Online Poker

While poker is poker, there is a different world of poker when you take into account the online venues. Traditionally, poker is played in person, whether in a casino or at someone’s home. Yet, the world of online poker has made such an impact on the number of worldwide poker players that it’s impossible not to talk about it and give you helpful tips for playing on the web.

Tens of millions of dollars are “bet” and played in online poker every year, with the numbers increasing dramatically each year. Some researchers have found that some one and a half million people play online versions of poker regularly over the course of a month. What’s more, they are winning real money. And, these numbers are growing from 100,000 to double that each and every month.

There is something to say about how different and unique online poker is in comparison to that of in person poker playing. It is a completely different experience, but not in a negative way.

How can you be successful at online poker? It takes playing experience and knowledge. For example, one group that studied players found that they are more experienced in predicting tells simply because they are harder to note over the internet, rather than in person.

For example, you may be able to notice a person’s betting patterns easier. You will be able to notice how fast they react to their turn or other tells that definitely give them away, although you never actually see the person you are playing against during the game.

Differences To Note

There are two types of players in the game of online poker. You can choose to be either without harm. You can play for real money and win real money. Or, you can play with play money instead. If you are new to the game of poker or haven’t played on the web yet, it’s important to play at least a bit in the play money areas until you get the feel for the game play.

Before you begin playing for real money, you do have to do your homework in regards to the website that you are using. Not all can provide you with the most reliable and an integrity setting. Learn all that you can about that website.

Ring And Tournaments

When you enter the world of online poker playing, you will see a lot of information regarding tournaments. Tournaments are popular with those that are frequent users of the online poker plays. On the other hand, ring games are designed to be a perfect place for those that are new to the game. Start out with these games first.

In Ring games, players come into the game at any time and can leave at any time. You can join where you want to. You can buy chips and play, or leave the table. This is much different than that of a tournament game. Here, you can not leave the table that you are at or cash out your winnings any time you would like to. Rather, you have to remain in the game until you win or lose all of the chips from and to other players in the game.

You may have heard of the World Series of Poker, sometimes called simply WSOP. This is the largest and probably the most profitable of all tournaments today. It is so well known that even non poker players know about it.

When you visit a poker room, you will find plenty of options to select from. Both ring and tournament games can be:

• Texas Hold’em (one of the most popular of all)
• Seven Card stud
• Seven Card Stud Hi Lo
• Omaha Hi
• Omaha Hi Lo

Most of the more common games can be played. But, you will also find some very unique and new poker games being played as well. Not all poker rooms will offer the same games, but most of these larger and more popular games are sure to be found on any good poker gaming website or in these poker rooms.

Games are categorized in several ways. Most poker rooms offer multi table games, mini games, one on one games and private tournaments.

Getting Started

Once you spend a few games in the free rooms, its time to move on to money staked poker games. Why shouldn’t you just continue to play the safe route? The problem is that the stakes aren’t high enough and the field of players isn’t high enough for you to gain the valuable and necessary experience that you need for real money play later on.

For this reason, even if you go with the very low costing poker games on the web spend the money and do it. You simply need to sign up with a good website, give them your credit card number and start playing. Once you do this, you will need to create a screen name that you’ll use. Give it some thought. What do you want the other players to know you as?

Your Poker Bankroll

Once you have selected and signed up for your poker site, it is time to consider your bankroll. What you will find here is the fact that online card rooms usually limit how much you can deposit into your account each day. It’s not like being in a casino when you can simply pull out more money. For this reason, you need to develop an online bankroll.

To do this, you have to put in the hours. You can also do this by transferring funds from an existing player to yourself. In other words, you need to prove yourself to the online card room by playing. Once you do this, take the time to email customer service and ask for an increase in your bankroll; notice the terms of doing so before signing up with the site.

The best way to increase your bankroll is to play carefully. You want to play at a moderate limit so that you can begin to ease up your bankroll.

Use The Lobby

When you use the lobby in an online poker website, you gain quite a bit of information. You can look at the various games being played, the average size of the pot, the number of players seeing the flop, see who’s playing the game and much more. You also see what the limit is and can select the type of game that is right for you. Probably the best part of using the lobby is being able to see where the best games are. You never have to be in a bad situation.

