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Texas holdem players who hope to improve their game have
questions. We’ve collected the top 10 questions we’ve seen and
provided in depth answers below. We offer them to you here so
you can learn from them, just like the original players who
asked them did.

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We recommend reading them all, even if you think you already
know the answer to one or more questions. You never know when
you learn something new or have an answer spark a new thought in
your mind that leads to a winning breakthrough in your game.

I see other players bluff all the time and win, but
it seems like every time I bluff I get called. How can I get my
bluffs to work better?

One thing that jumps out right away is you say it
seems like you get called every time. Any time you find yourself
saying something seems like it’s happening you should instantly
start tracking your results. Keep a small notebook and start
making a mark each time you bluff and then record if the bluff
was successful or not.

How do you know other players are bluffing? Are they showing
you their bluffs or are you assuming that they’re bluffing?
Never assume an opponent is bluffing unless you see the actual
cards.

Finally, it’s almost certain that you’re bluffing too much.
The reason we can say it’s almost sure is because almost every
player bluffs too often. If you want to be a successful bluffer
you need to pick your spots carefully and not bluff very often.

If you turn over a winning hand most of the time when an
opponent calls you’ll find that many of them will start
respecting your bets more. When they start folding too much to
your bets is when you need to start working in some bluffs. Once
they start calling more you need to tighten up more and stop
bluffing for a while.

It’s also important to know your opponent’s playing
tendencies. Some players simply won’t fold for a single or small
bet. Once you learn this about an opponent you know to never
bluff them, but you also know they’ll pay off your better hands
every time.

On the other hand, some players are so scared that the fold
to any sign of aggression unless they have a strong hand.
Against these players you know you can bluff them with a weak
hand, but you also know you need to let them lead the betting if
possible when you have a strong hand.

One last thing that is especially important in no limit Texas
holdem is that a larger than normal bet in a bluffing situation
often doesn’t work as well as a smaller bet.

A smaller bet looks like you’re trying to get just a little
more form your opponent with a strong hand where an over bet
often looks like a bluff. Of course you still need to know your
opponents because some don’t think deep enough about the game
for this to work.

I’m a cash game player and am getting ready to
enter my first big multi table Texas Holdem tournament. Do you
have any advice that can help me?

The first thing you need to understand is the
difference between your edge on a series of hands in a cash game
and in a tournament. This is best shown using a couple examples.

In a cash game you’re able to get all in on a
series of four hands. You have a statistical edge of 70%, 60%,
65%, and 55% in these four hands. You know from experience that
if you can consistently put yourself in these situations that
you make money. But for a tournament player you don’t have the
luxury of buying back in the three out of 10 times you lose the
first situation like you do in a cash game.

In a tournament if you get all in with the same
four hands and same four chances of winning you’ll be knocked
out of the tournament a high percentage of the time. You’ll be
eliminated from the tournament almost 85% of the time. The way
to quickly determine your chances is convert the percentages to
decimals and multiplying them. .70 X .60 X .65 X .55 = .15015.
Convert this back to a percentage, 15.015%, and subtract from
100. This gives you the percent of time you’ll be knocked out,
which is 84.985%.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t play your hands with high
winning percentages, but you need to try to play them without
getting all in. Sometimes you have to pick up enough small pots
to give you enough chips so you can still have chips left over
when you lose the hands where you’re a favorite.

As you get deeper and deeper into the tournament it becomes
harder to avoid all in confrontations unless you’re among the
chip leaders. All you can do is play your best hands and
understand that sometimes you’re going to bust out. But the good
news is you can find plenty of tournaments to play and if you
consistently play well you’ll break through and win more than
you lose in the long run.

The next thing you need to decide is if you’re going to play
to get into the money or to win. Most players state they play
tournaments to win, but when it gets close to the money bubble
they start folding good hands in order to sneak into the money.

You’re playing in a big tournament and the final 100 players
get paid. The buy in was $100 and the lowest paying place pays
$150. But the real money is at the final table. 110 players
remain in the tournament and you have an average chip stack.
This means you can easily fold every hand until you reach the
money.

