Playing Poker - How to Get Started
The game of poker is one of strategy, timing, and mental focus. It's about being able to balance the odds of the pot and the actions of an opponent in order to maximize the money earned from a hand. Luck does play a small role in winning sometimes, but overall, it's all about making the right moves at the right time.
Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker game right now. The rules of the game are pretty easy to understand. Each player is dealt two cards face down that only he or she knows the value of. A round of blinds and betting occur, and then three cards are laid face up in the table. Another round of betting occurs and then two more cards are flipped over one at a time. Betting occurs after each card is flipped over. The best combination of five cards between the two cards a player is holding and the cards on the table wins the pot.
There are other poker games out there, such as Omaha, Stud, and Razz. Those play out with more cards dealt in different ways, but the principal of the best five cards winning remains the same in all play.
Not all hands are won at the end of play though. A poker player has the option to fold his hand to an opponent if he thinks he's beaten or has no chance to win the pot.
Learning when to fold and when to bet is a difficult task that most first time poker players have a hard time dealing with. It is important to win as much money from a pot as possible, but it is just as important to lose as little as possible in a pot.
Developing a knack for folding and betting comes from experience reading other players' reactions. Some aspects of it can be taught, but involvement is the only sure fire way to learn to read people.
If you're a first time player, I encourage you to try playing online for free to develop a good idea of the game before you start putting money out there. Tons of professionals anxiously await the opportunity to take a new player's money, so don't get caught in that predicament.
Watch the World Series of Poker or the World Poker tour an television to learn about different strategies and playing styles. Develop your own unique approach to the game and then take it to the tables.
If you focus enough and learn what to do and not to do, you could be a professional poker player in no time.
The game of poker is one of strategy, timing, and mental focus. It's about being able to balance the odds of the pot and the actions of an opponent in order to maximize the money earned from a hand. Luck does play a small role in winning sometimes, but overall, it's all about making the right moves at the right time.
Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker game right now. The rules of the game are pretty easy to understand. Each player is dealt two cards face down that only he or she knows the value of. A round of blinds and betting occur, and then three cards are laid face up in the table. Another round of betting occurs and then two more cards are flipped over one at a time. Betting occurs after each card is flipped over. The best combination of five cards between the two cards a player is holding and the cards on the table wins the pot.
There are other poker games out there, such as Omaha, Stud, and Razz. Those play out with more cards dealt in different ways, but the principal of the best five cards winning remains the same in all play.
Not all hands are won at the end of play though. A poker player has the option to fold his hand to an opponent if he thinks he's beaten or has no chance to win the pot.
Learning when to fold and when to bet is a difficult task that most first time poker players have a hard time dealing with. It is important to win as much money from a pot as possible, but it is just as important to lose as little as possible in a pot.
Developing a knack for folding and betting comes from experience reading other players' reactions. Some aspects of it can be taught, but involvement is the only sure fire way to learn to read people.
If you're a first time player, I encourage you to try playing online for free to develop a good idea of the game before you start putting money out there. Tons of professionals anxiously await the opportunity to take a new player's money, so don't get caught in that predicament.
Watch the World Series of Poker or the World Poker tour an television to learn about different strategies and playing styles. Develop your own unique approach to the game and then take it to the tables.
If you focus enough and learn what to do and not to do, you could be a professional poker player in no time.
