Learning Texas Holdem
Learn To Play Poker – Learning Texas Hold’em Recommended Poker Sites July 2020 Must be at least 18 to open a new account The game of Texas Hold’em is by far the premiere poker game in the world today, and millions of players worldwide play it online for fun, excitement, and the thrill of competition. That's it for Texas Holdem Strategy. If you are really keen on learning poker quickly, we would suggest you check out our home page for more information to accelerate your poker learning. There is still a lot to learn so here are some further reading: Common poker mistakes. Texas Holdem Strategy Tips.
When people ask me how to start gambling, I often tell them one thing: learn to play blackjack and Texas Hold’em. If you learn to play both of these games, you can have a long, entertaining career of gambling. Hold’em is one of the most popular varieties of poker and appeals to all types of gamblers.
Learn Texas hold'em no limit & fixed limit poker strategies and tactics. Check poker theory and acquire skills in Sit & Go and MTT tournament strategies with our articles and quizzes poker guide. Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular poker variant in the world, and everyone can join the action by learning simple Poker Rules. Your goal is to make the best five-card combination which we covered above, or bluff your opponent and get him to fold. In Texas Holdem, every player gets two cards, which are faced down and known as hole cards. The first three cards in Texas Hold'em are called the flop. These cards are “community cards” meaning everyone can (and will need to) use at least three of them in combination with their own hole cards to make the best hand. From the flop on, betting begins with the player to the dealer’s left, who can check or bet.
Texas Hold’em provides new gamblers a comprehensive introduction to most facets of gambling. If you’ve never played poker in the past but want to start playing, Hold’em is the best starting point. Here are 7 reasons Texas Hold’em is the perfect game for beginners.
1 ‒ It’s Easy to Learn
Of all of the poker varieties, real money Texas Hold ’em is commonly regarded as the easiest to learn. The game involves forming the best combination of cards between the 2 cards you’re dealt and the 5 communal cards. If your hand is stronger than other players’ hands, you win. The game is more technical when it comes to betting and table position, but I’ll go over that in another post.
Like other types of poker games, Hold ’em is a combination of skill and luck. Even if you’re dealt terrible cards, it’s still possible to win if you’re skilled enough. Once you learn the basics of Texas Hold’em, it’s possible to improve quickly. Learning the game might be easy, but mastering it is impossible. If you’re serious about improving, you can become a quality player in a matter of months.
2 ‒ It’s One of the Most Popular Types of Poker
When deciding which type of poker to specialize in, it’s always a safe bet to pick the one you can play often. If you were to select an obscure and unpopular style, you would be hard-pressed to find a game. However, Texas Hold’em is the most popular type of poker in the United States.
Every reputable casino with a poker room hosts Hold’em tournaments. Even if you want to play casually, the chances of your social circle being familiar with Hold’em rules compared to other types is high. Hold’em is popular due to its simplicity, pace of play, and the poker boom in the 2000s.
Down the road, you might find that you prefer another type of poker. This isn’t abnormal and shouldn’t dissuade you from learning the game. Various kinds of poker are somewhat similar and share pieces of strategy and method of gameplay.
3 ‒ The Learning Process Never Stops
Tracking your improvement during your time gambling is incredibly gratifying. You’ll most likely start as a novice, committing careless mistakes and losing several games of poker. But, if you continue to improve your game and accumulate information, you’ll make rapid strides.
There is an abundance of information about how to play Texas Hold’em on the internet. Because it’s the most popular type of poker, there are countless blog posts, articles, and even books dedicated to Hold’em. Once the learning process starts, it never stops.
If you are a fan of the game, you might find that you enjoy being a student of the game as well. I never enjoyed doing homework, so I was shocked when I found myself going out of my way to read about Hold’em. The fastest way to improve is playing, but arming yourself with the best possible information is a close second.
4 ‒ It’s Entertaining
One of your primary reasons to gamble should be to have fun. Winning money is the ultimate goal, but you should enjoy the games you play. Texas Hold’em is an incredibly entertaining card game that any personality type should enjoy. There are worse ways to spend an evening than sitting around a table playing cards.
The game is a perfect combination of skill and luck like I said earlier. If you’re playing blackjack and get a bad hand, there’s nothing you can do about it. But, you could be dealt a 2 and a 7 in Hold’em and still walk away with money. Playing against other gamblers instead of the house tends to be more entertaining.
Even if you don’t want to start out playing at a casino, you can play at home. I suggest organizing a poker night with friends and family before you even consider playing for serious money. You’ll have more fun playing with people you know and whose company you enjoy. Also, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the game faster if you’re comfortable.
5 ‒ It’s Possible to Win Money
The likelihood of you learning how to play Texas Hold’em and immediately becoming a shark at the tables isn’t high. The best players in the world have been playing for years, and chances are most players are going to be better than you. But, as you continue to develop as a player, you’ll improve and increase your chances of winning.
Instead of stewing on losses, make sure you’re learning something new each game. Other players will be on the lookout for inexperienced players. Beginners tend to reveal too much as they play, so work on curating a style of play that works for you.