Two players at your table have bigger stacks than you and
they are taking turns raising and bullying the table. Most
players are folding to their aggression because they want to
make the money. You face a raise from one of the big stacks and
have pocket kings. If you get all in against them and lose you
miss the money.

How are you going to play the hand? What if you have pocket
queens, or pocket jacks, or ace king?

If you’re truly playing to win you need to try to get all in
with pocket kings. Only one hand I a favorite against you and if
you can double up your average chip stack it puts you in a good
position to have the chips needed to win the tournament.

It’s not for us to tell you how to play and there’s not a
right or wrong answer when it comes down to deciding if you want
to play for the money or to win. But you do need to think about
it before you start playing in tournaments.

If you’re first goal is to get into the money you might even
fold pocket aces in the example above. You also need to think
about where you cut off your starting hands in a situation like
this one if you’re playing strictly to give yourself the best
chance to win. Pocket jacks and ace king are somewhat weak in
most cases if you have to risk your tournament life, but only
you can make this decision based on what you know about your
opponents and the situation.

Right after the final player busts out who isn’t in the money
many of the short stacks start taking risks to either double up
or bust out. At this point you can play your best hands and
quickly increase your stack size many times.

Another thing to remember is that there’s no one right way to
play in order to win tournaments. Many good players play very
tight in the early rounds and look to double up with their very
best hands while others are able to play a loose / aggressive
game early and do well. You have to find the style that fits
with your abilities and work to improve it at all times.

It seems like when I watch Texas Holdem on
television that there’s a great deal of action, but when I play
I get bored because it takes so long between good hands. What’s
the deal with this?

Remember our advice from the first question when you
start saying that something seems to be happening? The problem
with this situation is you don’t get to see all of the hands
when watching Texas holdem tournaments on television. They film
a bunch of footage and then edit it all of the boring hands, so
you only see the action hands.

The ESPN coverage of the World Series of Poker only consists
of a few hours and the tournament lasts several days, with
hundreds of tables running at the same time during the early
rounds.

The next issue is you say you get bored. This is a dangerous
thing for a holdem player. When poker players get bored they
tend to play too many hands. This leads to playing hands that
are weaker than your opponents, reducing your overall chances of
winning.

You should never get bored while playing holdem. If you
aren’t involved in the hand you need to be watching and
collecting information about all of your opponents. Watch what
hands they end up showing down and how they play in every
situation.

Do they only raise with their best hands or do they mix it
up? Do they bluff too much? Free download slot games full version. Are they tight or loose?

Every little bit you can learn about how someone plays is an
extra chance you have to make money from them in a later hand.
Winning Texas holdem players seek and use every little advantage
they can possibly find.

A single big hand can be the difference between a winning and
losing session, so knowing a single thing about and opponent can
be the difference between being a winning and losing player.

I want to be a professional poker player. What
advice can you offer me?

The jump from a recreational or part time poker
player to a full time pro is a huge one. It requires a change in
focus, dedication, time, mental attitude, and lifestyle. No
matter how good your results have been playing part time, if
you’re not completely ready you run a high risk of failure.

Let’s talk about the financial considerations of becoming a
professional Texas holdem player before moving on. You need to
have at least six months worth of living expenses in reserve
before making the jump, and a year’s worth is better. This needs
to be completely separate from your bankroll.

Your bankroll needs to be a minimum of 30 buy in’s if you
play no limit and 300 big blinds if you play limit. Twice this
amount is much better. This may seem like its overly cautious,
but when you’re a pro you have no life line of a job to replace
money when you have a bad streak. And never make the mistake of
thinking you won’t have a bad streak. Every poker player has ups
and downs.

You never should use your living expense fund for poker and
you should never use your bankroll for anything but poker. Set a
regular time to look at your progress and take profit from your
bankroll as it grows. The best system in our opinion is as
follows. We recommend this system because your goal should be to
grow both your living expense account and your bankroll.

