Poker Guide

Is Texas Holdem a game of chance or skill? When you take away the understanding of betting it is nothing more than a game of luck! Without betting there is no required skill and certainly the psychology of the game is completely removed. When you are sitting at a Texas Holdem poker game, it requires observation and concentrated detail of the opponents at the poker table. Part of learning Texas Holdem is paying detailed attention to the type of opponents you are up against and their betting patterns. There are two types of bettors at the Texas Holdem poker table: 1. Loose-Aggressive Bettor – The loose aggressive bettor plays at a frenzied pace, whether he has the cards or not. The loose aggressive bettor feels the constant need action and ultimately at the end of day the loose aggressive bettor reloads his account or looking for another tournament to employ his tactics. 2. Tight-Passive Bettor – The tight passive bettor often checks or calls and never raises unless he possesses a monster hand. Because of his passiveness in betting, the tight passive bettor ultimately loses chips. When discussing betting in poker or texas holdem betting strategies you need to know the reasons why you should place a bet. David Sklansky gives the Holdem player five reasons why you place a bet: 1. To get more money in the pot. 2. To drive other players out. 3. To bluff (or semi-bluff). 4. To get a free card. 5. To gain information. To be a successful texas holdem player you should become aware of the different texas holdem betting terms and strategies, and there are five of them.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategies #1: Feeler Bet

The first of the betting strategies involves the feeler bet. The feeler bet will always let you know WHERE YOU STAND in the hand. If you never put out a feeler bet about 1/3 the size of pot, you will never know what other players are holding in their hand. It’s for this reason you use it to get a “feel” for the strength of your hand also the strength of your opponents hand.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategies #2: Check Raise

The check raise should be used to extract additional chips from your opponent who wouldn’t more often than not commit many chips to a particular pot. The check raise works by acting weak in hopes of hiding your strength. With any luck, this will induce a bluff or at least a misinformed bet from your opponent to get him to commit his chips to the pot. Use the check raise for only the stronger hands, and never use the check raise if you think your opponent is on some kind of a flush or straight draw, which would allow him to catch up and beat you. The check raise is useful against a tight opponent, where you give him a free card hoping he might catch up and encourage him to bet.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategies #3: Stealing the Blinds

As you develop your game over time, one skill you need to develop is taking the pot without cards. It is betting about 1/3 the size of the pot with the intent of taking down uncontested blinds and pots! To utilize this bet you must have position on your opponents.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategies #4: Continuation Bet

Continuation bet is showing strength before the flop, most often with over cards. Oftentimes you will miss the flop, but continue to show strength through betting, as if you have a real hand. The key to successfully pulling off the continuation bet is to narrow your opposition down to one or two at the most. Here is the rule of the continuation bet: If you raise before the flop, you must bet after the flop. Period. Even when you miss on the flop.

Texas Holdem Betting Strategies #5: All-In Bet

Among good poker pros, betting all of your chips on a single poker hand are rare until they get short stacked. The reason is simple. When you gamble all your chips, you are risking your tournament life and leaving no room for other options. Honestly good poker players do not like to do this. The all-in bet can be very useful when played properly. Before you do though, several things need to be in play before using this strategic move: 1. If you are short stacked this can be good move. 2. If you have been re-raised and you have the absolute best hand. 3. Not usually looking for more action, just want to win the pot. 4. You have the best hand at the flop and one of your opponents is on a draw of some kind, the move can be a deterrent to a probable call. The above texas holdem strategies will help you toward becoming a more profitable poker player. So now take these strategies and use them next time you play. Good luck and see you at the tables.

1. Fixed Limit Texas Holdem Poker
   Here the betting is limited to a predetermined amount which you can see as the limit description of the poker room display as $5/10. This means that all bets are limited to $5 in the pre-flop and flop and $10 in the turn and river.
2. Pot Limit Texas Holdem Poker
   These also have limited betting but it is not predefined; rather the limit is set to the current size of the pot. As the pot increases so does the betting limit.
3. No Limit Texas Holdem Poker
   It is no limit betting. However, some casinos place a restriction on how often you’re allowed to raise in a single game. These games are mostly played by experienced poker players.
4. Blind Bet
   Blind bets are forced bets. A blind bet is used to begin the betting before the players are dealt any cards. The first two players to the left of the dealer button are normally required to place blind bets.
5. Call
   A call is a betting option. To call in poker means to match the bet of another player.
6. Check
   To ‘check’ is to not place a bet. You only have the option to check if no other bets have been placed in the round.
7. Fold
   To ‘fold’ is to quit the current hand. You stop betting and end that particular hand.
8. Raise
   To ‘raise’ means to place a larger bet than the player before.
9. Going ‘All In’
   Going ‘all in’ means you’re betting everything you have on your hand. If you win the hand you’re paid a portion of the pot in relation to the amount you’ve wagered.
10. Dealer Button
    The Dealer button is a token which is passed around the table in a clockwise direction after every hand and is used to determine who the dealer is for that hand. It also determines who needs to place the blind bets.
11. Pre-Flop
    The pre-flop is the first round of Texas holdem poker. Players are dealt two cards each which are referred to as pocket cards.
12. Flop, Turn and River –
    The flop is the second round of poker, and occurs when the first three communal cards are dealt face up on the poker table. These cards can be used by everyone in the Poker Room to create the best 5-card hands. The turn is the Third round and a fourth communal card is dealt face up here The river is the final round of Texas Holdem Poker and the firth communal card is placed face up on the poker table.

Poker hand rankings are one of the most essential factors of a poker game. While playing a fast online poker game such as Texas Holdem Poker you must be able to quickly discern which cards are needed to create a better poker hand. Beginners in poker tend to lose as they are not able to identify the best opportunities to build a strong hand. In order to do that it is important that you understand the poker hand rankings.