As a beginner, you must keep your expectations grounded. Your primary focus should be to enjoy yourself and eventually improve over time. Once you’ve established yourself as a quality player, you will start to notice that you’re consistently hanging around games longer. If you stick with it for enough time, that first win will make everything worth it, trust me.
6 ‒ Hold’em Teaches You to Manage Money
Every game of Texas Hold’em is a microcosm of the gambling world. Each player comes in with a stack of chips, their bankroll, and must choose when to use those chips. If players gamble foolishly, they can lose their bankroll in a matter of minutes. But, if they are strategic, they can increase their bankroll and eventually walk away victorious.
Learning how to manage your money while you gamble is the most critical key to success. Even if you’re a great gambler whose frugal 95% of the time, that remaining 5% can spell an end to your gambling career. Establishing good habits early on will help you improve as a gambler and ensure that you can gamble for longer.
When playing Hold’em, gamblers must decide when they should bet on a hand to play or when they should fold. You might feel tempted to play every hand when you first start but consider folding far more frequently than playing. It’s important not to be a pushover at the tables, but it’s also easy for better players to take advantage of your inexperience and take your chips.
7 ‒ You Can Play it Whenever You Want
Due to its overwhelming popularity, you can play Hold ’em whenever and wherever you want. If you’re going to play for money at home, several reputable online casinos are waiting for you. But, if you want to play without spending money, the internet is full of free Hold ’em games.
One of the fastest ways I improved at Hold’em was playing on the internet without any money on the line. It taught me how to play the game more effectively, and I figured out a strategy that works for me. Of course, there’s nothing quite like sitting around a table to play Hold ’em against real people, but online Hold’em is a nice substitute.
Instead of scrolling through social media in your free time, consider downloading an application on your phone. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll improve if you play the game more often. As I said earlier, some skills you cultivate playing online won’t translate to success at the table. Knowing how to play the game will make other players take you seriously instead of dismissing you as a novice.
Conclusion
Texas Hold’em is one of the best games for new gamblers to learn to play. The game’s relative simplicity, pace of play, and popularity make it a perfect match for beginners. While the game might be easy to learn, becoming a master at the Hold’em table is much more complicated.
If you find yourself enjoying the game after a few times playing, consider studying up on Hold’em in your free time. The best way to improve is to play as much as possible, but the knowledge you acquire will help you start winning. When you first start playing, you should focus on having fun and learning as much as possible. Eventually, you can begin to win, but always make sure you’re enjoying the game.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Only starting out with poker in 2020?
I remember when I started with poker, I found remembering the important parts of the game challenging.
But your journey can become easier with this printable poker cheat sheet for beginners (I wish I had this when starting out!).
Table Of Contents
- How To Use This Texas Holdem Poker Cheat Sheet.
- How To Use This Pot Odds Cheat Sheet – Facing River Bet Example
- How To Use This Pot Odds Cheat Sheet – Facing Flop Bet Example
- Poker Hands Cheat Sheet: Best Texas Hold em Hands
Poker Cheat Sheet For Texas Holdem:
Download the high-quality Poker Cheat Sheet printable (PDF) version:
The cheat sheet includes hyperlinks for further reading on any material you may not yet know.
Click here for more information on pre-flop and post-flop. We also discuss Texas Holdem bet sizing in the highlighted link.
If you like the cheat sheet, you may also enjoy these these awesome starting hand charts from upswing poker. They are a more detailed version of the starting hands section in the cheat sheet above which supplement it nicely. Amazingly they have been downloaded almost 200,000 times!
Learning Texas Holdem Odds
How To Use This Texas Holdem Poker Cheat Sheet.
Step 1: Find your hand on the chart (example KT suited)
Step 2: Determine whether you should follow coloured or number schematic.
Either:
- If first to raise (no other player has raised before you), follow the coloured schematic.
- If facing a raise or reraise, follow the numbered schematic.
Note: If playing on a 6max table (6 players as opposed to 9), the yellow coloured hands will also be able to be played from any position.
See the image below for the numbered and colour schematic.
Step 3: Take into account information give under headings preflop and post flop.
How to play poker preflop is a tough subject to cover in detail. There are many factors you need to take into account such as:
- Your position and your opponents position.
- Your opponents likely holdings
- Board texture
- Previous history
A brief explanation of why position is powerful and why we play fewer hands when there are more players left to act (still with a hand):
When playing on a fullring table, you will have to contend with nine players, who each have a chance of picking up a big hand. Therefore, when playing a full ring game, you will play fewer hands. You can read more on this concept at fullring vs. 6max.
The difference in player numbers is also why we play a wide range of hands from the Button, but very few hands from UTG (first position). When opening the Button, we only have two players left to act (unlikely for them to have a strong hand), whereas when playing from UTG in a full ring game, eight other players could potentially pick up a big hand.
For more in-depth details on this see Texas Holdem Strategy and Position is King!