At the ends of every month look at the amount of your
bankroll in comparison to the previous month. If you’re down
then do nothing except look for holes in your game and improve
them. If you’re up for the month split the amount you’re up and
put half in your living expenses account and leave half in your
bankroll. Over time you should be making enough to extend your
living expenses beyond a year and keep them there and steadily
increase your bankroll. Your bankroll is your life so you must
protect it in every way possible.

You start the month with $12,000 in your living expenses and
$30,000 in your bankroll. During the month you spend $2,000 out
of your living expenses and your bankroll grows to $36,000. You
put $3,000 in your living expenses and leave $3,000 in your
bankroll. Your new living expenses amount is $13,000 and your
bankroll is now $33,000.

The next month your bankroll is $35,000 at the end of the
month and you spend $2,000 on living expenses. Your new living
expense amount is $12,000 and your new bankroll amount is
$34,000 because you put $1,000 in each account.

The next month you break even playing so your bankroll is
still $34,000 and after spending $2,000 on living expenses your
living expenses account is at $10,000.

In the next month you have a strong showing and end the month
with $42,000 in your bankroll. You spend $2,000 on living
expenses, put $4,000 in your living expenses and leave $4,000 in
your bankroll. Your new living expense amount is $12,000 and
your new bankroll amount is $38,000.

Notice that even though you’ve had three winning months and a
break even month your living expense account hasn’t grown. Your
bankroll has increased by $8,000 so you’re doing well, but the
living expense account is stagnant. At this point you need to
decide if you continue with the current plan or start building
your expense account. It may be prudent to transfer another
$2,000 from your bankroll to your living expenses. But once you
do that the money is gone forever from your bankroll, so make
sure you think it through.

This system is designed so you never have to worry about
money while playing. If you worry about your finances while
playing you’re not going to be focused on what you need to do to
win.

Before making the switch you need to ask yourself a question.
Have you played enough, and tracked all of your play long
enough, to know for a fact that you’re a winning long term
player? Most players make assumptions instead of tracking
everything. Unless you know 100% that you’re a winning player
you need to get better before trying your hand as a pro.

The next area you need to think about is your goals. You need
to have a goal beyond growing your expense account and bankroll.
You need to have specific goals every month and year for how
much you want to win. When you combine your goals with tracking
your results you learn how much you need to play and at what
level.

You play limit Texas holdem and are able to win on average
one big blind per hour. Your goal is to win $6,000 per month and
you’ve been playing 20 / 40. At this rate you need to play 150
hours during the month. This works out to roughly 35 hours per
week.

This also tells you that if you want to make more you either
need to win more per hour or play more hours. Winning more per
hour can be accomplished by increasing your rate of big blind
wins per hour or play a higher limit with the same big blind
wins per hour.

Playing this way becomes a grind, which many players realize
is as bad as or worse than having a regular job. This requires a
mental toughness and dedication that many players simply don’t
have for the long term. Consider this before making the switch
to full time play.

Finally you need the support of your family and everyone else
in your life. This is often overlooked, but if you have
relationships of any kind with a non-poker player they have to
understand how you make money.

One way to still have a relationship and be a professional
player is to schedule a day or two completely off every week.
This is good for both your relationship and your mental health.
Playing poker seven days a week is a form of torture for most
players.

Winning players travel to where the best games are located
and play when these games are available. This means if a game
you can beat is two hours away and starts at midnight and runs
for 18 hours you need to be able to be rested before the game,
be in good enough health to play, and have the understanding and
support from everyone in your life to be able to do it on a
regular basis.

My friends all play No Limit Texas Holdem, but
Limit Holdem seems like a simpler game to win. What’s your
opinion on this?

You should play the game that lets you win the most
per hour. This goes beyond choosing between limit and no limit
play. This also includes being willing to play at the limits the
offer the most return. The most profitable limit may not be the
highest limit your bankroll can afford.

You have a large enough bankroll to play $1,000 buy in no
limit Texas holdem or 50 / 100 limit. You’re an overall winner
at both, but your results are better as a limit player. At 50 /
100 limit you win a half a big bet per hour, but at 30 / 60
you’re able to win a full big bet per hour.

