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Texas Hold'em Information
Staying Focused at Online Poker
Online Poker Tips - How To Become A Successful Online Poker Player
Which Type Of Poker Are You Best At?
The History of Poker
Professional Poker Player Skills
2006 World Series of Poker
How To Win Poker...Is There A Sure Way?

Texas Hold'em Information

Rules of Hold'em

Poker is played with a standard pack of 52 cards. The cards are ranked (from high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, and so on. There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs); although, no suit is higher than another. All poker hands contain five cards, the highest hand wins.
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Straight Flush:

A straight flush is a straight (5 cards in order, such as 5-6-7-8-9) that are all of the same suit. As in a regular straight, you can have an ace either high (A-K-Q-J-T) or low (5-4-3-2-1). However, a straight may not wraparound. (Such as K-A-2-3-4, which is not a straight). An Ace high straight-flush is called a Royal Flush and is the highest hand.

Four of a Kind:

Four of a kind is 4 card of the same rank(5-5-5-5). The highest four of a kind you can get is A-A-A-A.

Full House:

A full house is a three of a kind and a pair, such as A-A-A-5-5. Ties are broken first by the three of a kind, then pair. So K-K-K-4-4 beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-K-K.

Flush:

A flush is a hand where all of the cards are the same suit, such as J-8-5-3-2, all of spades. When flushes ties, follow the rules for High Card.

Straight:

A straight is 5 cards in order, such as 5-6-8-9-10. A straight may not wrap around (such as Q-K-A-2-3, which is not a straight). When straights tie, the highest straight wins. (A-K-Q-J-T beats K-Q-J-T-9)

Three of a Kind:

Three cards of the same rank. If both are the same rank, then the compare High Cards.

Two Pair:

This is two different pairs of card and a 5th card. The highest pair wins ties.

One Pair:

One pair with three different cards. The Highest pair wins ties.

High Card:

This is any hand which does not qualify like the other hand above. If nobody has a pair or any higher rank hand, the high card wins. ( J-8-3-A-2, bits 7-8-9-K-J).

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Staying Focused at Online Poker
by: Shawn Somerville

No matter which poker book you read or which top pro advises you, there is a resounding communal opinion that when you are playing poker, actually watching the play and concentrating on the action at hand is a key part of winning.

While card rooms have a number of elements that could take away from the focus of the players, such as sporting events on TV or the appearance of attractive drink servers, there are relatively few distractions possible compared to what many online players face at home. Family members and friends about the house are usually not nearly as concerned about the game and can often be disrupting with conversation. Events like dinner, unexpected guests and phone calls can all prove to be very damaging to your poker results.

Even when the household is otherwise empty, we are often tempted to use poker playing time to simultaneously catch up on e-mail, reading or household chores. Most of us live a fairly fast-paced lifestyle which does not allows for as nearly as much free time as we would like. In order to compensate for our lack of fun time we often start multi-tasking and combining activities. While watching TV and folding the laundry may not be too detrimental to your daily living, playing poker and doing household chores can be devastating! More than a few loosing sessions have occurred in the matter of moments leading from a few missed bets or unwise calls that could have been avoided.

It's hard enough to consistently beat the game of poker even when all the other circumstances are favorable (adequate bank roll, playing time, weak opponents), so any distractions, no matter how small, can prove to be the difference between winning and losing. It takes a lot discipline to become a winning player and a good players focus needs to be taken further than simply playing patient and folding weak hands.

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Online Poker Tips - How To Become A Successful Online Poker Player
by: Steve Hill

This article is all about online poker. I have been enjoying playing poker on the internet for a couple of years now and in this article, I give free tips on how to become a successful online poker player.

For me playing poker is not just about attempting to win money, it is also fun. I love the fact that you can interact with other players from different countries. You have to be quite careful however as some of them attempt to wind you up. This is a well known tactic which some online players use, to entice you into betting to try to knock them out of the game. My advice in this situation is to ignore these people and to not even reply to their comments.

The turnaround of hands is a lot quicker than when you play in a casino or with your friends and it is wise to pick and choose carefully which hands you play and which hands you fold. I have played on some days when I think that I will never be dealt a decent hand. It is very tempting to try to make something happen by betting on a hand which in reality I know I should throw away. This is a risky strategy and you need to be patient as your time will come.

