How to win at Poker
Poker games can be addictive and wildly entertaining. The emotions that a win or a loss can bring run the gambit of ranges. You can be in the game or watch as a spectator the thrill is extreme and intense. Why do so many people of various backgrounds and ages flock to play these games? In this blog, we will examine why people love this game. Can anyone even a novice play and if so, should they? What are the ends and outs of Poker, can you gain an advantage. Overcoming mental fatigue, and stress while staying focused and disciplined we will discover how to win at poker.
There are many variations of the game of poker this blog will focus on one of them my favorite Texas Hold'em. Little is known about the invention of Texas Hold'em, The Texas Legislature officially recognizes Robstown Texas as the game's official birthplace. Dating the introduction to the early 1900s. The game spread through Texas and was introduced to Las Vegas in 1963 at the California club by Corky McCorquodale. And people have been losing money ever since...LOL I kid, I kid. The game started to flourish with the hardcore old-school gamblers in the 70s. The first Casino to offer the game was the Golden Nugget in 1967. In 1970 Benny and Jack Binion launched the World Series of Poker.
The rules of the game the field may contain from 2 to 10 players, and each player shall receive two cards dealt face down from the dealer. The player can look at the cards and decide to check or call (indicating they are in the hand place the proper wager to stay active in the hand). The next option a player has is to bet, and the final option is to fold or retire their hand. Once all eligible players have received cards and the initial betting has taken place the dealer will burn or discard a card from the deck no one can see the value of this card then the dealer will put out 3 cards in succession, this is called the flop. Once the flop comes out the first player to act is known as the under-the-gun player. He or she is called this because they must be the first to act. The other players will act in turn after the under-the-gun player acts each player will be given a set amount of time to make a decision to raise, check, bet, or fold. The three cards that the dealer has placed at the center of the table are known as community cards. The essence of Texas Hold'em is to have the best 5 card hand or ranking hand. You do this by using the cards on the board and the cards in your hand to make a winning hand. The next round of betting is done after the turn card or the 4th card to be dealt on the board by the dealer. Before he deals out this card like before he will burn one card or place it face down in the discard tray then he will deal the fourth card which is the turn card. As before the first player will act followed by each player still in the hand in the order previously stated. Once this round of betting has concluded like the previous rounds the dealer will burn a card then he will deal one card face up this is called the river. Once this card comes out one final round of betting will happen if all players decide to check, which no one bets then the winner is determined by the highest-ranking hand. However, if a bet is placed and the remaining players fold at this point the player who placed the wager is automatically determined to be the winner since no one challenged his bet. The final way a player can challenge any wager made whether or not they can cover the bet made or not is to go all in. The player decides to go all in when his or her chance to act is granted the player will indicate they are all in, placing all of their money or chips into the pot. If another player decides to call the all-in player, then this sets up a showdown. Once all fees are placed in the pot both of the remaining players must show their hands and the dealer will determine the winner by seeing who has made the highest-ranking hand.
The best thing about poker is that there are many levels to the game. Texas Hold'em may seem like another thing to pass the time, but the truth is it is so much more than that. One of the reasons for this is called the bluff, the bluff happens when a player represents a winning hand by betting heavily but has rags. This player is bluffing but he puts a high price on any player who is willing to call the bluff. This is a psychological part of the game where a player tries to get into the head of his opponent and force a mistake. Understanding position can also greatly increase the odds of a player winning the hand. Players who must act first rarely get to see what their opponents are doing because they must act so they have little information to go on as to how others may play their hand. However, a player who is last to act has gotten a lot of information and reads on his opponents and can make skillful moves that can result in him winning the pot. To become a competent player, you must learn how to master all of the situational outcomes that may come up.
The world of Poker is essentially a world of deception. See you must always act in the opposite way as what your cards or hand actually indicate. The reason for this is you want to extract maximum value from your opponents. The idea is they should be trembling in fear when you reach for your chips and then you run them over like Suge Knight ...Lol. Misdirection can be a skill that takes time to master but when you are good you can make people see what you want them to see and think what you want them to think. In Texas Hold'em you want to affect your opponents with everything that you do so that you are always in control. By being able to disguise your play effectively you can control the flow of the game winning at will. Texas Hold'em can employ many different skill sets and acting is one of them. This is a good one acting like you don't want your opponent to call you, but you are hoping they do, this is called trapping. Yes, just like the jungle in Texas Hold'em you can trap your opponent by playing passively against a loose opponent. The loose player may feel they can bet you into submission but if you know you have the best hand you act like you're going to get an Emmy to make the loose player keep betting.
