Playing poker or online poker is one of those games that we all hear about regularly.
Whether it’s via a work colleague or friend, or when watching the TV and films that Include casino scenes, or cards games as part of the storyline.
You’d be hard-pressed not to have at least heard about or seen a game of Texas Holdem briefly at some point before now. But many of us don’t know how to play Texas poker and would like to know more.
How To Play Texas Holdem Poker
Learn From The Basics – Best Hand
The ultimate goal to play in Texas Holdem poker is to win with the best hand.
The hands available are called the Royal flush, straight flush four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, pair, and high card.
Nothing beats a royal flush and a straight flush and four of a kind our second and third on the list of top Texas poker hands to beat.
Royal Flush
The royal flush is a straight flash from 10 to ace, so the highest scoring cards in a row with the same suit.
Although the game aims to win with the highest hand, the biggest part of Texas Holdem Poker is to do with “playing the game “and making others believe you have better cards than you do at times.
Deciding on how to play poker hands, with the hole cards you have, and make bets depending on what you think others are holding, is where the experience and action lies.
Hole Cards
Texas Holdem poker starts with two hole cards, these hole cards, which will be paired with the rest of the cards the dealer places on the table to make the hand.
Once these hole cards are placed, forced bets, which are often called blinds, have to be placed at the start. Either small or big blinds are chosen.
Big Blind
Big blind will be placed by the person sitting on the left size to the player on the left of the dealer.
This big blind should be double the small blind bet by the previous player.
In real life cash games, the bets and times increase, and when the time limits are reached, the blinds increase. The game continues to play to the left, and players can either fold, call, or raise.
To raise means the player is showing they have a strong hand with their hole cards and must be at least double the big blind. To call simply means the big blind is matched, and to fold means that the player has given up and does not want to play their hand.
Flop, Turn and River
Once the initial bets are placed after the first two hole cards are played, the dealer will put down the next three cards, often called ‘the flop’, and another round is completed.
There is the option to check, but if only one player chose to check everyone will have to wait their turn to decide on whether to call raise or call, if all players decide to check they get to see the next card for free.
The fourth cards are dealt and called the turn, and then once the fourth round is the fifth and is called the river, this gives players their last chance to bet.
Once this previous round is finished all players have to reveal their hole cards.
To make a full five-card hand must match any three cards from the five that have been dealt by the dealer, the added option to check is undoubtedly going to add a higher dimension to your game.
Poker Rules
Any Poker Rule is, of course, taken seriously, but in poker tournaments, there are specific rules that apply and are usually set at the beginning.
Re-buys, which are opportunities to purchase extra chips, allow a player to buy back into a tournament once they are out this rule isn’t always applied in every tournament and is sometimes under a ‘freezeout’ whereby re-buys aren’t allowed at all.
Tournament Rules
The poker community is often found discussing these differences at tournaments, and it adds to the overall enjoyment of the game.
Re-buys do change the strategy of a game, and it’s worth considering the level of the blinds before purchasing a re-buy.
If a re-buy of 3000 chips is an option, and the blinds have already topped 300, the stack may not allow many rounds, no matter what community cards are pulled. It’s also worth noting that re-buys are usually only allowed in the first hour of the game.
A similar option is an add-on, but a player doesn’t have to be eliminated from the game and can buy an add-on right before a re-buy hour finishes.
Common Poker Terms
Texas Hold em poker has such a large community of people because this community of people has a lot to work with. However, the basics of the game seem very simple, there are so many variables, and with anything, game-based there are many human factors to change the way the game ends up.
Terminology is within poker such as shark and fish, have been coined by the Texas Holdem poker community, and explain patterns of play and people playing the game.
Bluffing
Bluffing is a term that can be found and used in day-to-day life, but in Texas Holdem poker, it means telling your opponents in one way or another that your hand is much better than it is. Playing a big blind on a terrible hand is a form of bluffing.
Pre Flop
Poker players use our pre-flop, which is how someone bets before the flop, which may sound obvious. Players who have strong cards will try to force out players in hand by raising the pre-flop.
