Texas Holdem: Don’t Hesitate To Try It

Texas Holdem is undoubtedly the game of strategy which should be practiced all the time. Although it’s not so difficult to learn and play, it’s extremely important to have your own strategy and improve it all the time. The better you strategy is, the more chances you have to play with skilled opponents, enjoy an exciting game, become a winner and of course, make some money.

Just like in any other type of poker games, in Texas Holdem players deposit a certain amount of money to make up a pot. The strategy lies in attempting to control the amount of pot money on the hand that each player holds, although the players cannot control the dealt cards. After several series of hands or deals that will follow, the pot is typically won by a player or divided among the players, if it a case of a tie. A showdown may occur at the end of a deal, in this case, the remaining players have to compare hands and the pot goes to the highest hand or to the last player who has not folded.

Robstown, Texas is officially recognized as Texas Holdem poker birthplace. It was played in the early 1900s but its grand opening happened in 1967 in Las Vegas. In the 21st century its popularity, as one of the most played kinds of online poker, can be credited to the victory of Chris Moneymaker, an American poker player and the champion of the 2003 World Series of Poker. What is perfect about this game is that the more people get interested in Texas Holdem and online poker, the more people enjoy it and make sure it’s worth their time and effort.

Perks of Playing Online Poker

Online poker is a hotly debated topic but the perks of playing it cannot be denied by anyone. The internet is the perfect venue for players who don’t have time to drive to the casino every day, players who want to play thousands of hands a day and for several other reasons that I’ll discuss today.

1. No Casino? No problem!

I live hours away from the nearest casino but am able to play internet poker every single day thanks to the internet. If it wasn’t for online poker, I never would have been able to play poker near as much as I can today. With online poker, you don’t have to be near a casino to play poker, even for high stakes money. All you need is a computer and a connection to the internet.

2. More hands per hour

Online poker tables move about twice as fast as live poker tables so you can get in many more hands per hour online. In addition to that, you can play multiple tables at a time. It once took weeks to play a thousand hands of poker but that can now be accomplished in just a few hours of play.

Being able to get in more hands per hour accomplishes three major goals: It increases your hourly profit if you’re a winning player. It gets you through downswings faster. And last, it brings in more loyalty club perks.

3. Safer

What!? Yes, it’s true – online poker is safer than live poker. I understand that safety is the biggest concern of most new online poker players but if you play at a big-name, trusted poker site, you’ll be in great hands.

Online poker is safer because you don’t have to carry around large sums of cash or watch over piles of chips at the poker table. All your money is transferred online so you’ll never have to carry around wads of cash in a dark parking lot.

4. Game Selection

At big poker rooms, there are hundreds of tables to choose from so if you ever find yourself stuck at a tight table, you can just find a new table. If you find yourself stuck at a poor table in a live poker room, there’s not much you can do about it except quit.

5. Note Taking

You can take notes on your opponents much easier online than you can live. Every online poker site has software that allows you to take and store notes on your opponents. Sure, you can take notes on some of your opponents at live poker rooms but it’s generally frowned upon and difficult to keep track of who’s who.

Online Poker vs. Face-to-Face Poker

Online Poker vs. Face-to-Face Poker

While the actual game of poker and the rules involved in playing the game hold true no matter the situation and terms of playing be it online or in a land based casino or poker room, the game itself and the opponents that one may face could actually be very different in each respective scenario.

Those that are used to playing online and those that are used to playing in a land based casino only can often spot on another after playing with the respective other for only minutes. Online poker players have completely different tells than that of a land based poker players. And while this isn’t true for all online players as a whole it does hold true for the majority.

Online players are used to completely different environments when they are playing poker than those that play more frequently in a face to face game. Online players often play out of their home in a familiar surrounding with only the computer beside them. They do not need to worry about facial expressions, about showing their emotions or about anything that is happening in their surroundings. They are often used to having the TV on while they play or perhaps eating, singing or doing what they please.