Showing up prepared to do battle is one of the many mental assets that you must employ while playing Texas Hold'em. Other mental strengths will be that you can utilize will be card ranking, position, and betting strategies. Card ranking may seem simple, and it should be, but this is where most losing players screw up from the jump. You have suited cards and off-suited cards. You can be dealt basically any two-card combination this is called a starting hand. Your starting hands should have a range based on a few things one of which is how you like to play or play style. Two styles get the most attention one is a tight player, this player likes to play premium hands like AA, KK, QQ, and so forth and will only enter the pot when they have a hand like this. The opposite of a tight player is a loose player this player will play any two-card combination like A2, K4, and J7, this player is either looking to bluff or catch cards when the flop comes. The starting hand ideally should have over cards which are Jacks or better. You may only see hands like this a small amount of the time so if you just wait for them, you would be known as a tight player. However, these are the best hands preflop, conversely, even with a hand such as AA, the flop could make your preflop strong hand vulnerable. This is where game theory and strategy come into play, if you pick up a monster and are first to act by betting heavily this will be an indicator of strength preflop. Once the flop comes out and you see 4, 5, 6, of diamonds and your pre-flop hand is Ace of clubs and Ace of spades you may want to proceed cautiously as the momentum may have swung to other players that can connect with this flop. This does not mean that your hand is dead but if another player splashes the pot (puts in a big raise) this player has now taken the lead in the hand which will make other players think before calling this bet. The player could also be bluffing and wanting to win the pot now and avoid a showdown. This is a small segment of what can happen in any game at any point. By using this strategy, you can minimize your risk of losing a pot that you have decided to play for. One of the ways to do this is to bet your AA because you have the best hand preflop and you want lesser hands to fold to you. However even with a sizeable bet if you are up against losing players or players who don't feel your skills are good enough to win the pot you may be called anyway. So the elephant in the room is anything and I mean anything can happen in this game so mental toughness and logic about the situations evolving are critical.
Ok so now you have a glimpse into the world of poker let's talk about the winning hands or possible winning hands. As stated, before the best 5-card combination in most cases wins (straights can be more than 5 cards) Let's start with the basics a paired hand any two cards with the identical value are paired cards. Sets this will include any 3 cards of the same value the player can possess one or two of these cards in their hand. Straights are a five-card combination using at least 3 of the community cards to make a hand and the cards will align giving the player a straight. An example is a player holding A,2 and the community cards are 3,5,7, then 6, and 4. this would be straight. Flush - a flush happens when a player holds one or two cards that have the same suit as 3 or 4 of the community cards. An example is you have the A6, you hold the Ace and 6 of hearts and the community cards have 3 hearts on the board, this is called an ace-high flush it will win against any other flush of the same suit. A full house is when a player has one or two cards that pair in their hand or on the community board plus three cards of the same value. An example is you have QQ, and the community cards are 5,9,5 then K, and 5. This would be a full house and it would beat regular straights, flushes, two-pair hands, single-pair hands, sets, or 3 kind hands. 4 of a kind known as quads this is exactly what it implies a player must contain within their hand one of the paired cards that make quads or four of a kind this hand beats the hands already mentioned. The next is a straight flush which combines a straight and a flush the player must contain one or two cards in their hand to make a straight flush. The highest hand in this form of poker is the royal flush it contains all of the face value cards of the same suit the player must contain one of these cards to have a royal flush. The royal flush cannot be beaten.
Everyone is playing this game of skill trying to outwit their opponents and win the pot. The WSOP holds championships every year where many lovers of the game can sit down together to see who is the best. Many young players and women have come onto the scene each player bringing their unique style and flavor to the game. Poker goes online, today you may not need to go backpacking around the country to find a game, thanks to the internet the game comes to you. Many people in their 20s are dominating the game, they can adapt very quickly to online play that is so much faster than live games or tournaments. There are several different types of Texas Hold'em poker being played today the rules are the same, but the outcomes are different. Online casino gaming got started in 1996 and is a multibillion-dollar industry. You can get trained by professional poker players and learn this game inside and out. Winning poker players online make about $500 per month and higher stakes players are making between $750 - $2200 per month.
Now you have the tools to get started playing one of the most exciting games around Texas Hold'em Poker. Do you want to increase the odds of winning feel free to try these tools?
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