Overview for Texas Hold 'em

Texas Hold ‘Em and the poker theory behind it has been popular for years. Today, this game can be found being played in homes, casinos, and is often broadcast on televsision. The game itself can be learned in just a few hours but the poker theory behind it can takes years to master which is much of the allure of the game.



Here is a brief overview of how the game is played:

All the players are dealt two down cards. These are called your Hole Cards. The other players should not see your hole cards.

Poker theory begins at this point as this is where you must decide to play or fold.

If a player wants to continue playing, he may either bet, check, or raise.

Beginners to the game should know that there are three types of Texas Hold Em games: Limit, No Limit, and Pot Limit. In a regular Limit Texas Hold ‘Em game the amount of the bets are predetermined. You can see what the amounts are in the poker game name. For example, you might want to play at a $1-$2 table. In this case the bets are $1 and $2.

For a Pot Limit game, the betting structure is similar to Limit and No Limit games but the highest bet that can be made is the amount of money in the pot at any given time.

In No Limit games, which are the ones you most often see on television and the name says it all. In a No Limit game, any player may push all of his chips into the pot, at which time the other players must either call or fold. Because of the huge differences in the betting structures it is very important that new players know the proper poker theory behind the game that they are playing.



Once the betting has been completed, three cards are turned up by the dealer. These are called the Flop and they are community cards. All players use the community cards to, hopefully, improve their hole cards.

Betting resumes at this point. As before a player may bet, check, or raise. A player may also fold at this point if he hasn’t improved his hand.

Once the betting has been completed, one card is turned faced up to go along with the flop. This card is called the Turn Card.

Again, there is a round of betting. As before, players decide if they want to stay in or get out.

The last card that the dealer lays down is called The River.

There is one last round of betting where players, again, decide if they want to stay in or get out. Players who have stayed in the game to this point now have 7 cards to use. Using these 7 cards, each player will make his best poker hand, using only 5 of the 7 available cards. The player with the highest ranked poker hand wins the pot.

The above is only a very basic poker theory format for how this game is played but it does not take into account all the various strategies that a player can put to work once he or she has gained some experience. As mentioned above, it only takes an hour or so to learn the basics of the game but it can take a lifetime to become a master of the poker theory behind it.

Low Pairs

Learning the poker theory behind low pairs is important in Texas Hold Em. This is because players see low pairs a lot during the course of a game. New players who do not yet understand the poker theory behind low pairs often lose their money.



There are no hard and fast rules that say what constitutes a low pair. Generally, anything below a 6 should be thought of as a low pair. As you gain experience poker theory and learn your own style of play you will be able to set your own standards as to what is a low pair and what is not.

One of the most useful poker theory tips for new players holding low pairs is that 90 percent of the time you want to see a cheap flop. A cheap flop is one that does not cost you a lot of money to see. In other words, if you are holding a pair of 4’s you want to see the flop but you do NOT want to put in a lot of money (by calling big bets or raising) in order to see that flop.

You should try to remember that a low pair has potential for becoming a big hand if you pick up a set (three-of-a-kind) or a quad (four-of-a-kind) or a full-house. The poker theory key to remember is the word potential. Until you see the flop all you have is a low pair, and in a ten-handed game and even in a seven-handed game, that generally is a losing hand.

In poker theory, if you have a low pair and are the first to act, you must be careful. This is true with low pairs if you are seated anywhere on the first half of the table. The reason for this is simple. If you are the first to play (or even the second, third, or fourth) all the others players behind you will have the option to raise the bet, forcing you to put even more money in before seeing the flop. If you are playing with aggressive betters, the cost can skyrocket in no time at all.

The key to playing small pairs is to see the flop for as little money as possible. A good player who knows poker theory will fold a small pair if the betting becomes too aggressive.

If you are one of the last players to act, meaning you are on the far side of the betting, and no one else has raised, you may want to call and see the flop. You may pick up three of a kind or something better. It does happen.

However, good poker theory suggests that if players before you have raised and others have called that raise it is best for you to fold that low pair. You should never be afraid to lay down a weak hand. The fact is good poker theory suggests that winners will fold far more hands than they will play. Patience and risk management are key elements to winning at this game.

The Button

If you have seen Texas Hold Em being played then you have probably seen the little white disk that moves around the table with each deal of the cards. This disk is known as The Button, and it represents where, in poker theory, the dealer of the cards would be sitting if the cards were actually being passed around the table.

