Wide Gaming » Texas Holdem Strategy

Blinds and Betting

Admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:45:45 +0000

Although it’s without question that betting makes poker much more exciting, some people may find that it is also what makes this game so confusing. It’s easy to mistake one betting action or betting term for another, because they seem to have the same meaning. The game of Texas Hold’em only uses blinds to form the sure pot. A blind is a designated player who needs to make a forced bet before any cards are dealt. There are two kinds of blinds, the small blind and the big blind. The small blind is the person to the left of the person who sits on the position of the dealer button, while the big blind sits to the left of the small blind. The small blind is required to give a forced bet of half the lower bet limit and the big blind is required to give the amount of the lower bet limit. If is is a no-limit game, then the small blind gives out the smaller denomination and the big blind gives out the larger one. An ante is also a forced bet. The difference between a blind and and an ante is that only a select number of people are selected as blinds, while the ante requires everyone to contribute to the pot before cards are dealt.

Texas Hold’em has four betting rounds and the initial round of setting the pot with the blinds. The betting actions are generally the same with other poker games. To check is to stay in the round without betting. One can check by tapping the mat twice or waving to the next player, signaling the dealer to proceed. This is done when there’s no bet made yet. To call is to increase one’s bet to match the bet or raise made by another player. To raise is to increase the amount of another person’s bet. To push or to go all-in is to to bet all the existing chips in one’s property.

How to Determine the Winning Hand

Admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:07:10 +0000

In poker, a hand is determined by a set of five cards composed of either the cards dealt to a player or the community cards in the middle for everyone to see. Texas Hold’em games consist of two dealt pocket (face down) cards and five community cards. When determining the winning hand, the first thing that a dealer dealer does is to look for similar cards a player’s hand and group them together into pairs (2 cards of the same rank), trips (3) and quads (4). There is also a combination concerning a set of three of a kind cards and a set of a two of a kind cards, this is called a full house. The more cards of the same rank in a hand, the higher it is regardless of the rank itself. For instance, A A A K K will still lose to 2 2 2 2 3. However, if two players have the same number of grouped cards, then the rank is taken into consideration. 8 8 8 8 2 and 7 7 7 7 A are both quads, but since 8 is higher than 7, the first hand is the winning hand.

If there are no groups that can be made from the hand based on the rank, then the dealer looks for five cards with the same suit called a flush. These can be any five cards regardless of rank. When two players each have five cards of the same suit, then the highest card is used to break the tie. When a player chances upon five cards in an ascending or descending order containing the same suit, this is called a straight flush.

When there is neither cards of the same rank nor the flush, the dealer looks for ranks that may be grouped in an ordered succession – this is what they call a straight. An example of a straight would be 4 5 6 7 8. In the event that two or more players have a straight as their best hand, then the winning hand will be determined by the highest card visible in each hand. The ace is the highest card and 2 is the lowest. When both the ace and 2 are present in a straight hand (A 2 3 4 5) then the next highest card is used as the basis – therefore, A 2 3 4 5 will lose to 10 J Q K A because a king is higher than an ace. In the even that two players get the same ranks for the straight, then the pot is split as the suit has no relevance in straights.

Below is the list of how the cards and combinations rank:

Royal Flush – a straight flush made of a ten, jack, queen, king and an ace.
Straight Flush
Quad aka Four of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
Trip aka Three of a Kind
Two Pairs
One Pair
High Card – when there are no possible combinations (not even a pair) that can be formed

The C-Bet For Beginners

Admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:04:18 +0000

In Texas Hold’em, a player is given two face down cards at a time by the dealer. This is followed by the first round of betting. The big blind is automatically in the game because of the forced bet. The small blind may opt to double his forced bet to be included in the pot. The first to act however, is the person to the left of the small blind. He may either fold, bet or raise. After the first betting round, the dealer sets down three cards at the same time – this is known as the flop. The next betting round begins, and this cycle continues for the two rounds to follow and accumulate five community cards. The betting, raising, calling and folding happens after the flop, turn and river. It goes without saying that the bets make these rounds so much more exciting. There is a kind of bet that is deceivingly like a raise, not in terms of action but in terms of reaction.

This is the C Bet or continuation bet. A continuation bet is made by a player who shows a strong emotion such as aggressiveness or eagerness pre-flop, or before the first flop. It is when a player places a large bet – usually half of the pot size or even sometimes, the entire pot size – after a flop. Whether or not the player is bluffing, the effect of his actions on his opponents around the table is strong and interesting to say the least. More often than not, the player who acts after the one who has made the C Bet folds out of the game. This kind of bet is made (a) when a player hits the pot, for he has pair 2’s and the flop contains a two and a pair, making him want to secure the pot or (b) when he misses the flop but wants to bluff his way into winning the pot. Although this is a very good strategy, it is also very aggressive and may be difficult for beginners.