The point of it all
Poker is cool. Always has been; always will be. That’s why I started playing 12 years ago. That’s why I quit my city job to go to Vegas and play it. That’s why it still steals portions of my life. It’s fun, different, exciting, teaches you about life and yourself – but here’s the coolest thing when you get good at it you get paid; cold hard cash.

It took me a long time and too much money to get to the point where I was actually reliably making money and I want to short cut that process for you. If you follow this road map a few months from now you could be a winning player – and remember when you win at poker they give you cash…that you can spend…on toys – it’s a pretty sweet deal.

Whose this article for?
This article is for anyone that wants to learn poker the right way. I’m going to assume you know the basic rules of the game but not too much more than that. If you don’t check out our rules and Texas Holdem Tips articles to get you up to speed. The problem is, learning the rules of Holdem is easy – winning is hard. The other problem is that there are so many different ways to learn, so many different products on the market and people promising to unlock poker’s secrets.

To make sense of it all for you I’m going to travel back in time and imagine I was starting poker now and tell you what I’d do given the benefit of my years of playing experience and the time I’ve spent in the poker industry. If only I could do the same for relationships I’d go back in time to the young Nick and teach myself what I know now about women, which is of course … absolutely nothing.

Where do we begin…
First of all you must play. Play and play and play and play. Poker rewards experience and there’s no substitute for that – if you’re not playing you’re not doing and can’t be improving. For the rest of the article I’m going to assume you’re playing …a lot. In fact I’m going to assume you’re job, relationship and health are all suffering massively due to how much you’re playing – fair enough?

I would start playing on the internet. When I started, playing live was the only option and it was super intimidating. In fact I made several visits to poker rooms without having the nerve to sit down! Online not only can you start playing immediately in an anonymous environment but you can also play for free; in your pants if you like. Of course free games aren’t the same as real money games as people play in a care free fashion but you’ll learn the basics of the game.

Equally importantly you can play lots and lots of hands of poker really quickly. This is key because it allows you to get experience quickly and also allows you to get over disappointments fast and not be discouraged. Many times when I started I’d travel to the casino, play in a tournament and bust out and had the whole journey home to wonder what I’d done wrong; having to wait until the next day to try again. Online you can be in several games at once or start another game as soon as you bust out of one.

Sign up for a poker room or two when you start; check out the ones we reviewed on this site for some good options, you might try Virgin Poker and Sky Poker as they tend to have more beginning players for you to beat. If I was starting now I’d definitely take a look at Poker For Dummies – some say I should be reading now! It’s a good introduction to the basic skills you’ll need though it only goes so far but it’ll get your off table education off to a good start.

Master the Sit and Go
Eventually you’ll want to play for real money starting at the lowest stakes and aiming to move up as you build your bankroll. I started by playing tournaments at my local card room. This wasn’t ideal – I’d spend an entire evening and only see a few hands then; as with most tournaments, I’d bust out and not know if I’d played well or not (usually not). If I was starting now I’d start online and I’d start with sit and gos. These are one table tournaments where everyone starts with the same number of chips and players are knocked out until one remains.

Typically in a 9 or 10 person sit and go the top three would win a share of the prize money. They’re fast, fun and you always know exactly how much you can win or lose. They’ll teach you the basic mechanics of poker but also and this is the good part, at the low limits they’re a good way to make cash (which if you remember is why poker is cool) and run up a big bankroll. Some of the biggest names in online poker got started this way. The great thing about starting with sit and gos is you can play for short focussed spells and if you get unlucky in one you can start another one quickly without that dispiriting drive home!

Look first to yourself…
Poker is a game of bluffing, deceit and deception. I know I often lie to myself about how much I play and that I’m definitely going to bed early tonight without playing. It’s vital to get into the habit of keeping results and notes about your play. Not only to have a clear picture of how you’re actually doing but also to review your play in key pots. When I started playing I had to do this with pen and paper – sometimes at the table (which also let me draw offensive caricatures of people who got lucky against me).

Now you lucky people can have all the work done for you with tracking software. This software will record every hand you play online and your opponents too, to allow you to keep accurate records, review your plays and learn your opponents tendencies. For sit and go games I’d go with SitNGo Wizard for cash and tournaments go for Holdem manager – these are the products I use and some of the most profitable players in the world use. Some people wait to buy a tracker but if I was starting out now I’d get one from the very start – imagine the satisfaction at seeing your results improve as you get better.

