Pocker1.com

Holdem and Omaha

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:50:25 +0000

HOW TO PLAY TEXAS HOLD

Texas Hold’em poker is almost single handedly responsible for the current popularity of poker today. It is the game of choice for most professional and amateur players alike and the No-Limit version is the game played during the World Series of Poker’s main event.It is a more complex game than both Draw and Stud poker, because all players share a group of community cards, which they combine with their own to make the best possible five card hand.

Limit Hold

Preliminaries

Before each game, betting limits are established which dictate how much each player is allowed to bet in each betting round. For example, if you were playing $2/4 limit poker, the first and second round of betting would consist of individual $2 bets, and the third and fourth round of betting would consist of $4 bets.Each player will deal one hand each to the completion of the hand, then the person to the dealers left will become the dealer for the hand.

In casinos, a professional dealer will deal for everyone, and online the computer program will deal for everyone, so in both instances, a dealer button will be placed in front of the person whose turn it is to deal, and the independent dealer will deal accordingly, in the order that the player with the dealer button would have dealt.

Pre-Flop

The player to the dealers left will automatically pay the small blind. This is always equivalent to half a bet (in the above example $1) and the next person to the left will pay the big blind, which is always equivalent to the one bet ($2 in this example).Cards will then be dealt face down in a clockwise direction, starting from the player to the dealers left, until all players have two cards. The player to the left of the big blind will now act first, and all players in turn will have the opportunity to either fold their cards (place no further money into the pot and sit out the hand), call (match the single bet placed by the big blind or any raises that have been made), or raise (bet one more bet than the last bettor/raiser).

It is permittable, in our example, for the big blind to place the compulsory $2, the next player to raise one bet to $4, the next player to raise one more bet to $6 and then the big blind to raise again to $8.

Of course, as the big blind already has $2 in the pot, it will only cost him $6 more to raise to $8. The original raiser who bet $4 will now have the choice to pay $4 more to match this bet, and the person who bet $6 has the choice to pay $2 more to match the bet. If they chose to, these player could continue to raise indefinitely, but only one bet at a time.

At any time, when it is their turn, any player can choose not to match the bet and fold.

The Flop

After the first round of betting has finished, the dealer will discard the first card on top of the deck, then deal the next three cards face up in the middle of the table. These community cards are for everybody to se, and players will bet again, basing their bets on who they think has the best five card hand, using their two personal whole cards, and the three community cards. Again, as in a $2/4 limit game, bets will always be placed in $2 increments.

The Turn

The dealer will again discard the card at the top of the deck, and then this time only turn one card over, placing it in the middle of the table with the other three community cards. Players will now bet on who they think has the best five card hand, consisting of any five of the six cards available to them (two in their hand and four on the board). This round though, the bets will double to $4.

The River

For the last time, the dealer will discard the top card from the deck and add one more card to the community cards, making a total of five community cards, and each player left in the hands two hole cards. Players will now bet, again in $4 increments, on who they think can make the best five card hand from the seven available to them. Player can choose to use either both, one of none of their whole cards to make their five card hand. Other players can of course do the same. It is possible for two or more players to share the same community cards when making their hand.

The Showdown

When all betting is finished, all players left in the pot will turn their two hole cards face up, and the person who can make the strongest five card hand from the seven available (see hand rank chart) will win. If two or more players have hands of equal strength, they�€�ll share the pot equally. If at any point during the hand all but one player folds their cards, the layer remaining wins the pot and doesn�€�t have to show his cards.

Variations

No-Limit Hold

This is the version of poker that poker legend Doyle Brunson calls “the Cadillac of poker”. It is the version of poker played at the World Series of Poker’s main event and is the version of poker that is regularly shown on television all over the world. It is the type of poker played in cult movie ‘Rounders’ starring Matt Damon and is the form of poker played in recent James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’.It is also, almost single handedly responsible for the recent boom in poker that has made it into a multi-billion dollar industry. No-Limit Hold’em is played exactly the same as Limit Hold’em except for one major difference. There is no limit to the amount that any player can bet at any time.

This makes No-Limit Hold’em far more of a game of reading players and having the courage to make substantial bluffs, and call substantial bets, than the more mechanical Limit Hold’em.

Pot-Limit Hold

This game is far less popular than the other two versions of Hold’em. It is played exactly the same except that the players can bet any amount they want, up to the amount currently in the pot

Omaha

Omaha is played exactly the same as Hold’em, except that every player is dealt four hole cards, and must use exactly two of them when making their best five card hand. Omaha can be played in Limit, Pot-Limit and No-Limit versions.

Top 2 Poker Bonuses

Site		US	Rating	Bonus	Review	Visit
1.	Bodog Poker			$1100	Review	Play Now
2.	Goalwin Poker			$1500	Review	Play Now

Top Casino Sites

Site			US	Rating	Bonus	Review	Visit
1.		GoCasino			$20000	Review	Play Now

Draw poker

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:49:17 +0000

LEARN TO PLAY DRAW POKER

Draw poker is probably the simplest form of poker, and for this reason, it is not usually played by professional players, who generally prefer the more intricate forms of poker such as Texas Holdem, Omaha, and even stud. Never the less, it’s still popular in many home games, and is a good form of poker to learn for beginners due to its simplicity.

Preliminaries

Before any cards are dealt, the fixed amount for future bets is decided, and every player contributes a set amount to the pot. This is called the ante. Cards are then dealt by the dealer in a clockwise direction, with the person to the dealers left recieving the first card, and the dealer, if he’s playing, the last. Each player is dealt a total of five cards. Once players have been dealt their cards, players can choose to bet, check (not bet if there’s been no previous bet), call (equal the amount of any previous bet, or fold (give up their hand). Again, this is done in a clockwise direction starting from the player to the left of the dealer. If nobody bets, all cards are mucked, and the pot is left over and added to the pot for the next hand.

