My Poker Diary

How to play Texas Hold ‘Em

If you intend being good at anything, you have to develop some skills for that particular interest and poker is not an exception. If you have ever played poker, then you very well know that it is a game of skill and strategy. This is the same case with Texas Hold’em.

Hold’Em highlights

Texas Hold ‘em is a common poker game which has gained a lot of popularity in recent times. In the first round, the small and big blinds put out blind bets. With cards faced down, each of the players is then dealt two cards referred to as pocket cards or hole cards. The player to the left of the big blind is allowed to make the first move as the game moves clockwise. Each of the players is given a chance to call, rise or fold. The dealer then deals three cards face up, ‘the flop’ after the betting round is complete. The cards dealt to the table, or board, also referred to as ‘community cards’, are used by all the players together with their pocket cards to make the best combination of five cards. After another round of betting an additional card is dealt to the board, called the ‘turn card’. Another round of betting ensues, followed by the final community card called ‘the river’. A final round of betting completes that hand with the highest combination winning the pot.

No limit Hold’Em

If you are new player Texas Hold’em you should avoid playing at the high limit, or no limit games, because that is what is normally used by poker pros. If you risk and do that, then they will take advantage of you and use you to wipe the floor. If you feel like playing at high limit, then you should go and play at free poker where you will not lose any money but come out with experience. It does not matter how well you play your cards but your opponents.

Know your limits

When you come from your house to go and play Texas Hold’em, you should have made up your mind that you are going to gamble and nothing else. If you feel that you are in a bad mood or you had too much drink, then you should avoid playing Texas Hold’em because you are going to lose one game after another. In Texas Hold’em, there are things that you should do while playing and things that you should not do at all. Some of them might be considered to be stupid mistakes while others are mistakes that cannot be avoided. There are about six main styles that are used in playing poker. To be on the safe side, it is advisable to master all these styles that you can tell when opponents are trying to bring you down. You also get to have an upper hand when playing among naïve opponents who do not recognize these different playing styles. There is the chaser or the loose passive player who is capable of playing different styles of poker without any difficulty. You should be wary of such players because they are very dangerous and incase you come across them on your table you should know how to handle them. The players who play few hands also tend to be the pushovers are the ones referred to as the tight passive players.