poker rules

 


 
Poker discipline
 

When you’re playing poker at an online casino you may not be fully aware of the importance of your poker discipline.

Poker discipline is a concept and a skill that you must focus on, so if you know that your poker discipline is poor, your highest priority should be to improve it. Since you’re a talented poker player, you know that being dealt a strong starting hand in Texas Holdem truly is a great feeling. A good starting hand brings you the control right away and you may feel the excitement of the possibility of wining the pot.

Regrettably your excitement may mean that you loose several hands and it may leave you with empty chip stacks.

The reason why excitement at a poker table normally is a bad thing is excitement can lead to bad decisions.

Poker discipline is about one very important thing - make your decisions and stick to them! Thus, you must decide what hands you want to play and you must have the self discipline not to waver from your decision. The most important part of this is to know when you should lay your cards down, especially when they look tempting and you keen to stay in the hand to see what the game will bring you.

A-10, A-9, Q-J or K-10 are starting hands that you must be aware of. This these can cause you to lose your poker discipline and thereby cost you money. If you get one of those combinations in an early position you should almost always fold them, there are just too many hands that can beat you.

Poker discipline is perhaps among the most difficult skills in poker to master. However, poker discipline is a skill that sets the really good poker players apart from the rest of the world’s poker players. Decide on your poker strategy and stick to it!

Texas Hold'eM Starting Hands: Playing Big Cards

 

In Texas holdem games, you generally only want to play strong starting hands. Big pairs and big cards are considered strong, but these hands vary in strength. Any two big cards may be enough to enter a pot with, but not enough to call a raise with or even flat call out of position.

Playing Ace King through Ace Ten in Texas Hold’em

Hands containing an ace are powerful in Texas hold’em poker because the ace is the biggest card. If they are suited, meaning you can make the best possible flush, it is even better. The problem is that most opponents like to play aces, and the weaker your ace is, the more likely you are to be dominated by another ace, which can be very costly. For this reason, you should try to only play weaker aces, like ace ten or ace jack, in position. This way you can see the action in front of you and have a better chance of determining whether your ace is good. In a cash game situation, you should not necessarily be in a big hurry to get all your chips in pre-flop with even with ace king, as you will usually only get called by a better hand.

Playing Other Big Cards in Texas Hold’em

Whether or not to play other big cards in Texas hold’em such as KQ or JT will depend on a variety of factors. Usually it is better to play these hands in late position, where you can really take advantage if they hit. You also want to consider their usefulness beyond high card potential. For example, if you have JT, any straight you make (assuming you are not counterfeited by a J or T on the board) will give you the nut straight.

 
TEXAS HOLD'EM

Texas Hold'em is a very popular type of poker that can be played up to 10 players and dealer. Each player is dealt face-down cards that are called hole or pocket cards. The dealer has a dealer button in front of him and it moves to the left after each hand.

Two players immediately left to the dealer must post blind bets before the cards are dealt. The player closest to the dealer posts a small blind which is equal to the half of the minimum bet. The next player posts a big blind which is equal to the minimum bet.

After two players post the blind bets, each player is dealt 2 face-down cards. These are called the pocket cards or hole. The rest of the players make their bets.

The amount of the bets are set by the table stakes. The first 2 bets are the minimum and the last 2 are the maximum.

The next cards dealt are the community cards that can be used by any player. These 3 cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. They are called the flop. After the flops are dealt, another round of betting takes place.

Next community card is dealt face-up in the middle of the table. Again this can be used by any of the players and called the turn card. After the turn card is dealt, players place their bets.

The fifth and final community card is called the river card. It is followed by the final round of betting.

After all bets are placed, the best five-card hand is declared the winner.

SEVEN CARD STUD POKER

Seven Card Stud is a popular version of poker that can be played with up to eight players. There are total of 7 cards dealt to each player and 5 rounds of betting, not including the ante. The objective of the game is to make the best 5 card hand using the 7 cards dealt. It is usually played with an ante except the $0.50/$1.00 game.

The first round of betting is a forced bet by the lowest up-card by suit. Suites are ranked in the following order highest to lowest: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. In case of a tie, the player closest to the left of the dealer acts first. In subsequent hands, player with the highest hand initiates the betting. Again if there is a tie, the player closest to left of the dealer acts first.

Each raise and bet is set to the low limit during the first 2 rounds except when a player displays a pair with his 2 face-up cards on the 4th street. In that case, all players can bet either the low limit or the high limit. If the higher bet is made by a player then all following bets must be at the high limit. In the third, fourth and fifth rounds, all bets must be at the high limit.

Rounds
Third Street- Each player is dealt 2 face-down and 1 face-up card. The player with the lowest card suit brings in. He must bet 1/2 of the lower limit. He can also raise to the full lower limit.

Fourth Street- Every player is dealt a face-up card. The player with the highest card is the first one to act. If one of the players has a pair, every player has an option to bet either the low limit or the high limit. Otherwise, the bets are the low limit amount.

Fifth Street- Every player is dealt a face-up card. The player with the highest rank is the first one to act. All bets and raises must be the high limit.

Sixth Street- Every player is dealt a face-up card. All bets and raises must be the high limit amount.

Seventh Street- Every player is dealt a face-down card. This round is played as the previous hand. If the dealer runs out of cards, instead of dealing each player a card the dealer deals a face-up card in the middle of the table. Every player can use this card to make a hand.

Showdown- The players who have not folded after the last round of betting show their hands to determine who wins the pot. Two players with the best hogh and low hands split the pot.

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