Remember that when you’re playing Texas Hold’em poker you are trying to create the best 5-card poker hand from a total of 7 cards. There are 2 hole or pocket cards and 5 communal cards. You may use any combination to create your best hand. You may even use all five communal cards.

Poker Hand Rankings are as follows:

Royal Flush
This hand is the highest ranking hand possible and cannot be beaten A Royal Flush is made of 5 cards of the same suit, Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

Straight Flush
A straight flush made up of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. An ace can play both high and low

Four-of-a-kind
This is any hand containing four similar cards.

Full House
A full house is when you have Three-of-Kind and a Pair.

Flush
A flush is any five cards of the same suit.

Straight
A Straight is five cards of any suit in succession. Straights are very common in Holdem Poker.

Three-of-a-kind
This hand is any three similar cards of any suit.

In order to be a good and successful poker player, it is important that a player knows how to calculate the odds of the hand as against the odds the pot is giving him at given time during the play. The probability of making a particular hand is done by calculating hand odds. And to calculate how many outs the player will have will give you the possibility of calculating the number of times he will hit his hand by the river.

For example, you are dealt A9 of hearts in Texas Hold’em and the flop comes up showing two hearts. Your odds for hitting another heart by the river will be about 36% or 3 to 1. This can be figured out by finding out the number of outs that you have, that is the number of cards remaining in the deck and which can help you make your hand.

Again, taking the same example, you hold A-9 of hearts and catch two hearts on the flop, than you have 9 more hearts in the deck that can help you complete your flush. 2 hearts in your hand + 2 hearts on the table minus 13 hearts in total = 9 outs. If you multiply your number of ‘outs’ by 4, then you will get an approximate percentage of hitting your hand by the river (9×4=36%).

Poker pot odds is the ratio between the size of the pot compared to how much it will cost you to call a bet from another player. The higher the ratio between the size of the pot and the cost of calling a bet, the better your poker pot odds will be.
If there are $40 in the pot after the flop and a player bets $10 and two other players calls his bet then you get 7 to 1 in pot odds. If you are chasing the A-9 flush draw from the flop than you get a 36% or 3 to 1 in hand odds to catch your card at the river, so calling or even raising this bet will be a wiser decision to make.

Texas Holdem is a game that you can learn quite quickly. However, like most games of skill it takes time and practice to master.

There are a few virtues that come into play in Texas Holdem and the fist one of them is Patience. Do not go chasing and playing every hand. Be selective and you will increase your chances of winning your odds greatly.

Be aware of how the other players are playing, whether they are playing loose or tight. A loose player likes to bluff; you can bring him out by raising his bet or by check raising him. Observe how they react so that you understand his style. A tight player generally only plays the “nuts” early on but in the later rounds tries stealing the pot with a big bet. If you have a feeling he might be trying to steal the pot, raise the bet. If a tight player is quick to call, he is likely to fold. Else he may put you on a higher hand, fold and wait until his hand comes along.

Try and understand the betting style of each player. Is he betting on flop, turn and river or slow playing his hand. Does he have a made hand or is he on a draw? This intuitive analysis will help you later on in the game when the blinds are higher.
There are some things to remember while playing Pocket Pairs. The higher number of players the higher the risk. Wait until you see the flop and then if your pocket pair is higher than the board, bet aggressively and see how others react. Do no be afraid to fold if need be. Later in the game and with less players, pocket pairs increase in strength, because you are not on a draw.

Bluffing plays an important part in the game. Since people tend to bluff more online, you need to get a feel if the players’ playing styles so that you can establish whether it is a bluff or not.

Another important aspect of this game is controlling your emotions. All players will have ups and downs, but it is important to keep cool. Think and refocus. Be patient and your chances of winning will increase It’s always better to rake a small pot than to lose a big one.

Good poker players, besides playing well, have one essential strength – they have the ability to read their opponents at the table. They are able to do so through human tell tale sighs called ‘poker tells’. A “tell” is any physical reaction, behaviour, or habit that gives (or tells) the other players information about your hand. If you learn the most common tells, you will be able to read your opponent, their body language and thus all their secrets. While doing so, however, you must maintain your body posture so as not to give away any of your secrets. If you can accurately read your opponent’s tells, you’ll make the right decisions against them more often and win more money.

Some Poker Tells cry out to say – ‘I have a good hand’

• Acting uninterested in your hand is usually the most common sign of a strong hand. He may even tend to shrug away his cards saying that they are bad. Although he is pretending he does not care, he is excited about something in his hand
• Shaking Hands – When a player has a fantastic hand, it is often that he will exhibit this through trembling hands unable to contain such excitement.
• Rapid Breathing – Some players are unable to control their heart beating rapidly while seeing pocket aces or hit the flop really hard. If you can see a player’s chest visibly rising and falling, they have an excellent hand
• Glancing at Chips continuously – When a player looks down and sees strong hole or pocket cards, he will keep glancing at his chips to see just how much he can bet.

Some Poker Tells that cry out ‘I Have a Bad Hand’

• Staring down Other Players – If an opponent is staring you down, he’s trying to represent strength which is typical when he has a weak hand.
• Holding Breath – Often, inexperienced players, incapable of lying, will hold their breath if they are bluffing.

Some Poker Tells that cry out ‘I Have a draw’

• Checking Hole Cards after a Flop – If the flop shows the possibility of giving someone a flush or straight draw, players will start re-checking their hole cards to ensure that they are not missing out on some vital card.
• Taking your time to call a Bet – If a player looks into the pot and seems to be doing some calculating in his head, he probably is. He’s most likely figuring out the pot odds to see if it’s worth it to try and catch the cards he needs to complete his drawing hand.