Texas Holdem Game Basics Playing Guide
Texas Holdem Game Basics Playing Guide
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Texas Hold 'Em is known as the Cadillac of poker for a reason. If you learn how to play it correctly, it can be extremely profitable, as well as exciting. In Texas Hold 'Em, you will be dealt two hole cards. Then there will be five community cards, which consist of the flop, turn, and river. The flop has three cards, the turn is one card, and the river is one card. There are four rounds of betting: pre-flop, flop, turn, river. A hand can be won by your opponent folding or by you showing the best hand after the river (the showdown).
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There are primarily two varieties of Texas Hold 'Em, which are tournaments and cash games. In most cases in a tournament, if you're one of the last ten people remaining, you will be paid. One of the greatest benefits of a tournament is that you can risk a little to win a lot. That said, there's also a lot more luck involved in a tournament than there is in a cash game. This is because the blinds – which are forced bets every round – will go up.
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This leads to other players attempting to steal the blinds without the flop ever taking place. In a cash game, the blinds never go up. The other luck factor in a tournament is that there will be a lot of races. For example, if someone has AK and another player has 88, they're both going to go all-in pre-flop if it's late in the tournament and the blinds are large. In a cash game, the hand would be played out normally.
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If you're a beginner, it's recommended you start with a tournament. You will learn a lot while only risking a little. And you will still have a chance to win.
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If you want to win in Texas Hold 'Em, you're going to need to know some strategy. The most important attribute for a poker player is patience. This is something everyone thinks they can do, but it's much easier said than done. Many people sit at the poker table and want to win fast. These people are doomed. Even if they get lucky and win in one session, they will never win in the long run.
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Once you learn patience, then next thing you need to learn is position. If you can learn to only play top hands in early position, good hands in middle position, and a larger variety of hands in late position, then your odds of success will greatly increase.
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Beyond patience and position is reading ability. Don't worry about this yet, though; this can only come with experience. When you first start playing, you will only be paying attention to your own cards and how they rank compared to what's out there. As time progresses, you will begin to realize that playing your opponent's hand can be much more profitable.
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For instance, he probably doesn't have AK if he didn't raise pre-flop, so why is he betting that Ace on the flop? He must be on a draw. What kind of draws are out there? Do I want to push him off the draw or build a big pot? This might sound foreign now, but once you play enough hands, you will know exactly what this all means.
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And one parting tip to always keep in mind: the cards are important, but also keep in mind who you're playing against.
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When poker began, there were no tournaments. The idea of a poker tournament was effectively unheard of well into the 20th century. When the World Series of Poker came into existence in the 70s, tournaments were still the province of only a select few professionals.
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Today, tournaments are ubiquitous and it’s easy to forget that for most of poker history they did not exist. However, the popularity of tournaments did nothing to signal the death knell of cash games. There are more no limit hold’em cash games today than ever. Here are a few things to keep in mind when playing in one.
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Blinds
Unlike in tournaments, the blinds remain consistent throughout your cash game play. This means you can afford to be much more patient with your starting hand requirements.
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You should endeavor to always have at least 100 big blinds in your stack, if possible. However due to the prevalence of capped games and bankroll limitations, this may not always be an option.
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Rebuying
In a cash game, you can rebuy or leave the table whenever you want. This means that you must have some bankroll management skills. You must know when to quit and when to keep playing.
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You should try to play for as long as you have an edge in skill over your opponents and you are playing well. However, if you have lost more than you were prepared to for the session, you may have to quit. Quitting or playing based on wanting to “get even” or “press a lucky streak” is not good poker.
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Pot Odds in Cash Game Play
Anytime you play poker, you should be thinking about pot odds. If you have a better chance of winning than the pot the odds are laying you, it’s time to put in your chips.
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In a tournament, each decision may represent your survival. As a result, you need much bigger edges. In a cash game that allows you to rebuy, any edge is good enough to put your stack in.
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If you feel you have a large skill advantage over your opponents, you may prefer to commit your stack at a time when there is less risk. However, the reality is that as long as your bankroll can manage multiple rebuys, you should be pressing any edge.