This means at 50 / 100 you win $50 per hour, but at 30 / 60
you win $60 per hour. You clearly should be playing 30 /60. If
you can win two big bets per hour playing 20 / 40 you should be
playing 20 / 40.

No limit Texas holdem offers the chance to win large amounts
when you win, but it also has a bigger variance than limit
holdem. The amount you can win per hour over the long run is
better for some players in no limit, but not for all players.
And even if you can win more per hour playing no limit you may
be more comfortable with the lower variance of playing limit.

Both games are mathematical in nature, but often limit Texas
holdem seems more straightforward. If you’re able to remain
patient, only play your best hands, use position to your
advantage, and understand odds, outs, and pot odds completely,
then you can follow a fairly simple script and grind out profits
playing limit holdem.

But the same can be said for no limit Texas holdem. So the
answer to your question is really which one do you feel more
comfortable playing, or which one shows you the best results?

We hate to give answers that aren’t specific, but in this
case you really need to decide which offers the best options for
you. One solid piece of advice we can offer is it doesn’t matter
what your friends or others think or say. The only things that
matters are your results.

I want to start hosting a weekly Texas Holdem game.
What do I need to get started?

The only things you must have to start are a place to
play, enough playing cards, tables, and chairs to run the game.
Of course having a few other things can be helpful.

In addition to having the things mentioned above, having a
unique set of chips players can use and a software package to
track the blinds and levels are the next two things we
recommend. You can find free and low cost software packages for
Texas holdem tournaments by doing a quick search online.

Chips are available in many places, but you need to be
careful about what you buy. The best chips are ones that are
unique to your game. If you use common chips how are you going
to stop a dishonest player from sneaking chips in from outside
the game? Custom chips are expensive, but you can also buy
stickers to print and place on inexpensive chips.

It’s also nice to have quality playing cards, but the higher
quality cards can be expensive. And you need to examine the
cards after every tournament to see if any have been damages or
marked.

The last thing to consider is whether or not you’re going to
provide dealers for the tournament. Dealers add more expense to
the game but they also help reduce cheating. If the players have
to deal some of them may cheat.

The problem with running a Texas holdem tournament is it can
be expensive, and if you charge an entry fee to cover your
expenses you’re breaking the law in many places. In most
jurisdictions if you’re charging any type of fee for entry to
the game you’re running an illegal gambling operation.

We’ve seen some creative ways that organizers have tried to
get around this, but we’d hate to have to fight in court using
them. Here are a couple that we’ve seen used.

One of our editors played in a weekly tournament where the
buy in was $100 and you paid a $20 fee. The organizers prepared
a nice meal for every player and claimed the $20 was for the
meal, not the game. But the problem was you couldn’t just play
for $100, you had to pay for the food.

Another ploy is to call the place a club or organization and
the extra money on top of the buy in is a membership fee. In our
non-legal opinion, the courts are probably not going to look
kindly on these types of things if you get caught.

We realize that poker tournaments are being run all over the
place and most of them are never bothered by the cops, but that
doesn’t mean you can’t be arrested and charged. This is
especially true if a player feels they’ve been cheated and
complain to the authorities.

We’re not offering legal advice, but make sure you consider
all of the possible ramifications before you start hosting a
game.

I have a hard time figuring my odds, percentages,
and pot odds during a game. Are there any shortcuts you can
recommend to make it easier?

The easiest way to make a close guess to your chances
of winning hand after the flop is to use the following trick.
Learn how to count your outs first. This is easy and most
players can learn this quickly.

If you have four to a flush you know the deck has nine other
cards of your suit. So you have nine outs.

Once you know how many outs you have if you still have the
turn and river you multiply your outs by four. If you just have
the river to come you multiply you routs by two. This gives you
roughly the percentage chance you have of winning the hand.

In the example above of a flush draw and nine outs, the
estimated chances with both the turn and river to come are 36%
and with just the river to come is 18%. The true odds are 35%
and 19.6% so you can see that this quick trick gives you a
strong estimate of your chances.