One mistake that many people can make is simply playing two games at once. While this can seem easy to do, you’re less likely to do well. You will make rushed decisions, have less time to watch other players and you will lose out on important situations. You can make more by playing just one game at a time. Not only this but other players can strategize against you when you play two hands (you can do this to others, of course as well.)


Online Tells

As we discussed earlier, it’s essential to know all the tells of your players, both online and in person. It is more difficult to learn tells on the web, where you can’t see their actual body movements. Yet, there are some things that you can learn and use against other players.

There are “in turn” buttons that can be used and this is probably the most obvious of all tells in the game. If there is an immediate “check” you can tell that the player in their hand. For example, let’s say that you are the first one to act. You take a moment before you check. The three other players check very quickly right after you. This shows that they don’t have anything in their hand.

Another consideration is when the bet/raise in turn button is checked. If the first player takes a minute and then checks, you have this button pressed so your bet then appears, and then instantly the player next to you raises you, then you know that he or she didn’t care what your hand was, and bet anyway. This is an indication that they have a good hand!

If a player is slow to play the game, this can be an indication to you as well. Let’s say that they have been slow throughout the hand. It’s because they are new, or doing two things at once. Then, all of a sudden, they are playing aggressively and fast. That should tell you something!

There are many ways to learn about the players that you are playing in the game. Their tells can be small, insignificant things that they do that tell you of a pattern. Perhaps it is their betting pattern that intrigues you. It could be the way that they go on and on about how bad they are.

You will find that the “chat” feature in most online poker games is one of the best ways to learn about the other players in the game. Here, you can listen to them spill their information, complain about the game and so forth. The good news is that the player that “rants” about the game, is likely the best target you can focus your attention on during your own game.

When playing online poker, make the conscious decision to learn about the other players in the game. Instead of trying to play multiple games all at once, concentrate on just one game. You’ll make more money by learning more about the players at the table then you will try to juggle them both.

Most importantly, give yourself time to grow in talent and skill. You are likely to do badly the first few rounds that you play. Why? Because there is a learning curve in playing online poker that can help you to polish your skills so that next time, you do much better.
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Beginning Player Tips And Strategies

Playing poker is more than just the luck of the hand. It takes skill on your part. As we discussed briefly, your ‘tell’ can really give you away and allow someone to really take the prize when they shouldn’t have. In many games, it’s not always the person that has the best hand that wins. Rather, it’s the person that could stick around long enough to weather the storm.

In this chapter, we will focus on giving you some tips and strategies that will help you to improve your game right from the start, before you move forward. When you play your first, or you 1001st game, you’ll be able to use these strategies to make sure that no one can walk away with more than they should in a game of poker against you.

Your Hand: Keeping It Quiet

Of course you would never let anyone see your hand as that would allow them to place a better bet on their hand, which would ultimately allow you to lose the hand or, even worse, have everyone withdraw from the game when you have a great hand to play. For that reason, one of the key things you must do is to protect your hand.

The way that most people can tell what’s in your hand is not by looking at your cards, but watching your reaction to those cards. Here are some common reactions that people have. When you visit a casino, watch for these signs in other people.

• You look at your cards and smile.
• You look at your card and raise your eyebrows.
• You look at your cards several times.
• You place a large bet out of character (other bets have been lower.)
• You have some nervous indication such as bouncing your leg or hand.
• Your mood instantly improves.

These are some of the most common mistakes that people make when they are playing poker and get a good hand. If you have a good hand, you don’t want anyone else to know that you do have a good hand. If they do, then it’s easy for them to fold out of the game and you win a small pot instead of the bigger one you could have gotten.

In order to keep yourself from making this mistake, make a conscious decision to think about your reactions before the cards are dealt. For example, take your time and rethink the way that you are acting. Try to suppress emotion.

Your Betting Strategy

As mentioned, the other way that people can see your reaction and therefore make a decision about your hand is the way that you bet on your hand.

Let’s say that for the last few hands, you have bet conservatively. When the time came, you didn’t have great cards or bad cards. You weren’t aggressive. Now, you get a good hand. You bet on this hand high right from the start. This is a clear indication to the other players that you have a good hand because they know that you aren’t usually betting high on a riskier hand. They fold out of the game, and you are left with a small pot.