The people who are making the money in online poker rooms are the ones who have this patience. A lot of people can easily get bored and can soon see their money or chips dwindle away.

In the periods of gloom where you are not being dealt the good cards, keep yourself amused by watching the television, listening to the radio or by chatting to the other players. Again the law of averages states, the luck has to change eventually.

On some tables there are over aggressive players who will bet on anything and also raise to stupid levels. These players may win a lot of chips in a short period of time, however in the long run will always lose. You have to stick to your game plan and not get frustrated by these type of players. See it as an easy way to make money as eventually they will come unstuck, hopefully to you.

Poker can become quite addictive, therefore only bet what you can afford to lose. Play the game as a hobby and enjoy it, you are more likely to win with this attitude. I know people who attempt to win a certain amount of money per night and then go chasing this figure if they start to struggle. This in my opinion is not a good idea. I accept that I will win on some nights and lose on others. With the right approach and as the last two years have shown me, I should win in the long term.

Good luck with your online poker experience, I hope to chat to you someday on the tables.

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Which Type Of Poker Are You Best At?
by: Roger Wembley

Which kind of poker are you best at? There is no quick way to find out and only keeping poker statistics can help you. For math wizards, you may do this manually and be sure that you never forget a game. Or if you feel that you need a professional to help you, you may use a program at websites such as www.checkyourbets.com.

Once you know which poker you are good at, you should be able to answer another important question: Why are you winning most of the time at one variation of poker and losing often at the other? Is it because you have mastered the technical aspects of the game? Or is it because you are simply topnotch at the people aspects of poker? The technical skills of poker involve being adept at poker math, such as pot odds. The people skills involve bluffing and being able to modify the style of play.

You will find that poker players have different opinions about which of the two types of skills are more important. Many poker blogs are dedicated to their theories. However, here are personal theories about skills and games that you may want to check out.

In Longhand Limit Hold'em, the most important advantage of a poker player is his technical skills. The winning player must be patient and understands hand value. Your people skills won’t contribute much to your winnings. It is hard to bluff and it is useless to read your opponents since many hands reaches the showdown. The pot odds make a river fold make a river fold extremely chancy.

Your people skills will be more useful in Shorthand Limit Hold'em since there is more bluffing done, compared to Longhand Limit Hold'em. A winning player in Shorthand Limit Hold'em knows precisely when to increase his aggression and when to cool his heels. But you must not forget that it is still a limit hold'em poker. Mastering pot odds is still vital in winning the pot.

To win in a No-Limit Hold'em, both sound technical abilities and fairly accurate people skills are needed. Your technical abilities should include knowing when to call, to raise, to check, or to fold. Your people skills involve the reading of styles of your opponents. If opponents are timid, you can win and steal a lot of pots by bluffing. But you must also know when to fold if your opponent shows obstinacy. If your opponents are reckless and loose, you can win by patiently waiting for that opportunity to trap them. Then, wipe them out in one hand.

If you have a “gambling spirit”, you may be able to tolerate the huge swings in the Pot-Limit Omaha. The winning player should also be good at avoiding a tilt. A tilt is to play poorly or wildly after losing big or winning over awesome players. In Pot-Limit Omaha, you should be an expert at dealing with your opponents and at controlling yourself. Have fun.

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The History of Poker
by: Scott Hanksworth

The history of poker has been debated heavily over the years. Today, it is a wildly popular game, but its origins are not known by many. It is likely that the name “poker” came from the French word “poque,” which evolved out of the German word “pochen” (which means “to knock”). However, some historians doubt that the origins of poker are the same as those games bearing similar names. The Persian game “as nas” is very similar to poker. The Persian game may have been taught to the French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors. Additionally, poker has been connected with the game “primero” which was popular in the Renaissance. Bluffing was incorporated in the English game “brag.”

An English actor by the name of Joseph Corwell said that the game was played in the city of New Orleans in 1829 with a deck that had 20 cards. The game spread to the rest of the United States by way of the Mississippi riverboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi frequently. Gambling was very popular during riverboat trips.

