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37.
Texas Holdem 101
How To Play
This year the Poker explosion
rocked the world as televised tournaments made their way to TV and into the
living rooms of millions of viewers. The coverage of the World Poker Tour on
the Travel channel and ESPN’s broadcast of the World Series of Poker has
sparked the interest of the “kitchen table” poker players as well as some
people who have never played poker before. The game that has everyone
buzzing is Texas Hold’em.
However before you race down
to the casino and sign up for a high stakes tournament you need to learn the
basics of the game and get some playing experience in low limit games. The
matches you see on television are No Limit Texas Hold’em games. That means
that at any time a player can bet all of his chips. This is a great format
for tournaments but as a beginning player you will want to first learn to
play Limit Texas Hold’em.
Limit games have structured
betting rounds and you are limited to the amount of money you can bet during
each round. More precisely you will want to play Low Limit Texas Hold’em as
you learn the game. Some of the low limit games you will find in the
cardroom are have a betting structure of $2/4, $3/6 $4/8. After you gain
experience you can move up the higher limits or No Limit if you desire, but
you must learn to walk before you can run. Let me explain the game and then
give you some winning tips to get started.
How to Play.
Texas Hold’em is a deceptively simple game to learn but a harder game to
master. Each player is dealt two personal cards and then five community
cards are turned up on the board. You make the best five card hand using any
combination of the seven cards. For this example we will use a low limit
structure of $2/4. There are four betting rounds and the first two have a
limit of $2 and the last two rounds have a limit of $4. You must bet or
raise only the amount of the limit for that round.
The Start
To start a new hand, two "Blind" bets are put up or "Posted." The player
immediately to the left of the dealer puts up or "posts" the small blind
which half the minimum bet one dollar. The player to the left of the small
blind posts the big blind which is equal to the minimum bet which is two
dollars for this game. The rest of the players do not put up any money to
start the hand. Because the deal rotates around the table, each player will
eventually act as the big blind, small blind and dealer.
The Opening
Each player is dealt two cards face down with the player on the small blind
receiving the first card and the player with the dealer button getting the
last card. The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the
big blind either putting in two dollars to "Call" the blind bet, or putting
in four dollars to "raise" the big blind or folding his hand. The betting
goes around the table in order until it reaches the player who posted the
small blind. That player can call the bet by putting in one dollar since a
dollar blind was already posted. The last person to act is the big blind. If
no one has raised, the dealer will ask if they would like the option. This
means the big blind has the option to raise or just "check." By checking the
player does not put in any more money. A rookie mistake sometimes occurs
here. Because the blind is a live bet live, the player with the big blind
has already put his bet in. I have seen some players throw their cards in
not realizing that they are already in the hand. Another rookie mistake is
betting or folding your cards when it is not your turn. You must wait before
you act.
The Flop
After the first betting round is completed, three cards are dealt and turned
face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the "Flop." These are
community cards used by all the players. Another betting round begins with
the first active player to the left of the dealer button. The bet for this
round is again two dollars.
The Turn
When the betting round after the flop is completed, the dealer turns a
fourth card face up in the middle of the table. This is called the "Turn."
The bet after the turn is now four dollars and begins again with the first
active player to the left of the dealer.
The River
Following the betting round for the turn, the dealer will turn a fifth and
final card face up. This is called the "river," and the final betting round
begins with four dollars being the minimum bet.
The Showdown
To determine the winner, the players may use any combination of their two
hole cards and the five cards on the "Board" (Table) to form the highest
five-card hand. In some rare cases the best hand will be the five cards on
board. Don’t count on this happening too often. In that case the active
players will split the pot. A sixth card is never used to break a tie.
Some Winning Tips
Before the Flop:
Starting Hands:
Position, Patience and Power are the key to winning in Texas Hold’em. The
most important decision you will make is choosing to play a starting hand.
The biggest mistake a player makes is playing too many hands. Being aware of
your Position in relationhip to the dealer is important in Texas Hold’em.
You need a stronger hand to act from early position because you have more
players acting after you who may raise or re-raise the pot. It is important
that you are Patient and wait for Powerful starting hands to play from the
correct position.
The player to the left of the
big blind acts first before the flop. He along with the other two players to
his left are in early position. The next three players are middle position
and the ones after that are in late position.
The blinds act last before
the flop and first after it. Here are some guidelines for stating hands that
I recommend you play when you are starting out. They are fairly tight but
will give you a good foundation to work with until you learn a little more
about the game.
In Early position
Raise with A-A, K-K and A-Ks from any position. (s denotes suited cards)
Call with A-K, A-Qs, K-Qs and Q-Q J-J, T-T and fold everything else.