In an effort to overcome this, you’ll need to develop a betting strategy. A betting strategy is simply a term to describe your betting methods. The more varied that you can keep them; the more ideal your game will be played. The very best poker players are the most unpredictable players in the game.

Pay close attention, watching the other players. Who is aggressive and who is playing conservatively? This can help you to determine how they are playing too.

The best thing for you to do is to place bets more randomly. If you have an okay hand, then bet a bit better. The next time that you have a good hand; bet a bit lower than you normally would. Confusing the other players will work in your favor here.

Here’s a mistake that many people make. They stay in the game of poker whenever they have an ace in their hand. While an ace is a vitally important part to the game, that doesn’t mean that you will have the best hand of the game.

When do you know when to stay in the game with an ace in your hand? The best route to take, for most, is to stay in the game when you have another card that is of the same suit as the ace or you have a ten or higher with it. This gives you an increased chance of winning.

What’s Everyone Doing?

Part of your betting strategy is to define what everyone else is doing during the game. Any good poker player knows it’s not just about the cards in your hand, but the cards in other’s hands as well. Learning to spot the way that they are playing, namely the way that they are betting, you can benefit with a better chance of winning the hand.

What’s their chip count? For games that are no limit games, there’s always the risk of losing it all if someone puts in all of their chips. But, there’s more to learn from this as well.

While a mistake here in watching other plays can hurt you, you should also take note of how high they are bidding and on what type of cards they are bidding better. For example, are they a conservative bettor most of the time? If so, noticing this can help you to clearly see when they have a good hand (they will tend to bid higher.)

Take your time to learn about the other players. When you take mental notes about the way that they play and any tells that they have, you’ll learn what their strategy is and develop your own against them.

It’s also important for you to pay attention to your own game. Is your betting strategy working? What needs to be changed in it? What’s more, are you winning? Take the time to analyze your own weaknesses so that you can develop into a complete player that is hard to beat.

These are some of the most basic means of controlling the game play from your standpoint. But, you also need to learn how to know what to bet and why. This will ultimately dictate how well you can play any hand.


Aggressive Strategy

Probably the best route for any beginning player to play is that of the aggressive role. Beyond anything you do need to use the other tools we’ve discussed, but you also need to know how to successfully play the game when your turn arrives.

Play a strong hand. Fold your hand when it’s less than a fifty percent chance that you’ll be successful. It’s that simple. You should avoid chasing draws, too. If other players believe that your style of game is weak, they will try to take advantage of this. On the other hand, it could work in your favor in limited situations.

What are good cards to have in your hand? If you want to play the math angle of poker (yes, percentages will come in your favor here) then consider this.

The best cards to play include:

• AA
• AK, in the same suit
• KK
• QQ

If you have these cards in your hand, your chances are any place from 31 to 22 percent of winning. If you have this type of hand, your raise should be about four times the table’s limit.

What else is a good starting hand?

• JJ
• AQ
• KQ in the same suit
• AJ in the same suit
• KJ in the same suit
• 10 – 10
• AK, not in the same suit.

While these percentages of wins will be less (around 20 percent to fifteen percent) they are still good starting hands to hold on to.

If you have:

• Pairs ( 8 – 8, 9 -9)
• Two Face Cards (Kings, Queens, Jacks)
• Or hands that can help you with a flush or a straight

Then, be patient and stay in the game. Analyze your cards to see what they could be, especially when playing games like Texas Hold’em where it’s all about the showdown and most winning hands will be nothing more than pairs.

Know The Odds

An important element in playing poker is to know what the odds are. When a set of cards hits your hand, you should know how difficult it will be for you to obtain the goal that you are after. Here is a very simple chart to help you to see what the best odds for you are.

Remember: There are 2,598,960 different ways that your deck of 52 cards can be played with five card hands.

In this chart, the odds of being dealt cards in your first hand are represented.

