Poker is Hot

Poker has recently rocked the world, exploding with a surge of popularity in North America and around the world. Television coverage of the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker and others have brought Texas Hold'em into the mainstream. I was talking to my dad the other day and was surprised to hear that he looks forward to watching the Hold'em poker games on TV. The game as definitely caught on to a whole new audience. Millions of new players are joining online games or visiting land based casinos. Many of these players are using only the knowledge they have gained from watching the no-limit games on tv. Please remember that your strategy of play in a no-limit tournament should not be the same as a low limit game.

How to Play Texas Holdem

The game of Texas Holdem combines skill and luck unlike "pure luck" games like slots and roulette. You can enjoy the game with little or no skill. You can even win with luck alone, at least in the short run. Over the long run, the better players will do well while others won't do so well. Spend a little time to learning how to play well and where to play.

We will get you started on the road to learning Texas Holdem. We have provided pre-flop starting odds, pre-flop probabilities and the odds of hitting holdem hands.

We are here to help explain the game and show you where to play online. The internet is a great place to learn and practice your poker skills.

Playing Online

The first time I played Texas Hold'em was at a Las Vegas casino. Even though I had watched the game and asked a bunch of questions I still had a hard time playing and learning at same time. Texas Hold'em has quite its own language. Even though I had played regular poker for 25 years I was overwhelmed with terms like, blinds, half blinds, buttons, river, turn and kicker. All of sudden, kings were known as cowboys. Needless to say, I made a bunch of mistakes at the table. And no, drinking doesn't help your game.

If you are new to the game, I recommend playing on the internet. The internet game will get you comfortable with the rules, betting and terminology. The low limit games don't usually have a lot of good players. The best thing about online games is that you can play a bit and stop (usually frowned upon in a real casino). Once you have played, your information will make more sense, but you will still have many questions. Take another look at our glossary and the starting strategies. If you need more information then look it up. You will feel more relaxed in your own home with all the information of the web at your finger tips. Once you are ready, go get them.