Burn Card
A burn card, which is the card discarded after each betting round, is designed to stop any cheating.
Strategies are different in each game, depending on the players positioning, which is why this matters.
Split Pot
Where two or more players end up with the same hand, and the part winnings need to be split equally.
The Nuts
Another term to capture peoples’ attention, is “the nuts “which is an expression a player uses, to let the community know he has the best possible hand for that game and gives them full control and confidence with their bet.
The Bubble
Another favourite term in the poker community is ‘the bubble.’
The bubble means that a person is right on the edge of the top winning players. For someone to be in the bubble, that person would have had to have finished one spot outside of the policed people that win money in that tournament.
The position on the leaderboard for this to happen may change throughout the game; it also creates chances for people with high chip counts to take advantage of those in a vulnerable position.
Can you play poker with 2 players?
There is an option to play “heads up,” which is a game of poker between two People.
This can usually happen in two different situations.
The first is when a poker game is coming to an end, and the two people are the two players left standing.
The second way in which two players can play a game would be to start a heads up poker game where only two players start the game, playing head-to-head.
Blinds in this particular game with two people playing have a different way of placing the bet.
The person with the deal button will post a small blind, and the opponent will put a big blind.
The dealer will play before the flop, and after the flop, the dealer will act last, which will continue to the remainder of the hand.
Texas Holdem poker is usually played with between six and nine players, this is the official route, and the numbers you would typically find in an online game or a casino.
Common Mistakes Made By New Players
Some mistakes made by those people try and Texas Holdem for the first time are quite common and can be prevented if you look through this list.
A poker ‘how to play’ guide will give you all the information about how cards are dealt, what community cards are, and the poker hands, but when you are inexperienced, it can be easy for a new player to fall into the trap of common mistakes.
Overly aggressive
Many people will tell you that being aggressive during a poker game, with how you play your cards is the way to go.
You aren’t going to push an experienced player off the table with false confidence. These players know precisely what they’re looking for, and if they have a strong hand will not be intimidated for anything.
Bet size
Many new players find themselves confused about that size, either by placing a bit too big or too small, it’s a fine not getting the blinds right, and an inexperienced player can be spotted a mile off for making this mistake.
It’s essential to bet based on the size of the current part.
A good tip is to place a bet half the size of the pot.
Number of players
Not paying attention to the number of remaining players on your table, can cost you, if you have what you consider to be a great hand, with a full house, or an ace-8.
The actual overall value of your hand could be significantly different if there are only two people left as opponents.
If you have eight players left on your table, your hand could be worthless, as there is a good chance that someone has a better place or a straight.
It works both ways, but looking at the number of players on the table, and your hand, and making a measured decision for your next blind.
Calling Too Often
People just starting out playing poker can make the mistake of calling too often, it’s an expensive way to go, and poker is about winning not hitting your hand if you’re careful.
You don’t need to wait until the river to see if you’ve hit the hand or not.
It’s not a good idea to keep calling and bet until you win unless you’re very confident in your hand or there is a realistic chance of you winning. It’s always a good idea to stay slightly reserved, especially for the early days.
When you don’t have a huge amount of experience, it’s a good idea to start carefully, to feel the game, understand the community cards, and establish what your strengths and weaknesses lie.
Think this part of the game through thoroughly will see you on the right path.
Over Valued Hands
It can be quite easy for people to bet on cards, based on a hand that may seem playable and the community cards available, such as a potential flush.
These hands are quite rare, and you have to weigh up the potential for this hand appearing as the cards are drawn. It’s much better to look at all eventualities, the people left on your table and the bet that you have placed each time plus how that situates you in the game.
Never overvalue a hand, because you may end up disappointed.
Player Position
Depending on where you are placed at the table can have a lot of weight on your game.
If it’s your turn further into the game and your betting action it’s forced to be higher than you would like, then this may affect your confidence and your standing in the game.
Having The dealer button is the best position you can have, from a late position you have the opportunity to bet on many more hands, then you would otherwise.
Don’t underestimate the play in order, and some calculations in your mind should help you make good decisions.