After poker spread, the game started to incorporate a 52-card English deck. After the deck change, the flush was introduced. Draw poker, stud poker, and the straight were all introduced to poker during the Civil War. The wild card was developed around 1875 in America. Lowball and split-pot poker followed suit in about 1900. The U.S. military spread poker to many countries, including Asian countries.

Poker tournaments became popular after the World Series of Poker began in Las Vegas in 1970. American casinos have had poker tournaments and tables ever since. During the seventies, strategy books first became available. The first two of these types of books were “Super System” by Doyle Brunson and “The Book of Tells” by Mike Caro.

In recent years, poker has gained massive popularity for two reasons. The first reason is the introduction of online poker. There are many online poker sites today, and millions of people from around the world log on every day to play poker. The second reason that poker has become vastly popular is because of the introduction of the hole-card camera. This camera has turned the game into a spectator sport. The World Series of Poker is frequently on ESPN and has had a rapid increase in registrants in recent years.

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Professional Poker Player Skills
by: Ryan Tenney

What makes a poker a player a professional? Does it mean that by adding the word professional the person loses less money? Or does it mean that the player enter tournaments through out the year? If you are thinking about getting the word professional embossed on your 'poker resume', here are some skills that you should consider mastering.

1. The Mathematician

a. These guys have mastered the odds of certain combinations that comes out already. For example, they know that when you hold a pocket pair, you can hit the set with only one in eight and a half chances. Those pocket cards also give you odds of having one in three chance of completing a 'by the river' flopped flush draw.

b. Mathematicians also able to compute the number of “outs” because they know it is important. Outs are the number of cards that will improve your hand. They compute it by multiplying it by two and adding one and that’s the percentage of them hitting the pot.

c. Knowing outs will be useless unless it is translated into rational and calculated betting. When you figure out that you have a 20% chance of hitting, you then figure out your chances of winning or losing. You divide the size of the pot at the river by the amount you have to put in. I.E. the current pot and the amount of bets that will be added on in the future. If you have calculated that the bet to you will be 50 and have 20% chance of hitting and the pot at the river will be higher than 250, try to call for it. If not, fold. Confusing right?

d. Review these concepts if you really want to be an expert.

2. Discipline

a. Always try to find a table where you have an advantage. Try finding tables where there are more amateurs or "fish". Fish only want to win by being lucky. Poker players want to win by skill and by hoping that his opponents don’t get lucky.

b. Every different game, table or opponent set needs the poker player to have different disciplines or styles. He or she cannot always rely on one style. For instance, a player may play the better hands when there are not much pre-flop actions. The player can make a loose call with other speculative hands when lots of opponents are limping in.

c. A disciplined limit player has excellent pre-flop skills. However, the disciplined no-limit player is quite different. This player doesn’t care much with paying lots of blinds but instead this kind of player would not want to be trapped. The difference is that limit players avoid squandering their stack bit by bit while no-limit players avoids losing his whole stack in just one hand. A disciplined no-limit player can play a lot of hands. Even if he or she has cards such as 5 spades and 3 diamonds he or she will still be loose preflop. But expert no-limit players know how to quit as well when their hands are really bad.

d. The disciplined player knows when to quit even when the pot is really juicy.

e. A disciplined player learns from his mistakes and admits that they will still make them later on. Disciplined players will just keep on learning because nobody is a perfect poker player.

There is a ton more to learn about poker and gambling, this is just the start.

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2006 World Series of Poker
by: Tom Howze

The 2006 World Series of Poker season is set up to surpass what was achieved in 2005 by Harrah's. With the start of the WSOP Circuit Tournament series on August 11, 2005 and ending with the regular WSOP tournament that will begin on June 26th, Harrah's put into motion the basis for giving the world top level poker action year round. The number of WSOP Circuit Tournament events was increased from last year's 5 events to 12, allowing basically an event each month. Each winner of the Main Event from these WSOP Circuit Tournaments besides winning a nice sum of money and a beautiful ring, received a freeroll entry into the Tournament of Champions.

