Poker - Live or online
Poker has grown tremendously in popularity in the last several years with the televised World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker events. It seems that everyone wants to become a professional poker player and get instant fame and fortune. However, live poker is not for everyone and it is not as easy as it looks on TV. Like the saying goes, poker only takes a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. And that is the truth my friends.

The information we provide here is by no means meant to be comprehensive and will not be enough for you play poker seriously. It is meant to give you a brief introduction into the game. Also, we will point you in the right direction to obtain additional information.

When we refer to poker, we are only talking about Texas hold'em, which is the most popular of the poker games. If you are not familiar with Texas hold’em, then I suggest you read a very basic texas hold 'em book such as Poker: The Real Deal by by Phil Gordon (he was the co-host on celebrity poker). The book is very easy to read and will provide you with enough basic information to get you started.

Poker is a game of skill, experience, intuition, gamble, and luck. You can't do much about the luck gamble part, but to gain the skill, intuition, and experience, you will have to play the game for money. And there is a big difference between playing at different monetary levels both in the level of what you have to bring to the table and what your opponents bring to the table. Don't think that by playing for fun; in the play area that many of the online gambling sites provide or watching it on tv will give you what you need to actually play the game at a decent level. Because there are so many invaluable nuances that you will learn only when you play the game.

Poker Basics

This may be a little basic, but I want to cover hand rankings first. This is something that you need to commit to memory..

Hand Rankings - from lowest ranking to highest

High card
One pair
Two pairs
Three of a kind
Straight- Ace high
Straight - Five high
Flush
Full house
Four of a kind
Straight flush
Royal flush

How the game starts

All poker games begin with some forced wager over which players compete. In Texas Hold'em the forced wagers are the small blind and the big blind; which is usually double the value of the small blind bet. The small blind is always the person to the left of the dealer or dealer button. The big blind is two from the left of the dealer or to the immediate left of the small blind.

After the small and big blinds have been placed, two cards are dealt faced down to each player (these are referred to as your hole cards). At this point there is a round of betting, which is started by the person to the left of the big blind (the big blind is the last person to act after the two cards have been dealt out).

After everyone has called, bet or folds, three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the flop and are community cards, used by all still in the game. After the flop, another round of betting begins. Once the betting is done, a fourth card is flipped up, called the turn card. Yet another round of betting begins. Once the betting is completed, the fifth and final card is flipped up, call the river. After the river card, a last round of betting begins. If there are more than one person still in the game, there is a showdown of cards and the person with the best hand wins the pot. The dealer button moves over one spot to the left, the small and big blinds are placed and we start all over again.

In the above, when we refer to betting, there are a number of things that a player can do in each round of betting, assuming he is still in the game. Players strategically wager using a number of actions available to them. The actions are as follows:

Check - If there is no wager on the current betting round, a player may check. The act of checking passes the action to the next player immediately clockwise from him or her. A check does not forfeit interest in the pot, only the current right to bet. If all players check during a round of betting, the round is considered complete.

Bet - If there is no wager on the current betting round, a player may bet. If a player bets, the player immediately clockwise from him or her (and any subsequent players) may fold, raise, or call.

Fold - The act of folding forfeits all interest in the pot. A player who folds is not required or allowed to wager any further money for the current game.

Call - If there has been a wager on the current betting round, a player may call. The act of calling requires the player to match the current bet made by his or her opponent(s).

Raise - If there has been a wager on the current betting round, a player may raise. The act of raising requires the player to match the current bet, and make a greater one. All subsequent players are required to call the raise or raise again ( re-raise ) to maintain interest in the pot.

On each betting round, betting continues until the person immediately counterclockwise the last bettor or raiser acts. When this person acts, the next round begins, or the hand is complete.

When the last bet or raise on the final betting round is called, the showdown occurs. This is when it is determined who wins the pot, as players show their hands one-by-one. It may be the case that there is no showdown. This occurs when a player bets or raises, and no active players choose to call the player's bet (in other words, all players fold). In this case, the player doing the betting or raising wins the full amount of the pot.

The Limits

Limit - means there is a fixed limit you can bet or raise at any given time. For example, if the table limit is $2/$4 the most you can bet or raise is either $2 or $4. How to determine if you can bet $2 or $4 is based on where the game is at. You can bet or raise $2 before the flop and after the flop. You are required to bet $4 or raise $4 on the turn and the river. Also, the limit usually determines the blinds. So in the same example, the small blind would be $1 and the big blind would be $2.

Pot Limit - as the name implies you can bet up to the size of the pot plus any bets made before the next person to act. If there is $50 in the pot and the person before you bets $25, you are able to bet $125 ($50 in the pot, plus $25 to call the bet, plus your raise of $50).

No Limit - this is the cadillac of poker. As the title states, you can bet any amount up to what you have in have on the table in front of you. This is the game you see on television when you’re watching the World Poker Tour, the Professional Poker Tour, and most times at the World Series of Poker (even though there are pot limit games played at the WSOP).

Position

This is a very important thing to consider when playing poker.

Early position - in this position, you normally only want to play premium hands (discussed a little later) because there are many others to act after you and you have very little information about your opponents hands.

Middle - you still want to stick to your premium hands. However, since you have more information about the opponents in front of you, you can play some weaker hands too.

Late - this is the best position to be in (to the right of the dealer). You get to act last and able to assess how strong or weak the other players before you seem to be.

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