Take it to the next level – Cash Games and Tourneys
I hope you enjoy these early stages of your poker life as much as I did. Every day I learnt something new and I loved it. At times losing could be frustrating but its all part of learning and when something clicked it was the biggest buzz. For example I’ll never forget the pot I played about two months into trying to play well when I knew the middle aged regular player at the table was just trying to bully me. I backed my instincts and called him with my second highest pair and average kicker and felt about 12 feet tall when he said ‘nice call son’ and threw his cards in the muck. You’re going to have a lot of experiences just like that in the next few months.

You may decide to stick with sit and gos but most players will graduate to either multi table tournaments or cash games. I’ve always preferred cash games because I like getting paid in real money, plus leaving and turning up for games when I want is great (I’m late for stuff…a lot). If you want to take a similar route then online training sites have the best information out there (such as Cardrunners) more on those later. They also have great stuff on tournaments but if you want to be a tourney specialist you should also check out some of the literature such as the Harrington on Holdem tournament series. I wish it had been around when I started out as it really unravels the mysteries of tournament play – it won’t give you everything you need but it will short cut your learning process a lot.

There’s plenty of other reading you can do to improve your knowledge as you play but you have to be careful as there is a lot of junk information out there. For example the Sklansky books on Holdem used to be the bible but I spent too long following their advice and played too tight. The book that freed my poker mind was Super System by poker legend Doyle Brunson. Some of the sections are outdated now but the no limit section is still the best written material to get you into the right aggressive mindset to win.

And finally get a regular dose of information and entertainment from poker magazines PokerPlayer and Bluff Europe – I confess I contribute to them but I also read them and they give me a regular hit of poker goodness! That’s your reading matter sorted – now you don’t need to be away from poker even when you’re on a journey, in a tedious meeting or on the loo; aren’t I good to you.

Becoming Excellent
When I was starting out what we’ve covered now was about as far as the formal knowledge could get you. I played a lot and had some success but knew there was a tonne of stuff I didn’t know and didn’t know how to get it. My next jump in knowledge didn’t happen until I found a poker mentor. I was playing in Vegas when an older guy I’d befriended – and a really good player – took me for a drink and explained to me I wasn’t using my image. At the time I was a young (obviously this was far back in the midst of time) clean cut ‘kid’ from England and the other players didn’t think butter would melt in my mouth – they’d never believe I was bluffing. This revelation led to me changing my game and his help over the next few months short cut my development time massively.

The quickest way for you to improve your specific game is to become friends with a really good player who can look at your play and tell you where you’re going wrong. Of course that can be hard to find but don’t worry because there are ways to get specific advice on your game. As so many times in this article I wish these resources had been around when I started. I went through approaching a lot of people to help me and got some advice that didn’t help before finding the right people – you don’t have to do that.

First of all you should use online forums for example eatmystack.co.uk is a really friendly UK forum and, when you get more advanced, twoplustwo.com which can be intimidating but offers some high level advice. You should have the courage to post your hands here and take the criticism as help for your game. You have to be a bit careful because anyone can reply but providing you listen to the advice from the better contributors you should do well.

Once you’re ready to take your game to the next level an online training site like Cardrunners is a must. These sites mainly consist of some of the best online players in the world showing you how they play and giving you advice. It’s mentoring for you from the best in the business. The sites are a little expensive but they’re an investment – one that I use – and they will pay for themselves if you study the information they provide.

Play and play and play and to all a good night
And that’s all I have for you – you’re on your own young Padewan. The amazing thing about poker is how rewarding it can be and for once I’m not just talking about cash. The more you play, the more you use the aides I’ve recommended, the more honest and rigorous you are with yourself the better your results will be. This is not a luck game, a game of chance or gambling – except for those that don’t put in the effort. I wish you all the success in the world; have a tonne of fun, make boat loads of cash and one day bluff me out of a big pot and tell me how you got so good.

Nick’s Beginners RoadMap To Poker Success Summary

Starting Off – Master the Sit and Go

• Learn the rules
• Join a suitable poker room – for beginners I recommend Virgin Poker and Sky Poker – check out my reviews
• Read Poker For Dummies
• Use Tracking software like SitNGo Wizard or Holdem Manager from the very start
• Play lots of Sit N’ Go’s!

