Poker Articles

The Newcomers Guide to Public Cardrooms -- How to Play and Win
(Part 4)
By Lou Krieger

"Texas hold'em is hard!" says poker author Ray Zee. "There is probably no other form of poker as difficult. Yet the game appears to be deceptively simple." Part of hold'em's appeal is its apparent simplicity. Because of the communal cards in the middle of the table, you need not remember what other players might have tossed away when they fold. Usually played with a minimum of nine players at a table, hold'em is a faster, more action filled game than stud.

So why play hold'em? "Many players," according to Zee, "even after much experience at the poker tables, still play like any two cards can win. Of course," he adds, "those who play in this fashion quickly lose their money." Hold'em has been called the game of the future. It is the game used to determine the champion at the World Series of Poker, and is the fastest growing poker game in the world.

While hold'em may look like seven-card stud, it is different. Here's a quick review of the game procedures. Each player is dealt two cards face down and there's a round of betting. Then three communal cards, called the flop, are turned face up in the center of the table, along with another round of betting. A fourth communal card (the turn) is then exposed, and a round of betting takes place. A fifth, and final piece of community property (referred to as the river card) is exposed and the final round of betting occurs. The best hand, using any combination of a player's two private cards and the five communal cards, is the winner.

A button rotates around the table after each hand, signifying the "dealer" for that hand. Unlike stud, where the cards showing on the board determine position, the player with the dealer button acts last during every round of betting. The first two players in front of the button must post blind bets, to stimulate the action. In a $10-$20 hold'em game, for example, the blinds are $5 and $10. Each is a live blind. Because these blinds were a forced, first bet, they can raise (but only on the first round) when the betting has gone around the table, and it becomes their turn to act again.

Since the order in which players act is fixed throughout the game, hold'em is very positional. Acting after you've had an opportunity to see how your opponents play is a big advantage. In hold'em you have seen five of your seven cards by the flop - which is the second round of betting. By the second round of betting in stud you've only looked at four of your cards, and three additional rounds of betting remain. In hold'em, luck is minimized, because when the board pairs, everyone adds that pair to their hands. Of course, if this pair makes trips for your opponent, it's a different story.

To succeed at hold'em, the first decision you'll make is the most crucial: "Do I play my first two cards?"

In hold'em, especially at lower limits, you'll find some players who habitually see the flop with almost any two cards, from any position. They may be playing tighter than you've been used to at home, but they are still gambling, by playing far too many hands.

British author Anthony Holden makes a distinction between gambling and poker in his book, Big Deal: A Year As a Professional Poker Player. "Poker..." mused Holden, better known in literary circles as Prince Charles' biographer, "was not a form of gambling; on the contrary, gambling was a style of playing poker - a loose and losing style, at that."

Success at hold'em demands patience, close attention paid to position, and an understanding that in spite of the bad-beat stories you'll hear, the best hands are run down less often than the best seven-card stud hands. Still, there is much more you need to learn about hold'em, and this short introduction will not suffice as a strategy primer. Fortunately, some outstanding hold'em books are available. I recommend Hold'em Poker by David Sklansky and Lee Jones', Winning Low Limit Hold'em along with my own books, Hold'em Excellence: From Beginner to Winner, MORE Hold'em Excellence: A Winner For Life, and Poker For Dummies — the latter coauthored by Richard D. Harroch.. There is enough material in these books to keep you busy for at least three years.

The speed of the games when you first play in a cardroom might startle you. However, the majority of your opponents are not students of the game. They want to have fun and that's it. By studying and playing the game you should soon feel familiar and comfortable at the table.. Mind you, if you live in an area in which poker has only recently been legalized, you probably do not have much catching up to do at all. You can start ahead of the crowd and never look back - a wire-to-wire winner. Your opponents may improve slowly, simply through osmosis. But through frequent play and study, you'll be improving at a much more rapid rate.

If you want to sound worldly, tell your friends you're practicing Kai-zen, a Japanese management philosophy. A key element of Kai-zen is to improve at a more rapidly than your competition -- catching, and passing them, while continuing to strive for improvement. If you are a serious poker player, or even an aspiring poker player who wants to become a serious one, Kai-zen is worth building into your makeup.

Everyone starts somewhere. Usually that somewhere is nowhere near the finish line. If you're going to become a good poker player, and savor all the opportunities and enjoyment that can be had in a public cardroom, you might just set your sights on continuous improvement. You'll find your abilities and confidence as a poker player will grow.

Remember this. The toughest decision you will have made was that first one; the decision to play casino poker. Within a short period of time you'll feel comfortable with the games and with your ability. From that point forward, you'll go as far and fast as your skill, dedication and discipline will carry you.

Your home game will still be there. Become a better player and you'll be able to run over it if you want to. Now that you have made the decision to play casino poker, get out and do it. Stride confidently up to the poker table. Utter those magic words. "Deal me in!"