• Your Hand
• Odds Of Being In First Hand
• A High Card
• 1/1
• One Pair
• 15/1
• Two Pair
• 20/1
• Three Of A Kind
• 46/1
• Straight
• 254/1
• Flush
• 508/1
• Full House
• 693/1
• Four Of A Kind
• 4,164/1
• Straight Flush
• 72,192/1
• Royal Flush
• 649,739/1

Look at this chart. You can clearly see that it is very difficult to obtain that Royal Flush. Don’t hold out for it. Instead, look at the lower opportunity cards. For example, pairs are easy to get, in comparison to the other odds. The good news is that in most poker games, a pair of high ranking cards is all you’ll need to win the game.

In other words, it is more important to consider what is more likely to happen and to run with it, rather than looking for the highest cards every round.

When you look at this information, you’ll realize that most players aren’t playing for a royal flush but for much lower ranking hands. On the other hand, this is not necessarily as true when it comes to poker hands where you are exchanging cards for new ones from the deck, as in some forms of poker.

Here is an example for you to take into consideration.

Your hand is a 6, 3, King, King and King.

With this hand, you can either make a full house or four of a kind. You can get a pair in 72 different ways. But, if you get rid of two of your cards, you will then reduce the number of ways that you can get a pair by five. That reduces your chances of making a full house.

Since you have five cards, there are another 47 cards out in play, all of which are either in the deck or in other’s hands, which you can’t determine. Therefore, doing the calculations pulls down the odds of getting a full house to 15 to 1.

If you want to get a four of a kind, you have to have that final king, of course. If you exchange just one of your cards, you end up with odds of 46 to 1. Or, if you exchange two cards, you end up with the odds of 23 to 1.

What does all of this mean to you? When you are dealt a hand of cards, no matter what’s in your hand, you need to know the percentages, or odds, that you will get the hand that you are after.

Depending on the cards in your hand and the type of game that you are playing, you can clearly see where the odds of success lie for you. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the odds of poker as it will help you to make the right decisions, more often.

Learning the odds of the game can help you to improve your strategy for success. Never get too far in depth with worry, though. Instead, play smart and strong, by making changes to your strategy as often as necessary to win.

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Different Types Of Poker You Can Try (Caribbean Stud Poker)

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean stud poker is a bit different in how the game is played. If you notice, all of the poker games that we’ve gone though have the same goal: Develop a hand that is better than all of the other players have. You win with the best hand against the other players.

Yet, in Caribbean stud poker, things are flipped around a bit. Instead of playing against all of the other players, you are now playing against the casino or the room. The “bank” is the dealer.

The bank pays out all of the winning bets in the game.

In other words, you are playing against the dealer and therefore you have to beat the dealer’s hand to win the game.

Here’s how this one is played.

• An ante is created just like in other poker games.

• Each player in the game, which includes the dealer, is dealt five face down cards. One of the dealer’s cards is face up for everyone to see.

• At this point, you must decide if you want to raise or fold. The rules of folding and losing your ante and bets are still true here.

• To raise your bet, you must make a bet that is equal to twice the amount of the ante.

• The dealer then reveals his cards.

• The dealer’s hand must qualify. To do this, he must have an ace or king. For example, the lowest qualifying hand that the dealer can have is an ace, king, 4, 3, and a 2. The ace and the king must be present. If he does not have this, the player then wins his ante and the raise.

• If the dealer does qualify, the player will lose both his ante and his raise if the dealer’s hand is higher.

• If the player’s hand is better, the ante will then pay even money and your raise.

These are just a few of the many variations of poker that there are. As you can see, you can change this game in many ways and still enjoy the benefits of playing it!

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Different Types Of Poker You Can Try (Seven Card Stud)

Seven Card Stud

Here is a game that you have probably heard of as well. In Seven card stud, there are some differences from other forms of poker. Because it is a popular form of the game, you should want to learn how to play this one as well.

Seven card stud is played with two to eight people. You will place a bet that’s part of the ante and then there are an additional five betting rounds. In this version of poker, each player will receive three cards face down by the dealer. They will also receive four more cards that are face up. The players work to create the highest value in their hand, using any of the cards that they have. Five cards are used to make up the final hand.

Here’s how the game play works:

• The dealer deals two face down cards and one face up card to each player before the first round of betting happens.

• After each betting round, a face up card is dealt to each player, for three rounds. At this point, each player has their original three cards and three more face up cards.

• Finally, a face down card is dealt in the final round of betting.

• The showdown happens in which the winner of the game is determined.

