THE GAME OF TEXAS HOLDEM

This book will commence with a dialogue of how to play Texas Holdem poker, it will cover the rules of the game (Chapter 1), the way the games are actually conducted in public cardrooms (Chapter 2), and online poker rooms (Chapter 3). To those who are amateurs at Texas Holdem poker, this is a variation of poker that will seem strange initially. Usually the people with little knowledge of poker are familiar with stud and draw variants due to the depiction in popular culture.

A mix of cards known only to the holder and cards seen by everyone is dealt at Stud games, of which ‘Five Card’ and seven card stud’ are the most popular versions. While only the poker player has complete knowledge of his or her hand as cards are dealt and bets are placed, the other poker players make speculations based on partial knowledge from the open cards There are no exposed cards for draw games (Five-Card Stud being the most popular).

The number of cards drawn for improvement and betting patterns provides information to the other poker players. Texas Holdem has been in a completely different class of poker variations and is also known as flop games. Flop games will have ingredients of both stud and draw games. The cards that are dealt to the poker players are not exposed and are known only to them, just as in draw games. A Hand is improved upon through exposed cards, just as in stud games. The difference here will be that the exposed cards belong to all the poker players. The defining characteristic of flop games is the use of shared (or community) cards to complete. In Appendix I, some of the other flop variations (Omaha, Omaha Eight or Better, and Pineapple) have been described.

Texas Holdem is the most complicated and challenging game of poker to play out of all the flop games. The champion is determined by the use of Texas Holdem at the annual World Series of Poker. Although on the surface the games appear remarkably similar, the correct strategy and tactics for a game such as Omaha are different from Texas Holdem, whereas some of the facts provided are relevant to the other flop games (and poker in general). There are many more opportunities to play Texas Holdem poker than most people would be aware of.

Apart from the obvious locations (Atlantic city and Las Vegas), public cardrooms thrive throughout California and the northwest, on Native American reservations throughout the United States, also on river-boats up and down the Mississippi river up and down the mississippi river system in the country’s heartland. Chapter 2 is a description of what could be expected in a public cardroom and how to conduct oneself during a poker game.

If you want to locate a public cardroom, which is close to you, or near a place you are planning on visiting then checking the listing in chapter 10 for public cardrooms in the United States and Canada will be useful. The listings have been sorted geographically and will contain locations and contact information for 220 cardrooms. You will find that the Internet actually provides unlimited opportunity to play Texas Holdem due to the growth of the online poker games. Also, fifteen cardrooms where you could compete for real money are profiled in Chapter 10. In Chapter 3 you will find a description of playing poker in online cardrooms and the differences between playing poker ‘in person ” and over the Internet against opponents far away. You should be aware that the legal issues surrounding online gambling would be murky.

Information is the only purpose for discussing online poker. Please do not consider anything in this book as a contusion of legal advice on an endorsement or guarantee of online services. The reader is solely responsible for knowing the appropriate that governs any activity undertaken and should be consulting a lawyer when unsure. One will find online poker play is covered in this book because the Internet and the opportunities and risks brought by the Internet will be here to stay Regulating online activities will become increasingly difficult for the government. Hence it shall become increasingly important to remain informed and responsible when online.

Next >>