For 2006, the World Series of Poker tournament that begins on June 26th at the Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada, will feature 44 separate events verses last years 45. But there will be sizable changes in Event 38 which is the Main Event. Harrah's is gearing up for 8000 poker players to descend on the tables with the first day being split up into four rounds, (Day 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D), each round handling 2000 players per session. With the entry fee still at $10,000 per person, the potential prize pool for the Main Event could reach $80,000,000! This would surpass the figures for 2005 in which 5,619 entrants and a prize pool of $52,818,610 were the final statistics. Expect a huge portion of players to win their seats from online poker rooms. Beginning on July 28th, the Main Event action will continue over a period of 13 days ending on August 10th.

Harrah's also plans to host the World Series of Poker Lifestyle show that will be held during the first week of the Main Event from July 27th to the 31st. It will happen in the Rio's 55,000 square foot Pavilion Convention Center, so attending won't keep anyone too far away from the table action. Last year there were 100 vendors that featured the biggest online poker rooms, poker magazines, poker gift shops some with poker jewelry and even a booth hosting Marcel Luske, the Flying Dutchman. 55,000 visitors came through the aisles in 2005 to learn, see and experience everything related to poker.

The only group of people who could have a better perspective on the poker industry would be the fortunate few who become champions. These lucky players have not only received offers of endorsement, partnership in online poker rooms, but have begun to achieve celebrity status. Book deals, video games, TV shows, freeroll tournament invitations to big money poker tournaments overrun these individuals. Why? Sponsors who anxiously want to sink big money into poker related events want these people on their side. Joseph Hachem, the 2005 Main Event winner, recently announced his decision to leave Australia to live in Beverly Hills, California because of the earning potential of opportunities received since becoming champion. This came after winning a major victory in Australia's courts that let him keep his $7,500,000 won in the WSOP Main Event -- tax free! He even has top level talent agency William Morris helping him to sort out the best offers.

With the allure of money, status and celebrity fame, the World Series of Poker has become one of the premier events on the planet to follow. And 2006 will be no exception, giving the public more of what it has been waiting for.

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How To Win Poker...Is There A Sure Way?
by: Ace Blackwood

As poker is very popular today and a favorite game to play among Americans, one may ask, if there really is a sure way to win at poker.

The answer is simple. Study and check out these guidelines, try them at poker time and see for yourself.

Before starting to play the game, keep in mind these simple suggestions:

* Inspect the site. Make sure that it is authentic.

* Read the terms and conditions of the site. Check the maximum payouts and the minimum bets.

* Allocate a budget for the day. That budget will determine how much you are willing to lose or to win in the game. Stick to the limit.

* Do not gamble if you can not afford to lose.

* Practice playing the game. Familiarize yourself with the game first before you play for real money.

At the table, here are some warnings that you should always remember:

* If you do make a big win, do not be greedy, stop. Making a big win and gambling it all over again is a big sign of greediness.

* In poker, overall winnings are what count most. If you are losing, or have already lost your allotted money for the day, don’t try to win your losses back. You won't. Stop. Tomorrow is another day.

* Drinking alcohol is a big no no at poker time. It can serious affect your judgment. So stay away from it while on the game.

* Never take side bets. Usually these are just gimmicks, so that more money will go to the casino.

* Never gamble your hard earned money unless you are very much ready to lose it.

While in the game, here are some important ideas to think about:

* Gaze at your opponent's eye. Survey all their moves. Observe them, to better know them. This way, you will fear them less. This way, you will know when they are bluffing or not.

* Play in silence. Have that conversation with your self as well as think deep to your opponents actions. Concentrate.

* Base your decisions on what the reality is. See all movements as they are. Do not fear, instead, be calm and assess their moves accordingly.

* Don't take it personally. At the poker table, it is always unavoidable that your opponent can irritate you. Never give in to such responses. Stay within the good game. Be cool and objective. This is a bluffing game. But do keep in mind that just because your opponent has bluffed earlier, it does not mean that he does all the time. Think tight. Review each move.

* Think about what your opponents have. Create a situation. So when deciding, you'll have a better chance to be right.

* Know when to stop. Is the hand that you are raising now the hand you folded a while ago? This is a sign that you should go home.

* Play to enjoy. Do not play if you are sad, bored or tired. If you can't play having enjoyment as your goal, then don't play at all!

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