The next trick is to learn the most common situation and
memorize them. The flush draw in the example above is a common
one, as well as an open ended straight draw, two pair or three
of a kind improving to a full house, and having two over cards
with hopes of pairing one of them.

You also need to have an idea of how your percentage chances
of winning or hitting your hand relate to the pot odds. Pot odds
are simply the comparison of the amount of money in the pot and
the amount you have to call in order to stay in the hand. When
you compare your chances of winning with the pot odds you can
determine if it’s profitable or not to stay in the hand.

If the pot has $100 in it and you have to call $20 and you
have the flush draw mentioned above after the flop, the pot odds
are favorable to call. You’re going to hit your flush a little
over one out of every three times based on the 36% chance. We
now know that your actual chance is 35%, but the estimate is
close enough.

This means that every three times you win once and lose
twice. So if the pot has more than two times the amount you have
to put in then the pot odds are in your favor.

If you’re in the same situation but on the river instead of
before the turn you have a 18% chance, really 19.6%, so this is
roughly one out of every five times.

This means that you’ll win once and lose four times out of
every five. In other words your pot chances are four to one. The
pot is offering five to one odds, with $100 in it and you have
to call $20, so the pot is offering a better return than your
odds of making the hand. This means you need to call.

Pot odds can be intimidating, but if you start with the
simple steps we just covered you’ll quickly learn to determine
your chances of winning and if you should play or fold in most
situations.

I play No Limit Texas Holdem recreationally and do
pretty good overall. I track my play and win a little more than
I lose and am considering playing more. But I have a good job
and don’t plan to ever play full time or professionally. Should
I try to invest more time and effort into poker or just be happy
with my current results?

First of all, let us say congratulations on being a
winning Texas holdem player. It’s not as easy as many make it
seem, so you’re ahead of the majority of players.

Concerning the rest of your question, this is getting
dangerously close to letting someone else tell you what to do
with your life. We can offer advice on what you can do to
improve your game, but it sounds like you’re somewhat happy with
your current situation.

In order to get better at Texas holdem you’re going to need
to dedicate more time and effort to the game and that time has
to be taken away from something else. Only you can decide if
you’re going to be happier making these changes or if improving
your poker results will make you happier.

Being a good recreational player and having a good job you
enjoy is a good thing. But having a full time job and being a
really good poker player are rarely found together.

If you want to try to improve your results start by taking an
extra 30 minutes a day and dedicate it to improving your holdem
skills. This can be spent reading about how to be a better
player, studying other players, or researching articles online
designed to improve the weak spots in your game.

Do this for a month and then try to judge your results and if
you’re happier than before. Let us warn you about trying to
judge your happiness though. This evaluation can be somewhat
subjective and change based on other things in your life.

You should also realize that many people who are good holdem
players have quit their jobs to play full time and found they
hated the grind. Even some winning players have went back to
doing something else for a living and playing as a hobby. Being
a full time poker player isn’t easy and it isn’t always fun.

I play in a weekly No Limit Texas Holdem tournament
and many players move all in every time they have Ace King. I
try to never get all in with Ace King, but I’m not very
experienced and am beginning to think I might be playing wrong.
Can you help me?

Don’t worry, just because everyone else seems to be
doing something it doesn’t mean you’re wrong. In this case
you’re the one who’s playing correctly, not your opponents.

In most situations the best you can hope for with ace king is
a roughly 50 / 50 chance of winning. When you hold ace kin
against a player with a pair lower than kings it’s basically a
toss-up. But if you hold ace kin against a pair of aces or kings
you’re dominated.

You don’t win Texas holdem tournaments by getting all in with
50 / 50 hands. If you play only four 50 / 50 hands during a
tournament all in you only have a 6.25% chance of still being
alive.

Focus on hands that give you a much higher percentage chance
of winning and winning smaller pots to build your chip stack so
you don’t have to get all in often.

You also need to understand that most Texas holdem players
lose over the long term. This means that just because everyone
seems to be doing it, it doesn’t mean it’s going to win in the
long run. Learn how to determine if a situation is profitable of
not so you don’t have to rely on what others are doing.

