Texas Hold’em Questions

Here, you will find the most commonly asked questions that new player’s ask established players. If you play at online casinos, you will see players chatting about Texas Hold’em and you may even find yourself wondering what they are talking about some times. Online casinos are a great place to learn Texas Hold’em as long as you start out playing it for free. Never play this online casino game for real money until you have totally familiarized yourself with this game’s basics. It is hard to learn how to play Texas Hold’em, but it does take a lot of practice. Unless you plan on playing this game for free fro ever, you will want to get to know about this game from many different aspects. This page contains some of the most common inquiries players make about Texas Hold’em.

Many of you have probably played Texas Hold’em before, or at least you have familiarized yourself with this game’s rules.

As long as you have a sense for this game’s basics, these following questions will help you better understand this incredibly popular online casino game – the answers will fill you in on all the facets of this game, too. Of course, you don't have to play this game at online casinos in order for these questions and answers to make sense.

1. What is a bad beat? Say you had a Texas Hold’em pot totally in your pocket – all sewn up ready for you to win it, and some long shot river card was dealt (inevitably making your opponents hand) and it smashed your dreams of scooping up the winnings. This, my friends, is a bad beat. One of the worst bad beats is when you are holding pocket aces and you lose to a pair of your opponent’s pocket deuces because the river card showed a two. In this case you were a 21 to 1 favorite to win the pot and you lost because your opponent produced trips on the river.
2. What are players talking about when they refer to the nuts? Despite what your first thought may be, it is actually the best possible hand with any given board (community cards) in Texas Hold’em. Here’s an example: If the board is 4-4-J-9-6, the best possible hand id four 4s. The two 4s on the board and two 4s in the pocket (your hidden cards that only you see). If you have two 4s in the pocket and the board is as described, you have the nuts. Here’s another great example: If there are 3 clubs on the board and no pairs, the nuts would be an ace high flush. If you have two clubs in the pocket and one of them is he ace, you have the nuts.
3. What is the button? When playing Texas Hold’em, the button is usually a disk shaped piece of plastic or marker that card rooms use to determine which player is the dealer, since the deal is not passed like it would be in a home game. At online casinos, you will see a marker or symbol next to the player that is designated the dealer during each hand. After each and every hand, the button will be moved one player to the left. So, the player to the left of the dealer is dealt to first and acts first when a betting round commences. This is done to give all players in the game a chance to act first, ultimately changing a player’s position each hand as well.
4. How many chips/tokens should I buy? You want enough chips so that you can play an aggressive game and withstand any early loses you may incur. You don't want to buy in for the minimum in casino Texas Hold’em games. If you are playing $2-$4 game, you want to buy at least $50 in chips/tokens. Buy enough chips/tokens so that you are not the short stack at the poker table. Make sure you have enough to purchase a second buy in if needed. If you don't, you need to play at a lower bet game.
5. Why do pros love Texas Hold’em? Expert players do not like surprises. Pros make their money by having the ability to sniff out what the other players at their table are holding and then acting on that information. Because Texas Hold’em only has two hole cards, the unknowns are fewer in Texas Hold’em than they are in other poker games such as Seven Card Stud – which has 3 hole cards. Omaha even has 4 hole cards. Think about it, the flop is even a bargain; three more cards are dealt for the price of one wager. In Texas Hold’em, you see the first 5 cards within the first two rounds of betting. At that point, pros know whether or not they need to remain in the game.
6. What does it take to become a pro poker player? Years ago, this answer would be rebutted with a simple smile and a quick explanation. A Lot of practice, and a sixth sense. These days, we often see players winning the World Series of Poker that are amateurs. What exactly makes a great player? Fortitude, guts, nerves of steal? These days, we are more inclined to say luck. Whatever it takes, understanding the very structure of the game is required for anyone to win in the long run – which leads us to the next commonly asked Texas Hold’em question.
7. Is it true that if you go with the math on every decision when playing this game that you cannot lose in the long run? No. But, if you ask enough mathematical Texas Hold’em players this question, you will find that many of them will disagree and say yes. Keep in mind, there is so much more to the game of poker than simple percentages. There are several situations where math just cannot aid you.
8. What is a dominated Texas Hold’em hand? Well, say you are holding an A-K and one of your opponents has an A-Q. This means you have dominated this player. You two have a card in common, the ace, but your other card (your kicker) is superior to your opponents other card. There are only 3 other cards that can save your opponent here.
9. What is an overcard? Overcards are cards higher than the ones you are holding. If you are holding a pair of kings and the flop shows an A-6-2, an overcard has shown on the board. It is the ace; it is an overcard to your kings. Additionally, if you are holding a pair of nines and the flop is 8-5-3, you are holding an overpair to the board.
10. How can I play against the toughest player at the table? Very cautiously. You need to make certain of one thing – the first time you go heads up, make sure you win. Make sure you have a hand you can bet aggressively with and one that you can re-raise with if this person raises your bet. Nerves of steel here; do not get thrown under the bus.
11. What do I do when an overcard hits the turn? It is not the end of things necessarily. Don't get fearful yet. Bet strong. If players are checking the turn, their hands are weak. Weak bets at this point mean weak hands.
12. What is an overlay? To explain this the easiest way we can, here is an example for you. Say you are playing in an online casino Texas Hold’em tourney. You are one of the top 100 players and the tourney has 400 players playing in it. If 300 of them have no chance, you have a 99 to 1 shot of winning the online casino tourney. If you do win, you will be paid much better than 99 to 1 on your entry fee. This is an overlay – not to mention a great bet.
13. How can I find a reputable online casino poker room? There are thousands of online casino poker sites out there and finding the best one can be time consuming. In order to find great poker rooms at online casinos, read casino reviews from casino portal sites. There are many online casino review sites out there. Just about all of the casinos on the Internet these days are totally licensed and insured. They are regulated by casino advocate groups who have independent third party audits. These audits are run on almost daily basis at most online casinos. If you check out this site’s home page, you will find a handful of extremely reputable and popular online casinos that provide the best services you will possibly find on the Net.
14. Does player position matter at online casinos? Playing position and pot odds are huge online. Let these things guide you when playing online. Look at the pot. A good bet is a good bet, whether you are at an online casino or in Vegas.
15. How is it that pro players can be so cool, calm, and collected when risking staggering amounts of money on a stone cold bluff? This is because they are simply confident with their decision to do so at that certain time. Win or lose, they are convinced that they have made the right decision and can live with the result – no matter what it is. This is why their conduct is so relaxed and natural.

Now that we have covered all the most commonly asked questions surrounding Texas Hold’em, you can feel like you have a pretty good grasp on the intelligence behind this great game. You will find that taking the needed time to study this game will not only help you play much better, but you will have the basic knowledge that exudes confidence when playing. Thus, you will be a happier player, a healthier player, and all these things lead to more winning.

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