In Middle position
Call with, 9-9, 8-8, A-Js, A-Ts, Q-Js, A-Q, K-Q
In Late position
Call with A-Xs, K-Ts, Q-Ts, J-Ts, A-J, A-T and small pairs. (note x denotes
any card) It takes a stronger hand to call a raise than it does to make with
one, If there is a raise before it is your turn to act you should fold. Why
put in two bets with marginal hands?
Note:
Many players will play any two suited cards from any position and they will
play an Ace with any small kicker. These hands are losers in the long run
and you should avoid getting into the habit of playing them. They are traps
that will cost you money.
The Blinds
Once you post your blind the money no longer belongs to you. Many players
feel they must defend their blinds by calling all raises even with marginal
hands. Don’t waste additional money on marginal hands. Also, don’t
automatically call with the small blind if you have nothing. Saving a half
bet will pay for your next small blind.
The Flop
Deciding whether to continue playing after seeing the flop will be your
second biggest decision. It can also be one of the most costly decisions if
you continue after the flop with an inferior hand. It is said that the flop
defines your hand. That is because after the flop your hand will be 71
percent complete. Where does this figure come from? Assuming you play your
hand out to the end, it will consist of seven cards. After the flop you have
seen five cards or 5/7 of the final hand, which is equal to 71 percent. With
this much of your hand completed you should have enough information to
determine whether to continue. Poker Author Shane Smith coined the phrase
“Fit or Fold. If the flop does not fit your hand by giving you top pair, or
better or a straight or flush draw, then you should fold if there is a bet
in front of you. If you played a small pair from late position and you do
not flop a third one to make a set you should throw the pair away if there
is a bet.
The Turn
If you think you have the best hand after seeing the Turn card and are first
to act, then go ahead and bet. Many players will try to get fancy and
attempt to check raise in this position. If the other players also check,
you have lost a bet or two. In low limit games the straight forward approach
is usually the best as there are plenty of players who will call you. Make
them pay. Why give them a free card if you don’t have to.
If another player raises on
the turn and you hold only one pair you are more than likely beaten and
should fold.
If you get to the Turn and
you hold only two unsuited overcards (two cards higher that any cards on the
board) with no flush or straight draws, then you should fold if there is a
bet in front of you. Too much money is lost by players who hope to catch a
miracle card on the river. The best hand you can make with two unsuited
overcards is a pair which will probably lose anyways.
Winning Tips Continued
The River
If you have been playing properly you will not see the river card unless you
have a strong hand that is a favorite to win or you have a draw to a winning
hand. Once the river card is turned over, you know exactly what you have. If
you were drawing to a hand, you know whether you were successful or not.
Obviously if you do not make your hand you will fold.
As with the Turn you should
bet your hand if you are first to act. If you bet and the other player folds
then they more than likely would have just checked if you had checked in an
attempt to check raise.
When you get to the river
there are two mistakes that you can make. One is to call a losing bet, which
will cost you the price of a bet. The other is to fold your hand, which will
cost you all the money in the pot.
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Obviously folding your hand
will be a far more costly mistake then merely calling a bet. If there is a
slight chance you may have the winning hand you should call. I’m not
advocating calling with nothing but you should call if there is a chance to
win.
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Reading The Board
Your ability to read the board will help make you a winning player and it is
not hard to learn. Since Texas Hold’em is played with community cards turned
up for all to see, you can easily determine the best possible hand that can
be made from the board cards and two unseen cards. It is extremely important
that you learn determine how your hand stacks up against the other possible
hands that your opponents may hold. Two situations should send up a red flag
when you see them.
If there are three suited
cards on the board someone can make a flush. If a player raises when the
third suited card is turned over you should be wary of continuing. If there
is a pair on the board a player can make four of a kind or a full house.
Pay Attention
When you are not involved in a hand you should still pay attention to the
game. You can gain valuable information about your opponents simply by
observing what hands they play. It’s easy to determine the players who plays
and suited cards, or single aces by watching the hands they turn over at the
end. That brings me to one final tip.
NEVER SHOW YOUR HAND if you
don’t have to. If you win the pot because everyone else folded you are under
no obligation to show your cards. You don’t want to give away any
information about yourself if you don’t have to And player who turn over
their cards when they don’t have to are doing just that.
Continuing Education
It is impossible to learn to play expert Hold’em by reading this short
article. However I hope that a few of the tips will help you improve your
game if you already play or get you started on the right track if you are
just starting out. Learning to play winning Texas Hold’em requires reading
and studying. If you read just one book about the game you will be ahead of
about 80 percent of the other payers at the table. Spending the money for a
good poker book is a lot cheaper than trying to get your education at the
tables in a live game. Until next time, remember:
"Luck comes and goes...Knowledge stays forever."
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