Those players that play poker at land based casinos or poker rooms are often the strict opposite, they are used to containing their emotions and hiding their tells as much as possible. They often learn to read other players by the way they sit, how they blink or even how they breathe.

When online casino poker players come together to land based players it is always interesting to watch the dynamic but often times the land based player has a little bit of an advantage versus the online player. So if you are used to playing online and plan to play at a land based casino; it is a good idea to roll up your selves and play a few games as if you were surrounded by a room of people- including your opponents.

Starting Hands in Texas Holdem

In Texas hold’em, as in all forms of poker, it’s important to be selective about your starting hand requirements. Those who play every hand are bound to be losers in the long run. The question is how to decide which starting hands are worth playing in a Texas holdem poker game.

Starting Hands in Limit Hold’em

Limit hold’em is a game of big cards. You want to mostly be playing cards in the “Broadway zone” of T through A. Give more credit to a hand that is closely connected and a little extra for suited.

Keep in mind that the weaker big card hands come with the risk of being dominated. A hand like KJ or even AQ is a good hand to raise with, but not a great one to call a raise with, because of the risk of being dominated by a hand like AK and having to put a lot of money in with a losing hand.

Hands like small pairs and small suited connectors have limited value. You will have to see a lot of flops before you hit with them and the payoff will not necessarily be that big.

Starting Hands in No Limit Hold’em

No limit hold’em is a game of big pots. You can afford to play some more unusual holdings because the payoffs can be great. This means that in addition to the big card hands, you can add all the pairs and suited connector hands. When you play small pairs and suited connectors, you should be playing them in later positions, as part of multi-way hands, and only if you can limp or call a small raise with them.

Other Notes on Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em

If you are not happy with your results in Texas hold’em, the first place to look is at your starting hand requirements. Playing small pairs and/or suited connectors may not be working for you. If you are the type who will continue if he hits any part of the flop, or who cannot get away from a second best hand, you may be better off sticking to the big card hands for now.

Free Blind Structure Creator for Home Poker Tournaments

Online, all I play is turbo sit and go poker tournaments. In this style of internet poker, blinds go up every five minutes. When playing with friends at home in a live poker tournament, turbos are impossible to play. Five minutes will get you maybe two hands in with the amount of time shuffling, coloring up chips, placing blinds, and everything else.

So this weekend I got some guys over to play poker to celebrate my new basement. I had not hosted a live tournament in a while, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to do to manage blinds. This is how we always play, no matter how many players.

1. Start out with 1500 chips

2. Blinds go up every 15 minutes

3.Level – Blinds
1 – 5/10
2 – 10/20
3 – 25/50
4 – 50/100
5 – 100/200
6 – 200/400
7 – 400/800

For my poker tournament on Saturday, only 3 guys showed. I wasn’t sure what to use for blinds. I have used some different poker software downloads before where you can set the blinds manually, and act as a clock and alarm before. None of these offered advice or suggested what to set the blinds at though. I heard about this site Blind Valet on a couple of different poker forums, so I checked it out.

Blind Valet was one of the best poker tools I have ever used and the easiest poker software by far. I entered in how many people were playing (4), how many chips everyone should start with (1500), and we wanted 15 minute blinds. Blind Valet also asks for what the value of the poker chips you are playing with, so I entered those and clicked Calculate. Note: You can click on the images to see a larger version.

The next screen shows what the blind levels should be and how to distribute the poker chips to each player. I clicked on “customize tournament clock”.

This screen shows some customizations that you can do to the application. I was in a hurry to get the poker tournament started, so I didn’t test out any of these and clicked Launch Tournament Clock.

This program worked perfectly all night. No one had to keep track of when the blinds were coming up. The blind levels changed and updated automatically. One minute warning that blinds were going up. Alarm when the blinds are up.

The tournament blind structure that Blind Valet suggested worked out perfect. We were able to get in four games in four hours, and everyone liked the structure. If I would have used my normal structure we would have only played two.

You can click on any of the picture above to get a little better view of the screen shots. My pictures do not do this site any justice though, so just go check it out – blindValet.fr

Video Poker Tips