I’m a Texas Holdem player and often get frustrated
when players make bad plays but end up winning. I know in the
long run I make money when I play hands as a favorite, but I’m
considering switching to Omaha 8. Is this a good idea?

While it’s true that Omaha 8 is a more predictable
and straightforward mathematical game, you’re still going to
face the same irritations because players are still going to
make bad plays and sometimes they’ll still win.

The key in Texas holdem, or Omaha, or any other game of poker
is to put yourself in a positive expectation position as often
as possible and then let the long term percentages play in your
favor. If you do this you’ll suffer some ups and downs, but in
the long run you’re going to win more than you lose.

The reason Omaha 8 is more predictable than Texas holdem is
because of the amount of information you have during each hand.
In Texas holdem you know the identity of two cards before the
flop, your hole cards, and five cards after the flop, your two
hole cards and the three on the flop.

In Omaha you know the identity of four cards before the flop
and seven cards after the flop. The added cards reduce the
possibilities for the rest of the hand and after the flop you
have five of the seven cards you’re going to be able to use to
make your hand.

All of this means that for players who have a deep
understanding f the mathematics behind poker Omaha is somewhat
easier. But the same player can use the same math to be a
winning Texas holdem player also.

The only reason you should consider switching from Texas
holdem to Omaha 8 is if you can make more money in the long run
playing Omaha than holdem. You need to learn to deal with the
frustration of playing against bad players, because the only way
you make money at the poker table is by playing against players
who are worse than you.

You say you know that you make money by playing hands as a
favorite, but this doesn’t seem to be satisfactory to you. We
suggest stepping back and trying to look at poker as a way to
make short term investments instead of as a game. Short term
investments can increase or decrease, but if you make the smart
investment more often than not they make a positive return over
time.

Being the best Texas holdem player you can be requires
dedication and constant study. One of the best ways to learn new
things is by reading the questions and answers of other players.

Take a few moments to write down the things you learned from
the questions and answers above. By writing them down while
they’re fresh in your mind you won’t forget anything important
and it helps ingrain the lessons in your mind.

Texas holdem is the most popular variation of poker played
online and in casinos and poker rooms everywhere in the world.
Its popularity has led to many different variations, both in
casinos and in home and private games.

The first three sections below include information about
limits that Texas holdem and its variants can be played in. Any
of the variants listed in the sections after the next three can
be played in any of the three limits.

The game variants listed in the sections after the limit
sections have varying degrees of popularity. Omaha holdem can be
found in many poker rooms and casinos and is widely available
online. Pineapple can be found in a limited number of poker
rooms, and most of the others are only found in private and home
games at this time.

Limit

A limit betting structure is commonly found in use for Texas
holdem games, but it isn’t as popular as no limit play. In limit
play each betting round has a set betting limit. This limit is
usually one amount during the flop and immediately following the
flop and twice this amount on the turn and river betting rounds.

A limit Texas holdem game with a 4 / 8 limit has bets of $4
during the first two betting rounds and exactly $8 during the
final two betting rounds. So each bet and / or raise is exactly
$4 before and on the flop. If player 1 bets $4 and player 2
raises she must put $8 in the pot, $4 to call the original bet
and a raise of another $4.

Blinds are usually set based on the limits, with the big
blind being equal to the lower betting limit and the small blind
being half the big blind. In the example we just looked at the
big blind would be $4 and the small blind is $2.

No Limit

No limit play has the same blind structure found in limit
games and usually has a minimum bet limit per round, but at any
time a player, when it’s their turn to act, may bet up to and
including the total number of chips they have in front of them.
This is the most common betting structure found in Texas holdem
games and also most of the variations listed below except for
Omaha holdem.

One of the common misconceptions of non-poker players and
beginners is if a player has more money than another and moves
all of their chips into the pot that the player with fewer chips
can’t play or loses automatically. What actually happens is the
player with more chips gets back their chips in excess of the
other player’s total amount.

I player A has $250 and moves all in and player B has $200
and calls, player A receives $50 back so each player has $200 in
the pot.

