Texas Holdem Poker: The Basics
Texas Holdem Poker: The Basics
Poker is a game of which it is often that takes minutes to learn how to play but years to truly master as you are playing your opponents and not the cards you are dealt. Subtle strategy, bluff and double bluff, trying to get a read on your opponents and spot weakness. However it does not have to be like that.
Once you have the basics down pat you can be playing at opening levels and start to refine your skills from there. I'd suggest single table tournaments for relatively low stakes are good places to start as you can only lose the entry fee, which need only be low to start with, and build up from there. But first you need to have a grasp of the rules, different hand strengths and fundamental strategies.
Texas holdem poker is played with the classic single deck comprising of 52 cards - 13 of each suit these being spaces, hearts, clubs and diamonds. Each player is first dealt two cards face down so that the other players cannot see them. A round of betting then ensues before the other cards - known as community cards - are dealt face up over subsequent rounds. The first three community cards are known as the flop. The next round is a single card known as the turn with the final round and another single card) known as the river.
The object being to make the best hand possible from your initial two cards (known as hole cards) and the community cards. Or make your opponents think you have the best hand. There is no obligation to bet in any of the rounds. You can fold at any time if you think you're on a losing hand though of course you lose any chips you have bet in to the pot.
So your first decision after being dealt your hole cards is to bet or fold. All you have to go on at this point are the cards in front of you. Do you bet or fold? If you have a high pair (two cards of the same value for example a pair of aces, a pair of kings, a pair of tens) then you will be generally speaking in a better position to bet that if you have been dealt something no so promising like a three and an eight. It's hard to make a good hand there unless you get very lucky on the flop. Play the good, fold the bad would be the general principle here.
That said, the position you are at on the table in relation to the dealer determines when you have to decide whether to play or not. If you are in what is known as late position you have the advantage of seeing what your opponents have decided to do first. Take particular note of this as you can leverage it. For example if you are in late position holding what you would class as poor hole cards and your opponents have folded or placed minimum bet before it's your turn you might view that as an indication that they don't have great cards either and if you throw out a reasonable bet you may be able to pick up the pot there and then with a little bluff of your own.
Conversely if you are one of the first to act and have poor hole cards you may be better to fold and get out of there to save your chips for better opportunities. As the poker tournament progresses to the later stages and players are eliminated then the reverse can come in to play with a strong bet from the early position player enough to scare off the others. Knowing how and when to bluff is a skill you must develop but can only do so by playing and looking for weakness in your opponents.
Knowing when to fold is perhaps the most important skill you can develop when playing poker. It takes a lot of self discipline though will, save you many chips in the long run. Those pocket aces might look good before the flop and you bet big, rightly so, though when the flop hits things change. You aces might not be in front now so study the flop and take a view. What do your opponents do - does one of them throw out a large bet and might the flop have made them a better hand that your aces. If you think your hand is beaten then it probably is. Fold, get out and wait for another hand. Do not get attached to your cards and think you "must" win because you may not and that can hurt.
The only way to learn Texas holdem tournament poker skills is to play the game. Play online if you prefer. Start with small stakes tournaments and develop your skills from there. The great thing about single table tournaments of nine or ten players is that if you can finish in the first three you win money and that feels great. But please never play poker with money you cannot afford to lose.
Poker is a game of which it is often that takes minutes to learn how to play but years to truly master as you are playing your opponents and not the cards you are dealt. Subtle strategy, bluff and double bluff, trying to get a read on your opponents and spot weakness. However it does not have to be like that.
Once you have the basics down pat you can be playing at opening levels and start to refine your skills from there. I'd suggest single table tournaments for relatively low stakes are good places to start as you can only lose the entry fee, which need only be low to start with, and build up from there. But first you need to have a grasp of the rules, different hand strengths and fundamental strategies.
Texas holdem poker is played with the classic single deck comprising of 52 cards - 13 of each suit these being spaces, hearts, clubs and diamonds. Each player is first dealt two cards face down so that the other players cannot see them. A round of betting then ensues before the other cards - known as community cards - are dealt face up over subsequent rounds. The first three community cards are known as the flop. The next round is a single card known as the turn with the final round and another single card) known as the river.
The object being to make the best hand possible from your initial two cards (known as hole cards) and the community cards. Or make your opponents think you have the best hand. There is no obligation to bet in any of the rounds. You can fold at any time if you think you're on a losing hand though of course you lose any chips you have bet in to the pot.
So your first decision after being dealt your hole cards is to bet or fold. All you have to go on at this point are the cards in front of you. Do you bet or fold? If you have a high pair (two cards of the same value for example a pair of aces, a pair of kings, a pair of tens) then you will be generally speaking in a better position to bet that if you have been dealt something no so promising like a three and an eight. It's hard to make a good hand there unless you get very lucky on the flop. Play the good, fold the bad would be the general principle here.
That said, the position you are at on the table in relation to the dealer determines when you have to decide whether to play or not. If you are in what is known as late position you have the advantage of seeing what your opponents have decided to do first. Take particular note of this as you can leverage it. For example if you are in late position holding what you would class as poor hole cards and your opponents have folded or placed minimum bet before it's your turn you might view that as an indication that they don't have great cards either and if you throw out a reasonable bet you may be able to pick up the pot there and then with a little bluff of your own.
Conversely if you are one of the first to act and have poor hole cards you may be better to fold and get out of there to save your chips for better opportunities. As the poker tournament progresses to the later stages and players are eliminated then the reverse can come in to play with a strong bet from the early position player enough to scare off the others. Knowing how and when to bluff is a skill you must develop but can only do so by playing and looking for weakness in your opponents.
Knowing when to fold is perhaps the most important skill you can develop when playing poker. It takes a lot of self discipline though will, save you many chips in the long run. Those pocket aces might look good before the flop and you bet big, rightly so, though when the flop hits things change. You aces might not be in front now so study the flop and take a view. What do your opponents do - does one of them throw out a large bet and might the flop have made them a better hand that your aces. If you think your hand is beaten then it probably is. Fold, get out and wait for another hand. Do not get attached to your cards and think you "must" win because you may not and that can hurt.
The only way to learn Texas holdem tournament poker skills is to play the game. Play online if you prefer. Start with small stakes tournaments and develop your skills from there. The great thing about single table tournaments of nine or ten players is that if you can finish in the first three you win money and that feels great. But please never play poker with money you cannot afford to lose.
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