Step 4: Take home some cash
Hopefully, this poker cheat sheet will help you ‘bring home the bacon' as they say, but there is always something more to learn in poker. Keep reading for some more cheat sheets which might be of use to you.
Get Your Miniature (Credit Card Sized) Texas Holdem Starting Hands Cheat Sheet
This cheat sheet only contains the most vital information you need so it can handily fit in your pocket. The legends have also been squeezed onto the hand chart in front of hands we always fold.
To download printable PDF which is scaled to credit card size, use the Facebook unlock button:
Poker Odds Cheat Sheet (for Texas Hold'em)
Get your pot odds cheat sheet below. You can use this to determine the number of outs required to continue based on the pot odds you are being offered. You can also use it to convert between percentages, required outs and ratios for all kinds of situations in poker. The pot odds cheat sheet is explained in more detail below:
Click here to get a high-quality printable pdf version of the Poker Odds Cheat Sheet.
When your opponent bets you will be offered odds based on the size of his bet. For example, if your opponent bets half pot you will be offered odds of 3:1 on a call (call 1 to win 3). Essentially, it is your risk to reward ratio.
Pot odds will tell you whether is it correct for you to call or fold based on what size our opponent bet and how many cards that will improve our hand.
If you are interested in the learning poker math, check out our best poker books recommendation page here for some awesome books on poker math.
How To Use This Pot Odds Cheat Sheet – Facing River Bet Example
1. Work out pot odds
In this hand, our opponent bets $26 into a $41.5 pot making the total pot size $67.5. This gives us odds of 67.5: 26 (67.5 = 41.5+26). Or approximately 2.6:1. You can also see how to convert this into a percentage in our article pot odds.
2. Find 2.6:1 on the card (or as close to it as possible).
We locate 2.6:1 on the chart tells us that 2.6:1 translates to 30.11% pot equity. In other words:
- if we win 30% of the time, we will break even,
- if we win > 30% of the time we will make a profit on average in this situation
- if we win <30% of the time, we will make a loss on average in this situation
3. Determine our actual equity
This is the tough part, unfortunately.
You have to estimate how often you are beaten by your opponent in order to determine if you can profitably call or not. To do this you can use a program such as equilab to plug in hands that you think your opponent may have and the hand that you currently hold. To learn more about estimating what your opponent may be holding see the article poker hand range: the comprehensive beginner guide. From the example above, we plug in some hands we think our opponent may have and see that we have 34% equity:
4. Determine if we can profitably call.
Since our equity is greater than our pot odds, we can profitably call the river bet. If our equity were less than the pot odds being offered, we would have to fold as we cannot c call.
How To Use This Pot Odds Cheat Sheet – Facing Flop Bet Example
Learn Texas Holdem Online
Let's take a similar situation (confronted with a bet), except this time we are on the flop with KQs, and we have a flush draw with nine outs. A King and Queen which could be considered outs, but they aren't clean outs. This means even if we hit our hand we still may not win (say for example our opponent has AA).
Reinforcement Learning Texas Holdem
1. Work out equity percentage:
Since we have nine clean outs, we can simply go to the number 9 on the card and then determine our equity.
Learning Texas Holdem Poker
This means that we need a minimum pot odds of 1.9:1 or 38% when we have nine outs on the flop with two cards still to come.
3. Compare pot odds to odds given by bettor.
Our equity is 38%, so we need pot odds of less than 38%. The lower the pot odds, the more profitable the call.
Our pot odds are 12.5/33 which is 37%, and hence we just about have the pot odds to call. However, we are also in positon (and will act last with more information) and have two overcards to the board (both a King and Queen will make top pair good kicker). So this is an easy call.
4. Further reading
We need seven outs to continue, and we have nine outs with a flush draw. See calculating outs for more details.
For more information on how to use this poker cheat sheet see poker and pot odds.
This video will also be useful to you:
Poker Hands Cheat Sheet: Best Texas Hold em Hands
In case you aren't familiar with the hand strengths, and hand rankings of poker check out the printout Texas Holdem hands cheat sheet:
(You may also be interested in the rules of texas hold em)
There are a few important things to remember when memorising at the poker hand rankings:
Best Five Cards Win
In poker, it is always the best five cards wins. This means it is not only the pairs that matter if there is no clear winner (nobody has a pair), the decision will go down to high card wins.
Kickers
Kickers decide the winning hand when two opponents have the same pair or three of a kind. For example, if one opponent has AQ (ace-queen) and another has AJ, the opponent with AQ would win on an A7522 board as he has the five card hand of AAQ75 whereas the second opponent has AAJ75.
Split Pots
Split pots occur when opponents have the same hand. For example, imagine one opponent has A4 and the other A3 on AQ752 board. Both opponents would have five card hand of AAQ75. Neither the 4 or 3 would play.
You can get more information about hand rankings on our web page here.
If you are more visually inclined, check out this video on poker hand rankings:
For more on Texas Hold'em strategy, see poker 101.
Make sure you check out the fan favourite posts:
Common poker mistakes & Texas Holdem Poker Tips
Good luck at the poker tables with your new poker cheat sheet!