Seven card stud hi lo is another version of this game. Here, the rules of the game are the same. The difference is that players try to create either the highest or the lowest valued hand. They can do this using any combination of five cards in their poker hand. The Hi Lo consideration is the same as other games with this same variation, such as Omaha Hi Lo in our previous example.

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Different Types Of Poker You Can Try (Omaha Hi)

Omaha Hi

Another type of poker that you may have heard about is Omaha Hi. This game is not as well known as Texas Hold’em but is still one of the regularly played games. Again, two to ten players can play the game. Here, you have four rounds of betting.

You can also play Omaha Hi Lo which is another version of this game. The rules are the same as Omaha Hi but each player creates the highest and/or the lowest valued qualifying hand using his cards and the community cards.

The main differences in the Omaha Hi game and standard or Texas Hold’em Poker include having four private cards along with five community cards. Here are some of the rules to the game.

• Each player is dealt two additional cards, (a total of four) private cards at the beginning of play.

• When the showdown happens, you must use only two of your private cards along with three of the community cards on the table, no more, no less.

These are the only two differences between Omaha Hi and Texas Hold’em!

The main rule differences between Omaha Hi and Omaha Hi Lo include these rules:

• The pot is split between the person that has the highest hand and the person that has the lowest hand.

• For you to have a qualifying low hand there can not be any cards above the 8 in your hand.

Omaha Hi is an easy game to play. Go ahead and get started!
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Different Types Of Poker You Can Try (Texas Hold’em)

There are many types of poker; some will fade in and out as being the type of poker being played by everyone. While it will take some time to learn all these different types, it’s fun to do so! In fact, you may find that standard poker isn’t played as much in casinos as these other types.

Here we’ll talk about some variations of the game that you can begin to take on.

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular types of poker today. In fact, it is much more common to find than any other type of poker being played. Most consider this to be the best game of poker that you can play, for many reasons. You’ll soon see why when you set out to play the game.

Two to ten players can play the game, giving you more range during the game. One of the best parts of the game is that it is a fast paced form of poker. The rules are simplistic and the action is there, constantly. While we could dedicate an entire book to this one game, here’s a brief look at how the game is played.

The dealer should have some sort of marking of being the dealer. That’s because every player will have a turn at being the dealer. An ante is created. The player to the dealer’s left starts with a small blind which is the first blind bet. The second person will then place what is called a big blind, because it is bigger than the first player’s bet. The term “blind” is used because you don’t know what the cards are yet, so you are blindly placing your pet.

The dealer then deals two cards face done to each player. These are called Private Cards (not seen by anyone else.) At this point, the player that is to the left of the person that placed the big blind will start the first betting round in the game. Here, you can call, raise or fold.

Next, three more cards are drawn but are face up. They are placed in the center of the table so everyone can see them. These are called community cards. All players can “use” them in their hand. The second round of betting begins with the person that is to the left of the dealer. This round is called the “flop” round.

The fourth community card is then drawn and placed with the others. The third level of betting is done and this time is called the “turn.” In this round, the betting amounts that are placed are doubles of the others.

Finally, the firth community card is dealt. This round is called the “river” round. Like in a standard game of poker, the showdown starts where players show their hands to determine who has won the pot.

Texas Hold’em poker is fun because it goes quickly. While it may seem more complex, and it is, the same poker rules that you have learned apply. This time, though, most of your cards are in the community cards rather than in your hand.
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Terms And Lingo

If you head to the poker game with your friends knowing that this is the first time that you will play with them, you don’t want to look bad playing the game. For that reason, you should have a basic understanding of the terms used in poker and what words mean when they are used.

This is a brief outline of the various terms you are likely to hear throughout the game. We won’t go through the information already provided here, though.

Aggressive Players:

You may be called an aggressive player one day. If so, that can be a good thing for you! An aggressive player is someone that plays heavy bets. For example, in the first round they may bet high initially. By doing this, they cause the other players to question whether their hand is good enough, causing most players to fold out of the game. The goal is to push the other player from their comfort zone so that you benefit from this.

It can be hard to be an aggressive player when you are learning but once you get the feel for the game, this is a good way for you to build your cash or winnings quickly with the right skill level.