This can get somewhat complicated if multiple players are in
a pot with differing chip stacks. When multiple players get all
in with different stack sizes the dealer creates different pots
with the main pot being the total amount of the player with the
smallest stack which anyone remaining in the hand can win.

The first side pot will be bets in excess of the amount the
smallest stack held, with only players who contribute to the
second pot eligible to win it. A third, fourth, and so on, side
pot can be built in large multi way pots. You don’t have to
worry about this as the dealer takes care of it, but it’s good
to understand how it works to make sure the dealer doesn’t make
any mistakes.

A pot ends up with four players all in, and the hand starts
with the following chip counts:

• Player A has $700 in chips
• Player B has $800 in chips
• Player C has $900 in chips
• Player D has $1,000 in chips

The main pot ends up with $2,800 in it and any of the four
players can win it. The first side pot has $300 in it and
players B, C, and D can each win it. The second side pot ends up
with $200 in it and only players C and D can win it. Notice that
player D will only have $900 invested because she started with
at least $100 more money than any of the other players.

At the showdown the player who’s eligible for each pot with
the highest hand is awarded that pot. Different players can win
each pot or the same player can win all of the pots. This
example ignores the small amount of the blinds and rake that
often make a pot not come out quite so evenly for instructional
purposes.

Pot Limit

Pot limit is mostly found in Omaha games, but a few Texas
holdem games are played in a pot limit format. One of the issues
with pot limit play is the dealer has to understand how the
betting structure works and be able to quickly determine the pot
size. When playing online the software platform takes care of
all of the calculations, but in live play the dealer needs to be
either experienced, or quite sharp, or both.

The blinds and minimum bets on each round are set by the
house, just like in limit and no limit play, but the maximum
amount any player may bet at one time is the amount of money in
the pot. But the amount of the pot also includes the amount it
takes to call an earlier bet, so a pot sized bet can be bigger
than most players think. Look at the two following examples for
a better understanding of how pot sized bets work.

The pot has $125 in it after the flop and the
first player wants to raise the size of the pot. She bets $125
and play continues to the next player. This is fairly
straightforward and easy, because the player is starting the
betting round.

Texas Holdem Chips In Case

Using the previous example as a setup, the next
player to act wants to raise as much as possible. The pot now
has $250 in it, but the maximum raise is actually higher than
$250. Though the player must state their intention to raise, the
pot size is calculated by first adding the call of $125 to the
pot and then determining the maximum raise amount. So once the
$125 call is added the pot now has $375 in it, so the player can
raise another $375. So they put a total of $500 in the pot,
which is the $125 call and the $375 raise.

This is why the dealer needs to understand how pot limit play
works and stay on top of the game.

In real life pot limit games it’s rarely this complicated and
most poker rooms let players operate with bet maximums close to
the pot size. If the pot has anywhere between $90 and $110 or
somewhere close to this range a player can bet $100. As long as
players are close to the pot size with their maximum bets it’s
usually acceptable for all of the players. This way the dealer
doesn’t have to keep an exact count on the pot.

Occasionally you’ll play against a player who can keep the
running pot amount in his or her head and announce it whenever
anyone needs to know. This can be a bit intimidating, but most
of these players aren’t any more than decent poker players. Just
because you can keep track of a pot doesn’t mean you’re a great
poker player.

Pineapple

Pineapple poker is played exactly like Texas holdem except
you start with three hole cards instead of two. You discard one
card face down before the flop. Traditionally you discard your
third card after the pre flop betting round, but in some places
you discard it before the pre flop betting round. It doesn’t
really matter which way you play, as long as you stay
consistent.

Most Pineapple games are played as no limit, but it can
easily be played in limit and pot limit. In comparison to Texas
holdem, Pineapple hand values run a little higher, but not
extremely so. Three of a kind hands and flushes are more likely
to happen in Pineapple because it’s easier to start with a
pocket pair and it’s more likely to have two cards of the same
suit.