Take it To the Next Level – Cash Games and Tourneys

• Get free online advice – join forums – Eatmystack.co.uk and twoplustwo.com
• Read Harrington on Tournaments – check out my review
• Read Super System by Doyle Brunson
• Sign up with an online training site – I recommend Cardrunners

“Play, play and play! Poker rewards experience”

This article is called Texas Holdem Tips  (but you knew that – the clue was in the title). If you need to know the rules of the game go here – you’ll soon find all the information you need. I can’t teach you how to be a good player but I can give you some tips to start you off in the right way. So here are some of the things I wish someone had told me before I sat down to play for the first time.

Winning involves losing

Poker is the perfect mixture of luck and skill. There is enough luck so that on a given night a beginner can beat a more skilful player. However in the long run the more skilful player will make better decisions and end up with the chips. If you set out on your poker journey determined to be a winning player you must understand that you will lose a lot of the time. To give you some idea the best cash players in the world will lose over 40% of the times the play.

Handling losing can be difficult and poker can be an incredibly frustrating game when you do everything right but the cards don’t fall your way. If you understand that in the long run making the right decisions will make you a winning player over time when you start out you’ll find this bothers you much less

Be rational not emotional

Poker is an exciting adrenaline filled ride. Almost nothing compares to making a big bluff and winning a monster pot. Of course you should enjoy it but if you want to be a winning player you need to approach the game in a rational way.

Understand that every poker hand comprises 52 randomised cards and the combination they appear on the table cannot be influenced. The cards don’t know if you have a lucky rabbit foot with you, they don’t know if you’re upset from losing the last hand, they don’t know if you’re on a losing run and “deserve” for it to turn round. Top poker players understand that they can’t control the cards and that all they can do is keep making good poker decisions which will pay off in the end – commit to being one of them from the outset.

Aggression is all

Every good poker player is aggressive in their play. The reason goes to the heart of the game. There are two ways to win in poker which makes the game unique. You can have the best hand (score if you like) or you can convince everyone else you have the best hand and make them throw their hands away. This is like losing 3-0 in a football match and convincing the other team you scored 4 when they weren’t looking.

When most players learn and begin to play they are passive – don’t be one of them. Don’t call much; bet and raise and be the aggressor putting the pressure on your opponents.

Take responsibility

To be a good poker player you need to be completely honest with yourself. Sometimes you will play well and lose – sometimes you will play badly and win. After you play you can tell other players, your friends or your mum any story you want but you need to know the truth.

It is counter to everything else in our society but you must try and ignore your results in poker. Results can give you a false picture good and bad – you need to commit to analysing your decisions not the outcome of them.

Don’t fall into the traps of other players – your results are not because you’re unlucky, they’re not because the dealer (human or digital) hates you, they’re not because the stars are misaligned – in the long run they’re down to your decisions.

Beware false prophets

Ask anyone that plays poker (especially any bloke) and they’ll tell you they’re a good player. The poker world is full of people who talk a good game but don’t really know the game as well as they’d like (some of them even have their names on poker books).

Make sure you’re getting your advice from the best. It’s not hard to find the good books, DVDs and tutorial sites so seek them out. Better yet find some players in your local poker room or online that are definitely winning players and bug them to help you.

Always have an edge

Poker is a relative game. There was an often quoted remark about a famous player called Eric Drache, it said ‘he is the 6th best seven card stud player in the world – unfortunately for him he usually plays against the best 5’.

In poker you do not have to be a world beater to make money and win. You don’t even have to be very good – you just have to be better than the other players in your game. Another famous poker saying is ‘if you’re in a poker game and you can’t spot the sucker at the table; it’s you.’ Never forget this and always make sure you’re better than the other players in the game.

Have the right mindset

Poker demands clear thinking and all of your decision making powers. If you are tired, upset, drunk or not centred it’s very hard to play winning poker. When you play you should be focused, ready and determined to win.

If not and you just want some fun play at very low stakes or for play chips – or do something else entirely

Poker rewards effort

One of the reasons people sink into poker and lose their lives in a lifetime of playing is that it truly is the game that takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. It is an unsolvable game.