Conservative Play:

On the contrast to the aggressive player is the player that’s conservative. Although this is a feel good position because it’s playing the safe road, it’s not going to allow you to win any big pots. If you are known as a conservative player, you are less likely to make the big antes.

A conservative player is one that usually bets on the minimum required to bet to stay in the game or is the person that folds when their cards aren’t what he’s looking for. It sounds good, but the problem lies in the fact that when you do this, over and over again, other players learn that about you.

Then, when you do up the ante or you do stay in the game that means that you have a decent to good hand. They will know that and fold. You are left with a small ante.

In addition, a player that is considered conservative is also likely to fall victim to that of a bluffer, something we’ll talk about in just a bit.

Finding the middle road between the conservative and the aggressive player is the prime place to be in poker.

Bluff:

As part of the process of learning to play poker, you need to learn how to bluff. Bluffing simply means that you will try to look like you have better cards than you actually do. There is no way for you to be successful at the game of poker without knowing how to bluff and how bluffing works simply because it is a fundamental aspect that most poker players know.

The player that bluffs and does it well is a player that is most likely to excel because he or she will get higher bids on their cards than they technically should get. The successful bluffer is someone that can scare the other players in the game into believing that they have excellent cards.

On the flip, sometimes it can be advantageous to actually be more negative in your bluffing strategy. By allowing others to believe that your cards aren’t as grand, they will believe they have a better opportunity to win. In this case, you may be able to get them to risk more only to have this work in your favor later by allowing you to cash in a higher amount.

The Tell:

The question then arises about whether or not you can tell when a player is bluffing in order to know exactly what you should do with your hand. A “tell” is a good way to do this. A tell is a mannerism that you have that shows that you aren’t telling the truth in some manner.

Everyone has some way of revealing that they are bluffing and learning what someone else’s “tell” is can help you to clearly see when someone isn’t being up front with you about their hand.

For example, some individuals may be unable to look other players in the eye when they are bluffing. They may look over your shoulder. Others will sweat more so, especially when there is a larger pot on the table!

In addition to this, you also have to flip the coin on yourself. Knowing that everyone reveals small things about their bluff, you should learn what yours are so that you can try to hide them more so.

You may have heard this before as it’s called having a “poker face.” Developing the ability to hide your reactions to cards in your hand or what other people do, is a clear indication of your success at the game. Working on it will take time.

Additional Terms To Know

Here are a few more terms that you must know to play the game and play it well.

• Hand: A “hand” is your set of five cards. Your card combination.

• Play: A “play” is one round of poker, from the shuffle and dealing of the cards to the next one.

• Pot: The “pot” of money or tokens is where bets are placed. The winner gets the “pot.”

• Hand Tie: On the rare occasion that two players were to have the exact same hand, the pot would then be divided in half between the two. If the pot can not be easily divided, the person that had the highest bet during the hand will win the additional funds.

• Ante: The “ante” is a term that is used specifically for the money or tokens placed in the pot at the very beginning of the game to build the pot.

• Rake: If you are playing in a poker room, a “rake” is a commission that is charged. It is a small portion of the funds that are won at the end of most hands. It’s the way that they stay in business.

• Showdown: Once all betting is over, the “showdown” happens in which the winner is determined.

• Flop: In poker, a flop is a term used to describe the dealing of the first three face up cards. A flop is used in Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker, where community cards are used as part of the game.

From these terms you can learn a bit more about the game. But, what’s important is to know what they mean when another, more experienced poker player says them!
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Step By Step Play (6)

Step 6: Who Won?

Finally, when everyone has either seen the bet or folded, the game is concluded. At this time, everyone is required to turn over their cards and see how well their hand met the other player’s hands. You can use the previous chapter to help you to place “value” on each player’s hand, based on what they have accomplished over the round.

Once everyone has turned over their cards to show what they had in the game, the highest player whose cards are valued the highest, wins the game. If you are playing for funds, the pot in the middle is awarded to the player that won the game.

When To Hold And When To Fold

When should you fold your hand? When should you hold on and try to pick up a few new cards? This is the largest risk that you take in the game of poker. There is no 100 percent for sure way to predict what will happen. Therefore, take the time to consider your situation.