Overall, if you can beat Texas holdem you should be able to
quickly adjust your game to be a winning Pineapple player. The
same concepts of tight and aggressive play tend to do well in
Pineapple, just like in Texas holdem. Poor players tend to play
too many hands in Pineapple because they have a third starting
card, making it look like they have a better hand than they
really do.

Crazy Pineapple

Crazy Pineapple starts the same way as regular Pineapple, but
you don’t discard your third hole card until after the betting
round following the flop. This tends to make players stay in the
hand longer, leading to larger average pots than in a similar
Texas holdem game. It’s usually played in no limit format.

The average winning hand strength is better than in a Texas
holdem game because of the extra starting card and the
possibility to see six total cards before the turn and river.
Just like regular Pineapple, if you’re a good holdem player you
shouldn’t have much trouble adjusting your game to be a winning
Crazy Pineapple player.

Omaha Holdem

Texas Holdem Chips Distribution

Omaha holdem, often just called Omaha, is the second most
popular form of poker played online and in poker rooms around
the world. The main differences between Texas holdem and Omaha
are each player receives four hole cards instead of two, and
each player must use exactly two of their hole cards and three
community cards to make a hand.

Omaha is sometimes played as high only, like Texas holdem,
but it’s also played in high / low, usually with an eight high
qualifier. Though 7 Card Stud can be played high / low, Omaha is
about the only game found at this time that is played for low.
Razz is a low only game, but finding a game is almost
impossible.

In a high / low Omaha game the pot is split between the best
high hand and the best low hand if a qualifying low hand is
shown down. A qualifying low hand must have five unpaired cards
ranked eight or below. See our Omaha poker section for a
complete explanation of the rules.

From a strategy standpoint if you’re starting to play Omaha
and have been playing Texas holdem, the most important thing to
remember is just because you have twice as many hole cards it
doesn’t mean you can play twice as many hands. You should
actually play no more hands than a winning Texas holdem player
does, and many good Omaha players play fewer hands.

The other important thing that trips up many beginning Omaha
players is never forget you have to use two of your hole cards.

You can’t use more or less than three community cards. This
can lead to costly mistakes if you forget it.

Omaha, in both high only and high / low, can be played in no
limit, pot limit, or limit, but most games are limit and pot
limit.

Aviation Holdem

Aviation holdem is a cross between Omaha and Pineapple. You
start with four hole cards and discard one before the flop and
another one after the flop. This form of holdem is rare and most
players aren’t familiar with it. The odds of it passing Omaha in
popularity aren’t good because it’s almost exactly like Omaha
high only, but in Omaha you keep all four cards for the entire
hand.

The value of winning hands at showdown is almost identical to
Omaha high only, which means better than the average Texas
holdem hand, but not outrageously better. Winning Texas holdem
players and wining Omaha payers won’t have much trouble
adjusting to Aviation holdem winning play.

Tahoe Holdem or Lazy Pineapple

Tahoe holdem, also called Lazy Pineapple in some places, has
each player receive three hole cards and keep them throughout
the hand. It’s a cross between Texas holdem and Omaha. Other
than three hole cards it plays exactly like Texas holdem.

This variation can be played in a high / low split version
like Omaha high / low, but it’s rarely played this way. The
average winning hand value is slightly better than Texas holdem,
but not extremely better.

Speed Holdem

Of all of the variations listed on this page Speed holdem is
probably the rarest and is only found in home or private games.
In Speed holdem each player is dealt four hole cards and each
player immediately discards two of them. Then all five community
cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. This is
followed by the single betting round and showdown.

All other rules are the same as a normal Texas holdem game
and Speed holdem can be played in limit, pot limit, and no limit
varieties, but it’s almost always played in no limit.

Texas Holdem Poker Practice

Summary

It’s easy to get bored playing regular Texas holdem, which
leads to all kinds of problems. When you get bored you may play
too many hands, let your mind wander so you miss important parts
of the game, and just play worse than normal overall.

Texas Holdem Poker Chips

Now you know how to play many of the popular variations of
Texas holdem, so the next time you start getting bored or just
want a change, look for one of the variations listed above. Or
get some friends together and start your own game of Pineapple
or Tahoe holdem.