Board
The communal cards on the table.

Blind Bet
A "Blind Bet" is a forced bet that is taken before the cards are dealt - made instead of an Ante. It is posted by the two players to the left of the Dealer. A "Small Blind" is placed by the player to the Dealer's left. The "Big Blind" is placed by the player left of the Small Blind.

Flop
The first three communal cards dealt.

Hole Cards
The two cards that are dealt face-down to each player (also called "pocket" cards)

Turn
The fourth communal card dealt.

River
The fifth and final, communal card dealt.

Puck/buck/button
A moving disc which indicates the Dealer, and moves in a clockwise direction.

Betting Actions
In any poker game, players strategically wager using a number of actions available to them. The actions are as follows:

Continue reading "Texas Holdem - Texas Hold'em Terminology" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:46 PM
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Let's talk about history for a minute. Maybe you are one of those who are fascinated by the Best Game in the world and would love to know where it comes from.

Poker has actually been played for centuries. Poker as we know it comes from a French version called Poque. Texas Hold'em supposedly was first played in Texas, in Robstown, in the early 1900s. Texas Hold'em is undoubtedly the most popular form of poker, with players passionate about the game and its hype. The popularity of the game can be attributed to the televised broadcast of the World Series of Poker. This is also thanks to the invention of the pin-sized camera, which allows the viewer to see each of the players cards. Texas Hold'em is the best game to play in a tournament structure as it is dynamic, exciting and skillful. The game has gained celebrity status with the likes of Ben Affleck, Robin Williams and Nicole Kidman who are all said to be playing at the World Series of Poker 2005. It is the Texas Hold'em era, so claim your seat in history.

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em 101" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:11 PM
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"Without Betting, poker would just be a game of luck", says Lou Krieger, author of Poker for Dummies. This is especially true for Texas Hold'em. The secret to the game is to minimize your losses when you are holding a bad hand, and maximize your winnings when you have a good hand.

Limits determine the level of betting action. There are four different types of Texas Hold'em limit games:

Continue reading "Playing the Hold'em - Betting and Limits" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:10 PM
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While we're on the topic, let's talk about the player's different options. When it is a player's turn, it is called his/her turn to act. A player has the following option:
* Bet
* Call
* Raise
* Check
* Fold

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Playing Options" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:09 PM
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Texas Hold'em is played in rounds. If you would like to see a game with each round explained, go to Scene 3 of the online tutorial. There can be a maximum of 5 rounds per hand.

Rounds 1-5 go as follows:

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Playing Sequence" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:07 PM
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Texas Hold'em is played with a 52 card deck. There are four suits, namely hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs, and all are of equal value in the game. Each suit has 13 ranks, meaning that there are 13 numbers (including J Q K A) in each suit. That said, the different hands are ranked according to their rarity. As in life, the rarer something is, the more valuable it is. So in order the hand rankings are:

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Hand Rankings" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:06 PM
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Poker expert, Mike Caro, believes that you will make more money from your opponent's mistakes than you will from your own skill. So how do I do this you ask? You watch the other players, even when you are out of a hand. You watch for trends, for how they play when they have good hands, what hands they play etc. If you notice that a player likes playing Aces and you see an Ace come onto the flop, get out of he hand. Money saved will contribute to your profits too. Players have different styles or personalities. Players can usually be divided into four types:

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Player Types" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:05 PM
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We have already said that some starting hands should be played, and others shouldn't. Let's use the model that Sklansky has developed to help us know which hands are 'good'.

Sklansky's model is developed around eight groups of cards. All other cards should never be played. Group 1 is the strongest group, while a Group 8 hand should rarely be played.

Sklansky's model of starting hand groupings can be learnt as follows:

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Starting Hands" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:04 PM
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Position is power in poker. That means that where you are sitting at the table makes a difference. This actually is logical, if you are playing your hand after you have seen what all the other players have done, it is to your advantage. In a ten-seater Texas Hold'em table, the first 5 positions to the left of the dealer (including the small and big blinds) are known as 'Early Positions'. The three positions after that are known as 'Middle Position', while the last two positions (including the dealer) are known as 'Late positions'. It therefore looks as though the dealer has the advantage, as he can see what everyone else does before he acts.

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Position is Power" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:03 PM
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Knowledge is all good and well, but how are you going to apply your knowledge in a game? You need to have a game strategy. You need to take the knowledge you have gained, and will gain, and develop a solid strategy around this. Here are a few guidelines for you to use:

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Strategy" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:02 PM
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Bluffing is when you bet/act as though you have cards. This means that its not only the cards in your hand that count, but the cards people think that you have. Lets take an example. Lets say the flop comes down with an Ace. If you bet like you have an Ace to make a high pair, its called bluffing. The trick is to know when to bluff. Most players bluff too often. A player should only bluff when it is impossible for another player to tell the difference.

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Deception: Bluffing" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:01 PM
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Means deceiving the other players into thinking you have less of a hand then you do. Say you got dealt pockets cards KK. The flop comes K33. So you have already flopped a full house. You undoubtedly have the best hand at this point. If you play like you have the best hand, you will scare most of the other players into folding and your winnings therefore would be minimal. If you play by calling or checking as oppose to raising, the others will think you don't have much of a hand. They will be more likely to stay in the game to wait and see if the turn and river strengthen their hands. The point of slowplaying therefore is to extract the most money out of the players before taking the pot.

Continue reading "Texas Hold'em - Deception: Slowplaying" »

Posted by Trippy Grape at 03:00 PM
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