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush (all suited), Full House (Three of a Kind and Pair), Four of a Kind, a Straight Flush (1, 2 , 3, 4, 5 suited) and a royal flush (10, J, Q, K, A suited).
Know when to fold them
Typically, in-person hold em games are “no limit” hold em. In this case, it is important to know when to fold from the hand. If you don’t have a pair, one of the best starting hands in Hold’em is Ace/King (suited or unsuited). The reason for this is that if no one makes at least one pair, Ace/King would be the best hand.
The worst starting hand is two/seven, as they are both low cards and too far apart to make a straight.
When your cards meet in the middle, you must make a decision. A good rule of thumb is that with no pair, if you don’t have at least one picture card, you should fold before putting any money in the pot. Even if you have a pair, if it’s a low pair (eg a pair of threes), you may want to fold. Whether or not you fold may depend on how much money you need to call.
Once the flop comes, if you don’t have a pair, you should fold the hand. If you have a low pair, you may want to fold if there are picture cards on the flop. Chances are someone else has an illustrated card in hand and made a pair with the flop. Whether or not you fold will likely depend on where you are sitting and whether other players fold, call or raise.
If you are the first player after the blinds, you must act first. This puts you in a difficult position if you don’t have a really strong hand. If you are the small blind or the big blind, you are in a good position because you can see what other players are doing before you have to act. If you are the big blind and the other players don’t raise and just call, you can see the “free” flop.
online poker
Don’t expect to become a good poker player if you play online for fun. When people aren’t playing for real money, they tend to stick around and not fold hands that should be folded. Sometimes table rules prevent players from folding before the flop. With everyone sticking around, bad hands can turn into winners. In online games, the player with pocket aces will, more often than not, lose. Also, if you can’t fold before the flop, you can’t really bluff.
Also, when it comes to bluffing, some tables limit the amount you can raise, so you can’t bluff by going all-in to scare others out of the pot. And, if the table requires staying until the flop, they’re not going anywhere anyway.
If, after the flop, you don’t have at least a pair, or are looking for a straight or a flush, you should fold. This rule stays the same whether you play online or offline.