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Poker Info:
The Beginner's Guide to Texas
Hold'em
With so many people all
over the world taking up poker, you’re
bound to be curious about some of the
games. Texas Hold’em is the most popular
poker game right now. This is the Main
Event in the World Series of Poker; the
game of choice on the World Poker Tour,
and the game that you’re most likely to
see on other televised tournaments.
You’re also very likely to see
Hold’em in home games, which is a very
good incentive to learn the basic rules
of the game. Knowing how to play the
current king of the poker games will
give you something new and interesting
to do with friends and family members.
And if you work on your skills, you just
might earn a solid reputation at the
table.
Typically, you’ll play
Hold’em with blinds instead of antes.
Before any cards are dealt, the two
players to the immediate left of the
dealer button will put in blinds. The
small blind is half the amount of the
big blind, incidentally.
So,
unless you’re in the big or small blind,
you’ll see your first two cards for
free. These two cards, dealt face down,
are commonly known as your hole cards.
Only you can use your hole cards to make
a hand.
Your first betting round
takes place after you see these two
cards. There are three different Hold’em
games: Fixed, Pot- and No-limit. If
you’re playing fixed limit, you can bet
or raise a set amount. In pot-limit
games, you can bet or raise the size of
the pot. And in no-limit situations, you
can throw in every chip you have any
time it’s your turn to act.
After your first betting round, the
dealer will put out three community
cards. These are, collectively, known as
the flop. Every player at the table will
use the community cards to make the best
five-card hand. After the flop, you have
a total of five cards that you can use
to make your hand. You’ll see another
betting round.
The next
community card is called the turn.
Everybody who’s still involved with the
hand will go through another betting
round.
The last card is called
the river. You now have a total of seven
cards that you can use to make a
five-card hand. You do not have to use
either of your hole cards, either.
After the river, you’ll see your
last betting round. The best five-card
hand wins – and the usual poker hand
ranks apply. (A flush beats a straight,
for example, just as three of a kind
beats two pairs.)
You should
also know that there are two ways to
play poker: cash/ring games and
tournaments. In cash games, you can get
up and leave whenever you want. If you
lose your chip stack, you can buy more.
In some tournaments, you can
rebuy after you lose all of your poker
chips, but only until a certain level of
play. In freezeout tourneys, however,
you go home when your last chip is gone.
Cash games and tourneys can both
be lots of fun. You might be better at
one than the other, so give both a try.
Most casinos and other card rooms offer
both cash games and tourneys. Online
poker rooms have the same deal. One
advantage to the online poker world is
the fact that most sites offer play
money. You pay nothing for these chips,
so you can learn the basics of Hold’em
for free.
Now you know enough to
start playing Hold’em. There are,
however, a few other simple things that
you should learn while you’re getting
comfortable with the cards.
•
Handling your chips. Familiarize
yourself with each chip’s denomination
so that you don’t have to fumble around,
or waste time, when it’s your turn to
act. The dealer or the game’s host is
usually happy to tell you what each chip
is worth.
• Hand rankings. You
can easily find hand rankings online.
Many decks of playing cards also include
a card that tells you which hands beat
the others. Take a few moments to
memorize this list. This doesn’t take
long, but it’s important to know what
beats your full house, straight, et
cetera.
• Hide your hole cards.
Some players aren’t very careful when
they look at these cards. Be sure that
you can get a clear look at yours –
without showing the players on either
side of you.
Texas Hold’em does
not take long to learn. You will know
what’s going on after just a few hands.
But, as many poker players will tell
you, this poker game takes a lifetime to
master. You’ll learn the basics fairly
quickly, but there are strategy tips and
other information that you’ll gradually
pick up as you continue playing and
studying the game.
The
Beginner's Guide to Omaha
If
you’re an experienced Texas Hold’em
player, you won’t need long to learn one
of its variations: Omaha Hi. These two
games are very similar so, once you
master the differences, you’ll be well
on your way to becoming a good, if not
great, Omaha player.
Even if
you’re new to poker in general, learning
Omaha is fairly easy. Keep reading this
guide to learn how to play one of the
poker room’s most popular card games.
In Omaha, your goal is to create
the best five-card hand from a total of
nine cards: four in your hand and five
community cards. The catch is that,
unlike Hold’em, Omaha requires you to
use exactly two of your hole cards. This
means that you will take three of the
five community cards to make your hand –
and hope that what you end up holding is
good enough to take the pot.
If
you’re playing online or in a card room,
there will be a dealer button that
rotates clockwise after each hand. The
two players to the left of the “dealer”
must post the small blind and big blind
(respectively) before the hand is dealt.
Typically, the small blind is half the
size of the big blind.
After
these two players post the blinds,
you’re dealt your hole cards. These are
facedown, so only you know what you’re
holding. Remember that you must use two
of these cards to make your hand, so
don’t get too excited if you’re dealt
four Jacks.
Betting depends on
which Omaha game you’re playing. Omaha
can be fixed-, pot- or no-limit.
Fixed-limit games have specific amounts
for betting and raising. In pot-limit
games, you can bet or raise up to the
size of the pot. In no-limit Omaha, you
can bet or raise every chip you have.
Omaha has four betting rounds.
They come:
After your hole cards
are dealt.
After the flop (first
three community cards) are dealt.
After the turn (fourth community
card) is dealt.
After the river
(fifth community card) is dealt.
The standard hand rankings apply in
Omaha. A set (three of a kind) beats two
pairs, for example, and a full house (a
set and a pair) beats a straight.
If you’re still in the hand after
the final betting round, you’ll show
down your hand to win the pot. You do,
however, need to be careful when you’re
reading your hand. Because you’re dealt
four hole cards, but must use two, it’s
easy to make mistakes. Here are some
examples of common mistakes in Omaha.
