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The most fun you can have learning Texas Hold’em (and we ain’t bluffin’)
Playing Texas Hold’em is about the most fun you can have with two cards in your hand. Navigating the slang, rules, and intricacies of the game can be challenging, though. With Texas Hold’em For Dummies, 2nd Edition, you’ll learn the tricks you need to know to win your first online or in-person game. From ranking the various poker hands to applying betting strategies, this book helps you build the skills necessary to achieve poker room success.
In Texas Hold’em For Dummies, you’ll learn to:
The perfect handbook for beginning poker players who want to play in-person or online, Texas Hold’em For Dummies is also an essential companion for more experienced players looking to brush up on the fundamentals and improve their skills.
Mark “The Red” Harlan is an avid poker player and co-creator of the first company to offer legal online poker in the United States. Along with his hours at the poker table, Mark has also spent time as a software developer for leading Silicon Valley companies.
Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Everything’s Bigger In Texas: Welcome to Texas Hold’em! 5
Chapter 1: A Bird’s-Eye View of Texas Hold’em 7
Considering Why You Want to Play 8
Working with Game Dynamics 9
The importance of position 9
Playing move by move 10
Moving Up a Notch 13
Gleaning your opponents 13
Playing the roles 14
Figuring in math 15
Places You Can Play 16
Home games 16
Casinos and poker rooms 16
Online 17
Chapter 2: Ranking and Reading a Hand 19
Hand Rankings 19
High card only — no pairs 21
One pair 21
Two pair 21
Three-of-a-kind 21
Straight 22
Flush 22
Full house 22
Four-of-a-kind 22
Straight flush 23
Royal flush 23
Reading a Hand 23
Straightforward hands 23
Subtle hands 24
Counterfeiting 26
Paying a Hand 29
The winner 29
Tie hands 30
Chapter 3: Just Tell Me How to Play: Texas Hold’em Basics 31
The Order of Play 31
The Dealer Button 32
Dealing the Cards 33
The hole cards 33
The flop 35
The turn 35
The river 35
The showdown 36
Posting Blinds 38
Betting 40
Spread-Limit Hold’em 41
Limit Hold’em 41
Pot-Limit Hold’em 42
No-Limit Hold’em 43
The Importance of Your Bankroll 44
Recommended bankroll sizes 44
Moving up and moving down in limits 46
Poker Etiquette 48
Handling your cards 48
Handling your chips 50
Playing in turn 51
Tipping the dealer 51
Keeping an eye on the game 51
Watching your manners 53
Part 2: Texas Hold’em: Play By Play 55
Chapter 4: Beginning with Two 57
The Importance of Position 58
Early position 58
Middle position 59
Late position 60
The hands you should play, by relative position at a table 61
Considering the Players in a Hand 64
Keeping track of the number of players 64
Watching the types of players 65
Hands You Should and Shouldn’t Play 67
Probable winners 67
Quite possible losers 67
Borderline hands 69
Using “Fold or Raise” to Make a Call 69
Chapter 5: Flopping ’Til You’re Dropping 71
Fitting or Folding 71
Great flops 72
Good flops 72
Very borderline flops 73
Downright dangerous flops 74
Just plain bad flops 74
Betting the Flop 75
Sizing up the table for a bet 76
Making the bet 77
Calling a Bet 78
Raising the Dough 80
Check-Raising 81
Getting a Free Card 84
The free card setup 84
Defending against a free card 85
Chapter 6: Taking Your Turn 87
Watching a Hand Fill Out 87
To check-raise or bet: That is the question 88
Made flushes: The notable exception 89
Watching for “hidden” improvements 91
Keeping Track of the Action 92
Determining a hit 93
Comprehending the miss 94
Chapter 7: Dipping in the River 97
Plotting Your Course During Final Betting 97
All checking, no dancing 98
Walking through the firestorm 99
Betting in moderation 100
Deciding if you’re being bluffed 101
Showing a Hand or Not? 102
Watching for Mistakes 105
Part 3: Movin’ On To Higher Stakes: Advanced Strategies Of Hold’em 109
Chapter 8: Playing the Players 111
Classifying Players 112
Aggressive versus passive players 112
Tight as an oyster or loose as a goose? 113
Combining your evaluations 114
Looking for Tells 117
Watching the right place at the right time 117
Who’s acting and who isn’t? 118
Watching other people’s hands 118
Listening to what people say 120
Involuntary reactions 122