* If you fold you are out of the game with no chance of winning the game at all. You lose any funds placed into the pot.

* If you stay in you can pick up a few new cards and hope for the best results. Your new cards can help your situation, but they can’t really make it worse.

* If you stay in and don’t pick up any additional cards, your chances remain on what’s in your hand. It could be great, or it could be nothing.

If you don’t have a good hand or you have a very bad hand, you may want to fold right from the start. If you have an okay hand or a good hand, then staying in and drawing a new card to two can be a great decision to make. You have to analyze it.

Don’t get caught though. Let’s say that you draw an outstanding hand and know that it’s a rare one to get. You are likely to win this round. The worst thing that you can do is to allow everyone to think that you have a great hand. If they do believe that you have the best hand in the game, they will fold and you are left with a small ante. Not worth it.

Instead, invest the time in playing like it’s just an okay hand. They won’t realize what you have and you’ll benefit in the reward of the ante. They will believe that their hand is the highest value in the game throughout it.

The key to being a successful poker player is to know how to bluff your way through the game. Yes, lying is okay here. The goal is to provide your fellow players with no indication of the type of hand that you have. You also want to lead them to believe that their weak hand is better than your hand, so that they stick around.

Probably of all aspects of poker, this is the most important to learn and the hardest to learn.
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Step By Step Play (4&5) Cont.

Step 4: New Cards

Now that everyone has had a chance to leave the game, it’s now time to reconsider your hand. Anyone that hasn’t folded out of the game should consider their cards. If you don’t want any of your cards, you can get rid of them. You can then pick up some new cards in the hopes of getting a better hand overall.

You can get rid of up to three cards and pick up three additional cards. You must keep five cards in your hand. When you discard them, place them face down on the table near the other deck. No one gets to see what those cards are. No one should see which cards you are picking up newly either.

You don’t have to make any changes at this point with your hand.

The goal is to add value to your hand by getting rid of any cards that don’t play well with others. Perhaps you have two aces and would like to try for another. By getting rid of another card that doesn’t add any value to your hand, you may be able to pick up a good card.

Also, this is a key time to pay attention to what others are doing. How many are they picking up or getting rid of? What this will help to tell you is the potential strength of their hand. While you don’t know the numbers they have, you can tell what they are holding onto.

Once everyone has made their new picks, you can move on to the next round.

Step 5: The Next Round

Now that everyone has gone through and picked up new cards, a new round if betting is done. All players again start the bidding process just as they did in the first round. You will have the ability to open or check at your round, and then once someone places a bet on the round, you can see, raise or fold at your turn.

Again, the process follows the same as the last. When no one wants to raise or fold out of the game, the game is over.

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Step By Step Play (3) Cont.

Step 3: All Bets Are Down

As each player takes a look at his card, he will determine where he stands. The first player should then place his bet for the hand. The player to the left of the dealer goes first by placing his bet into the center of the table. There are other methods to determine who has to bet first, but for those learning the game, this is the easiest method to use.

But, how do you bet?

There are two options in the first round of betting in a hand of poker. When no one has made a bet yet, you can select from these two options:

* Open Bet: When your turn comes and no one has bet yet, you open the betting with your bet. You can bet anything you want, up to the betting limit that has been pre-established.

* Check Bet: The betting comes to you and no one else has placed a bet yet. But, you don’t want to be the first person to open the bet, so you simply “check.” This means you don’t want to pull out of the game, but you don’t want to open betting either.

At some point, someone has to open the betting and once that is done, there are a few more considerations as to what your next move is.

Now, there are three additional choices to make:

* You Can See: If you see the bet, you match the bet that they have placed on the table. If they bet $5, then you need to bet $5 to match their bet.

* You Can Raise: For those that will raise the bet, they will first need to “see” the previous bet and then you increase it by some amount. So, in our example, you would “see” the bet for $5 and then “raise” the bet by $5. When you want to play this hand, you would say, “I see your bet of $5 and raise you another $5.”

* You Can Fold: When you fold, you are now pulling out of the game without placing any bets on the table. To do this, you will say that you “fold” and place your cards on the table, face down. When you fold, you lose any bets that you may have already placed and you are out of the hand. When you believe that your poker hand is too weak, this is the way out that you will use until the next hand.
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