Your hole cards:
A-A-3-4
The board cards:
K-Q-8-3-3
You might think that you have a full
house – two Aces and a set of threes –
but you don’t. Because you can use only
two of your hole cards, you would take
an Ace and the three from your hand to
make a set of threes with the
best-possible kicker, the Ace.
Your hole cards:
A-K-Q-J
The
board cards:
Q-T-9-4-2
This
might appear to be an Ace-high straight,
but that is incorrect. To make an
Ace-to-ten straight, you would have to
use the Ace, King and Jack in your hand.
This is not possible in Omaha.
However, you do have a King-high
straight. Use the King and Jack from
your hand and the Queen, ten and nine
from the board to make this hand.
Because the extra two hole cards
create more possible hands, you have to
be careful with smaller hands. Two pairs
might be a great hand in Hold’em, but
they’re not quite as good in Omaha.
You’re more likely to see sets and full
houses, along with flushes, in Omaha
because of the added combinations that
the four hole cards make.
Your
basic Hold’em skills will help you in
Omaha, but keep the big difference –
those extra cards – in mind. This is
easy to remember once you’ve played the
game for a while, though, so don’t let
yourself become frustrated if you can’t
keep things straight at first.
Once you’ve mastered the basics of
Omaha, you can start working on some
advanced skills. These will help you
collect more chips over the long term,
which is always a plus as far as serious
poker players are concerned. Learning
how to read the board, put other players
on specific hands and read their tells
all make you a better player –
regardless of which poker game you’re
playing.
What Should I Look For
in an Online Casino
Type in the
words online casino and you will be
dumbfounded by the amount of online
casinos available. With all of the
different choices it can be difficult to
make up your mind. The difficult part is
figuring out what to look for in an
online casino. Once you know what to
look for than you will have an easier
time deciding what online casino you
want to play at.
Not all online
casinos allow customers from all states
or countries. In fact, there are some
U.S. states that can not gamble on the
net and some online casinos have stopped
accepting U.S. residents altogether. For
this reason, one of the first things you
must look into is the regional
restrictions. Make sure that the casino
will allow you to play. In addition, you
may also want to make sure that online
gambling is legal in your state.
In order to participate in an online
casino you will need to have a
compatible computer. Most online casinos
have some sort of software they use in
order to allow you to access their
games. However, if you do not have the
right computer and software you may not
have access or the games might not work
right on your computer. It is also
important to find out if the online
casino has technical support and how
long their technical support is
available.
Another important
aspect of gambling is the deposit
method. You have to add money to the
casino before you can play. There are
many methods of depositing money
including, instant transfer, credit
card, and online banks such as
Netteller. However, not all casinos
accept all methods. In addition, some
credit card processors use different
security measures which may prevent you
from using your credit card even though
it is valid and your information was
correct. In order to deposit money you
have to choose the online casino with
the right deposit method.
Many
online casinos offer incentives to get
people to try their online casinos. This
is usually in the form of bonuses given
at the time of your first deposit and
gifts given on birthdays and such. When
looking for an online casino you may
want to find one that offers such an
incentive. However, you must also look
at the fine print. Many bonuses have
restrictions. For instance, some bonuses
are only allowed for certain deposit
methods. Other bonuses are only given
when you deposit a certain amount.
Great Gifts for Poker Lovers
If your gift-giving list includes
poker players, you might have a tough
time picking the perfect presents. There
is a massive selection of these types of
items on the market, which can be
confusing. Your favorite poker players
are sure to love some, if not all, of
the gifts on this list.
• Online
players love to build their bankrolls.
You can give your players just about any
amount of money for their online
accounts. Some sites let you buy gift
certificates; others let you make
deposits with credit cards or money
orders. If those options fail, you
always have cash.
• Padding the
bankrolls for live games or tournaments
is also a great gift. Even if players
are doing very well – and, therefore,
have plenty of money to continue playing
– they appreciate bankroll
contributions.
• Players who
take their games seriously are studying
and learning as much as they can – often
from the pros. A gift card to an online
bookstore like Amazon will let your
players pick out poker-related books or
DVDs. Better yet: see if your recipients
have wish lists at this, or similar,
sites. That way, you can give them
exactly what they want – instead of
inadvertently giving them duplicates.
• You really can’t have too many
good decks of playing cards. Find out
which brands and types the players
prefer and add to their collections. You
can find all sorts of playing cards
online or at game shops.
•
Similarly: A good set of chips is always
appreciated. There are a few different
types of chips on the market, and many
designs. Talk to the players to see what
sets are on their lists and buy
accordingly.
• Some players like
poker-related clothing; others don’t.
Many Web sites and retail stores sell
everything from caps to shirts. You’re
sure to find clothing that fits the
players’ personalities if you spend some
time browsing.
• If you’re
looking to spend big money on your
favorite players, consider sending them
to the World Series of Poker. This is
the biggest event in all of poker: just
about every player on the planet dreams
of coming home with one of the bracelets
that first-place finishers earn. Sending
poker lovers to Las Vegas for the Series
is one of the biggest, best gifts
imaginable.
• Sending players to
other poker events is also a nice idea.
The World Series of Poker has circuit
events in various places. The same is
true of the World Poker Tour. And if you
can’t afford those types of trips, you
can fund trips to smaller events.
Depending on where you live, there might
even be a decent poker tourney right in
your own city or town.
Ultimately, the best way to discover the
perfect poker-related gift is to know
the people on your gift list. Being
familiar with their “poker
personalities” will help you figure out
exactly what they’ll love the most.
Listening to them talk, checking out
their wish lists, and starting casual
conversations about poker will all help
you narrow down the choices and find out
exactly what they want.
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