Except in home games the cards for Texas Hold Em are not passed around from player to player. A non-player (usually a casino employee) will deal the cards out and keep track of where the button is suppose to be at any one time.

But the Button has far more significance than just telling us who would be dealing if we were passing the cards around the table. Knowing how to play the Button and how it affects your play as it moves around the table is, perhaps, one of the most important poker theory lessons a new player can learn.

When you sit down at a table, in real life or in an online game room, you will see the dealer himself. This is the person dealing the actual cards. In casinos and online poker rooms, the dealer of the cards does not play in the game, he simply deals out the cards and keeps track of what is happening on the table. Somewhere on the table you will also see a white disk that may or may not say Dealer on it. This is the Button, and as mentioned above it moves around the table with each deal and a lot of poker theory has been written about it.



To start a new game, two Blind bets are put up or posted. The player who is sitting immediately to the left of the The Button must post the small blind which is one-half the minimum bet for the particular game you are playing. The player sitting to the left of the small blind must post the big blind which is equal to the full minimum bet for the particular game you are playing. The rest of the players do not have to put up any money yet (unless you are playing with antes which is normally not done in online game rooms). Because the deal rotates around the table, each player will eventually act as the big blind, small blind, and have the button.

After the blinds have been posted, each player is then dealt two cards, face down, with the player on the small blind receiving the first card and the player with the dealer button getting the last card. The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind either putting in a full bet to Call the blind bet, or putting in more money in order to raise the big blind. He can also fold his hand, which means he will not play this game.

The betting goes around the table in order until it reaches the player who posted the small blind. That player can call the bet by putting in the other half of the minimum bet in which case he is calling. Or he can raise or fold.

The last person to act is the big blind. If no one has raised, the dealer will ask if they would like the option. This means the big blind has the option to raise or check. By checking the player does not put in any more money.

After the first betting round is completed, the Flop is dealt and another round of betting begins with the first active player (players who have called the big blind) to the left of the button.

At the end of the hand, the Button moves one seat clockwise as well as the big and small blinds. This sounds more confusing than it is. Once you have seen the Button in action and how the blinds are posted with each hand, you begin to see how poker theory begins to play out depending on where you are sitting in relation to the button.

Bluffing

When it comes to poker theory, the art of bluffing can be a bit confusing, especially if you are playing in real life games as opposed to online poker.

Bluffing is an important part of Texas Hold Em, whether you are playing Limit, No-Limit, or Pot Limit, but getting away with it successfully often depends on the type of game you are playing.

It is much harder to bluff in Limit and Pot Limit than it is in No-Limit, and that is the poker theory that all players should learn right away.

When it comes to No Limit Hold Em one poker theory tip to keep in mind is that people are different. Some players, especially those playing online, like to bluff a lot. These players will usually win a few hands until the better players figure out what they are doing and then the bluffers lose and usually lose big. Then there are players who play so tight that they never bluff. Players who bluff some of the time are better players than those at either end of the bluffing spectrum. Better poker players, of course, understand poker theory and will keep you guessing.

Players who keep you guessing are going to give you much more trouble than the more predictable players which is why bluffing is actually a part of poker theory.

Another very useful poker theory tip is that even the threat of a bluff can be helpful. A good player, one who does not bluff too often, will have other players guessing about his hand. The trick is this: If you bluff occasionally in the game and then you have the best hand and come out betting, your opponent will not know if you are bluffing or not. If there is a lot of money in the pot, and he thinks you are bluffing, he will probably call. This is called a trap, and it works if done correctly. It is cheaper for him to think that you are bluffing and pay the next bet, than to fold a hand that he might think is the winning hand.

Bluffing and the threat of bluffing go hand in hand. A bluff can enable a player to win a pot he figured to lose if the hands were shown. The threat of a bluff enables a player with a good poker hand to win more money than he would if his opponent knew he never bluffed
A successful poker player who understands poker theory has to play a middle-ground poker strategy when it comes to bluffing. You do not want to bluff too often, but, it is a mistake to never bluff at all.

Poker theory also demands that you know who you are bluffing against. A very tight player, one who does not like to call raises unless he has a very good hand, will often fold if you raise to him. This works best when it is only you and he left playing—the other players having already folded.

Also remember, that your bluff raise needs to be enough to run your opponent off. If it is a low raise, he will probably call because it does not cost him much money to do so.

Lastly, and this important in poker theory, if you raise on a bluff and your opponent re-raises you, you should consider folding. It is entirely possible that he has you trapped!

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