The great upside of the game is that the more you play, study and learn the better you’ll become. There is nothing more rewarding than learning a new move and successfully pulling it off at the table and even that pales into comparison to using your new skills to win your first tournament or build a huge bankroll from scratch.

Enjoy it

Poker is a game and it should be fun whenever you play, however seriously and at whatever stakes. It can also take a long time and if you’re going to spend hours of your life on something you should be enjoying it.

This article has given you some pointers to being a winning player but there’s no compulsion for you to take poker seriously. You may end up being the poker god of your weekly home game with your mates or you may end up as the world champ with millions of dollars online; whichever it is have fun playing the greatest game in the world.

Betting structures
Hold ‘em is normally played using small and big blind bets – forced bets by two players. Antes (forced contributions by all players) may be used in addition to blinds, particularly in later stages of tournament play. A dealer button is used to represent the player in the dealer position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the position of the dealer and blinds. The small blind is posted by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player to the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses. (In some cases, the small blind is some other fraction of a small bet, e.g. $10 is a common small blind when the big blind is $15. The double-blind structure described above is a commonly used and more recent adoption.)

When only two players remain, special ‘head-to-head’ or ‘heads up’ rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind. The dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last for the remainder of the hand.

The three most common variations of hold ‘em are limit hold ‘em, no-limit hold ‘em and pot-limit hold ‘em. Limit hold ‘em has historically been the most popular form of hold ‘em found in casino live action games in the United States. In limit hold ‘em, bets and raises during the first two rounds of betting (pre-flop and flop) must be equal to the big blind; this amount is called the small bet. In the next two rounds of betting (turn and river), bets and raises must be equal to twice the big blind; this amount is called the big bet. No-limit hold ‘em is the form most commonly found in televised tournament poker and is the game played in the main event of the World Series of Poker. In no-limit hold ‘em, players may bet or raise any amount over the minimum raise up to all of the chips the player has at the table (called an all-in bet). The minimum raise is equal to the big blind. If someone wishes to re-raise, they must raise at least the amount of the previous raise. For example, if the big blind is $2 and there is a bet of $6 to a total of $8, a raise must be at least $6 more for a total of $14. If a raise or re-raise is all-in and does not equal the size of the previous raise, the initial raiser can not re-raise again. This only matters of course if there was a call before the re-raise. In pot-limit hold ‘em, the maximum raise is the current size of the pot (including the amount needed to call).

Most casinos that offer hold ‘em also allow the player to the left of the big blind to post an optional live straddle, usually double the amount of the big blind, which then acts as the big blind. No-limit games may also allow multiple re-straddles, in any amount that would be a legal raise.

Play of the hand

Each player is dealt two private cards in hold ‘em. They are dealt first.

Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down, with the player in the small blind receiving the first card and the player in the button seat receiving the last card dealt. (Like most poker games, the deck is a standard 52-card deck, no jokers.) These cards are the player’s hole or pocket cards. These are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown, making Texas hold ‘em a closed poker game.

The hand begins with a “pre-flop” betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. A round of betting continues until every player has either folded, put in all of their chips, or matched the amount put in by all other active players. See betting for a detailed account. Note that the blinds are considered “live” in the pre-flop betting round, meaning that they contribute to the amount that the blind player must contribute, and that, if all players call around to the player in the big blind position, that player may either check or raise.

After the pre-flop betting round, assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a flop, three face-up community cards. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player to the dealer’s left and continue clockwise.

After the flop betting round ends, a single community card (called the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final single community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.

In all casinos, the dealer will burn a card before the flop, turn, and river. Because of this burn, players who are betting cannot see the back of the next community card to come, which might be marked.

The showdown

If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the best five-card poker hand he can make from the seven cards comprising his two hole cards and the five community cards. A player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community cards form the player’s best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board and can only hope to split the pot, since each other player can also use the same five cards to construct the same hand.

If the best hand is shared by more than one player, then the pot is split equally among them, with any extra chips going to the first players after the button in clockwise order. It is common for players to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked hands. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand; if the hand involves fewer than five cards, (such as two pair or three of a kind), then kickers are used to settle ties. Note that the card’s numerical rank is of sole importance; suit values are irrelevant in Hold’em.

Provided by Wikipedia