The Draw

Each player may now, in turn, exchange between one and three cards for the equivalant amount from the deck. You do not have to swap any cards if you choose not to. Once all players have exchanged their cards, a second round of betting takes place. The first person to act will no longer be the player to the dealers left, but will be the player who bet first in the previous round. Action will again move clockwise, with every player being given the opportunity to check, bet, call, or fold, as in the first round. If nobody bets, the player who bet first in the previous round is forced to bet, and everybody else is given the choice to act again.

The Showdown

Once all bets have been placed, all cards are turned over, and the player with the best hand wins the pot. (see hand rank chart). If two or more players have the same hand, they evenly share the pot. If at any point during the game a player raises and all others fold, the player who raised wins the pot. Once the hand is over, the player to the dealers left becomes the new dealer.

VARIATIONS OF DRAW POKER

Learn High/low Draw

The game is played the same, but the pot is split between the players holding the best and worst (lowest) hands. The best low hand is 7,5,4,3,2 of mixed suits, giving you a 7 high.

Learn Lowball Draw

In lowball, the whole pot is won by the worst (lowest) hand. In Kansas city lowball, the lowest hand is 7,5,4,3,2 of mixed suits, but in California lowball, flushes and straights are ignored, and aces count as 1, so the best (lowest) possible hand is 5,4,3,2,A. This hand is known as a wheel or a bicycle.

Learn Seven Card Draw

When less than 5 people play five card draw, it’s not very usual to see exiting winning hands. One way to remedy this is to play seven card draw. Every player starts with seven cards, and during the draw, discard two more than they recieve, to end up with a five card hand.

Learn Strip Poker

I had to include it didn’t i . You play five card draw as usual, but without the betting. Whoever has the weakest hand takes an item of clothing off. Which item, is decided by whoever holds the strongest hand.

Best starting hand in 7 card stud

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:43:46 +0000

100% $500 bonus
use bonus code “JCPOKER”

Mac Users Click Here
u.s players: no

Starting hand selection in 7-card stud poker depends on several inter-related factors. These include the showing cards of the competitors, there tendencies and whether your own hand is disguised. Selecting the wrong starting hand in 7-card stud can be a expensive error – as you will normally be ‘priced-in’ to calling later due to attractive pot-odds. This article looks at the best starting hands in 7-card stud to help you avail at the tables today.

We begin by looking at the very strongest hands- trips- and how these should be played on early streets. Next high pairs are covered and the effects of these hands being hidden are examined. How and when to play lower pairs come next, followed by a look at 3-flushes and 3-straights as stud poker starting hands.

Pairs
High pairs, especially aces and kings are excellent starting hands in 7-card stud. These benefit greatly from being hidden or in the ‘hole’. For instance if one of your aces is visible on 3rd street then hitting another ace during the hand may well stop you getting action. However instead if you have a 9 visible then another ace would appear harmless to your competitors when the truth is you have a monster hand. Lower pairs are potentially dangerous starting hands in 7 card stud poker and should be treated with caution. One vital factor (other than it being hidden) is whether your pair is higher than the highest showing card in your competitors hands – If yes then, these starting hands can be played for a raise. If not then the rank of your unpaired card comes into play – If this is greater than the up-card of a competitor who has the bet you can be more inclined to play the hand. The smaller pairs are only playable when you close the betting on the 3rd street, you are looking to advance cheaply on the 4th or exit the hand.

There are 2 other vital factors when competing in all paired hands in 7 card stud poker. The number of duplicate cards to your pair, and the tendencies of your competitors. For instance a pair of 9’s in unplayable with two other 9’s visible and should rarely be played with 1 other 9 accounted for. A pair under that of a betting competitor’s door-card should be played cautiously. However if this competitor raises on a regular basis with the highest showing door-card whether paired or not you can play more aggressively – in many cases a early re-raise will provide you the information you need regarding whether to continue or not.

Flush Draws
Three cards to a flush are an excellent starting hand, as long as your flush is ‘live’. If you have seen three of your suit in the hands of competitors then your 3-flush can be folded. With two of your suit already out, the rank of your cards comes into play. With high card value as a backup, then a speculative call at the table may be worth a shot.

Trips
Being dealt trips in 7-card stud is always fabulous news – not only do you have the best possible starting hand, but it is well disguised from you’re competitors too. Trips on 3rd street in Stud poker are also known as ‘rolled up hand’, for instance ‘rolled up kings’. In contrast to many other hands, trips do not mind multi-way action. With this in mind your position affects the way that this hand should be played.

If you’re in a early position compared to the ‘bring in ‘then calling to get more competitors into the pot is usually the most beneficial for you. If you act after several limpers then the ideal thing would be to rise – getting more money into the pot by making your competitors call a second minute bet. With trips you’re chances of improving to a full house are larger. Make sure you charge competitors for each street, but bear in mind not to scare everyone away by making it two bets to go.

Straight draws
Ultimately, 3 cards to a straight are sometimes playable starting hands. Again high card value factors in as do the number of cards that you need that are already seen. In the case of straights you will need to look out for cards 2 ranks as well as one. If you advance to open-ended straight draw status on a later street you will need one of the 2-rank away cards to finish your hand.

I conclude, the greatest 7 card stud starting hands are trips. Other hands need other factors taken into consideration such as the number of seen cards, whether your strength is hidden and tendencies of competitors who have raised ahead of you.

100% $500 bonus
use bonus code “JCPOKER”

Mac Users Click Here
u.s players: no