Tells
Much of what makes Texas Holden poker a spectator game, is how poker is played, and for the viewer watching, there are many small towels to look out for.
Each player is to watch out for signs, and hints from the other players, to work out what they may be thinking, the next move can sometimes be predicted by hand movements, and some people even have a set of “tells “that give the game away at times.
The trouble with this is that many people keep their cards close to their chest, and their next action may not be linked to their cards at all.
The game can be manipulated quite heavily with these tells, which is why people new to the game should consider this, and try not to think about it too hard to start with.
Experienced players will know how to produce fake tales quite easily.
Too many hands
You’re not alone if you find yourself playing too many hands at the beginning; the most successful players tend to play about up to 30% of their hands.
Aiming for a lower number when you are just starting, it is ideal.
Lots of hands May look a lot better than they are, and it’s always a good idea to throw them before the flop. If you’re playing to win, then this one will certainly help your success rates.
Feeling the fear
At some point during your games, there may be a time where you end up playing with money that is very high value to you.
The first rule to follow is that you should never exceed what is financially comfortable for you. If you find that buying is a lot of money to you, then you may not have a good time at that table.
Start smaller and try to avoid playing with money that makes you scared. It isn’t worth the adrenaline rush when you have to make financial decisions that uncomfortable.
The fun can be taken out of it quite quickly.
Emotions
Texas Holdem poker can lead to a range of emotions when played.
The game isn’t all rainbows and sunshine, and there are going to be many more losses than wins for you along the way.
You can’t make the cards do what you want, and once you have been beaten, you have to step back. There can be some egos and other emotional responses to the game, hole cards you’re dealt with are the ones you get.
You have little control over the game and cards in your hand, But you do have control over the way you act and overcome the challenges. How you deal with this scenario will set you aside as a future winner.
As with any game, especially those where you can place a bet on your hole cards, it’s always worth weighing up the odds, getting to know the community cards, and making sure that your online Texas poker game is running smoothly.
Learning all about the potential problems and challenges that we might experience during a game of Texas Holdem poker is an ideal way to find out how good you might be at the game.
Reading your pair of hole cards is a real skill.
How to improve your game
If you’re going to be playing the game, then you might as well play to win.
Once you’ve learned how to play poker, the next thing to do is to work out how to win with your hole cards, these hole cards are the game, so studying them carefully, this way you can bet on the right hands, with the right cards.
There are many ways to win once the cards are dealt, there is much more to it than knowing the Texas poker hands and cards and what they are for, whether it’s the first or fourth round.
Play Your Best Hand
Playing only the very best hand before the flop is the best strategy because it’s more likely to be the best hand after the flop.
Playing around 20% of your hands at a nine hand table, it’s proving to be one of the best ways to end up with a profit.
Improving your bet comes down to playing tight, and you make less losing hands this way.
You have to consider all the possibilities with the cards on the table. Thinking ahead is a great skill for this, and making sure you check what you’re doing carefully is important.
Raise Your Bet
When you’re dealt a pair cards such as ace ace or a pair of kings, you should raise your bet.
These are always potentially huge hands and cards you should celebrate if you see them in your hole cards.
As with anything, however, doing your research and making sure you read other people’s experiences with their card game can be very useful for your own game.
So look at the community cards, place your bet, decide if it’s worth a check, and increase your odds wherever possible.
Is Texas Holdem the same as poker?
No, Texas Holdem and poker are different.
Texas Holdem is a community card game and poker is played by 2 or more people who are competing to make the best hand.
Online Games
There are plenty of online games available now that you can try your luck at. But this game of strategy has specific rules and making sure you have the winning hand and place a bet can be very tricky.
But with a healthy dose of luck on your side, and after reading the poker rules thoroughly You may find that Texas Holdem becomes your new favourite activity.
Poker
Online poker has gained in popularity over the years, and this popular poker game is played by many people daily.
Once the first card is dealt, You may find yourself keen to win. There are many videos available that explain precisely how poker is won, but here are some of the main rules when it comes to the popular poker game.