Failing all else 122
Zeroing In on Specifics 124
Figuring out the table in order 124
Looking at individuals 125
Chapter 9: Bluffing: When Everything Isn’t What It Appears to Be 127
The Basics of Bluffing 128
Your turn not to tell 128
Don’t bluff people worse than you 129
Making your bluff count 130
When to Bluff 131
Bluffing based on your image of “predictability” 131
Looking at your hand from the outside 133
Bluffing in the right game 134
Who to Bluff 136
Preying on weak personalities 136
Taking advantage of other situations 138
The Semi-Bluff 139
When to semi-bluff 139
Why semi-bluff? 140
You’re Caught — Now What? 141
Chapter 10: Maximizing Your Win: Check-Raising and Trapping 143
Mastering the Art of Check-Raising 143
Bluffing on a check-raise 143
Playing a good hand on a check-raise 144
Considering a check-raise 145
Check-raising round by round 146
Trapping through Slow Play 147
Timing a slow-play 147
Understanding the Theory of Two 148
Executing the slow-play 149
Maximizing Your Returns 150
Deciding when to sit back 150
Rafting the river: Check or bet? 150
Chapter 11: Camouflaging Your Play and Dodging Traps 153
Setting Expectations throughout a Game 153
Setting a style 154
Changing your style 156
Avoiding Pitfalls 157
When aggressive players merely call 157
Raising and reraising after rounds of checking in Limit 159
Judging when you’re dominated 159
Chapter 12: Considering Mathematics 161
Differentiating Fact from Fiction in Math and Poker 162
Knowing that close enough is good enough 162
Understanding players is better than understanding numbers 163
Taking a Shortcut with Math 165
Counting your “outs” 165
Calculating your pot odds 167
Combining outs and pot odds 168
Using quick math tricks 168
Considering implied odds 169
Flipping a coin 170
Using Math to Your Advantage 174
Memorizing a little goes a long way 174
Calculating deeper 175
Chapter 13: Advancing Your Knowledge 179
Playing with Game Theory 180
Grasping the meaning of game theory 180
Understanding how to use it 180
Cashing In on Equity Theory 183
Cross-breeding the animal of psychology with the beast of mathematics 183
Going back to square one 190
Part 4: Casinos, Card Rooms, and the Internet: Places to Play Hold’em 191
Chapter 14: There’s No Place Like Home: Playing in Private Games 193
Determining the Level and Type of Play 194
Identifying stakes and games 194
Playing with friends 196
Meeting strangers 197
What You Should Give 197
Skimming the pot 198
Bringing on the refreshments 199
What You Can Get 199
Enjoying the situation 200
Watching the action 200
Looking for the unusual 201
Chapter 15: Opting for the Internet: Online Games 205
Choosing a Site 206
Narrowing down your options 206
Transferring money 208
Exploring the bonuses 208
Watching Your Back 211
Being wary of the robot revolution 211
Spotting collusion 212
Chapter 16: Harrah’s, Here I Come: Playing in Card Rooms 215
Playing in a Professional Card Room 215
Introducing the staff 216
Getting started 218
Exploring your possibilities 219
Avoiding Common Mistakes 222
Betting properly 223
Playing in turn 223
Raising properly 223
Minding your own money 224
Playing only your hand 224
Trying to Score a Jackpot 225
High-hand jackpots 225
Specific-hand jackpots 225
Bad-beat jackpots 226
Qualifying for jackpots 227
Chapter 17: Competing in Tournaments 229
Coming to Grips with the Differences 230
Tourney basics 230
Rebuying and adding on 234
Prize structures 238
Understanding Your Chip Position 239
Your position at your table 240
Your position in the tourney as a whole 240
Playing Your Way Through 241
Shifting tables 241
Maneuvering relative to the herd 241
Seating adjustments 245
Bursting the bubble 245
Adjusting Your Play for Prizes 246
Keeping your eyes on the prize 246
Splitting the prize money 248
Part 5: The Part of Tens 251
Chapter 18: Ten Differences between Online and Real-World Play 253
Not Telling in Live Action 254
Adjusting to the Speed 254
Understanding Position 255
Taking Up Space 255
Getting at Your Cash 256
Becoming “Serious” in the Real World 256
Adding Up Online Mathematics 257
Tipping the Dealer 257
Changing Your Venue 258
Keeping Track of Your Online Cash 258
Chapter 19: (Almost) Ten Common Mistakes 259
Playing Too Many Starting Hands 259
Playing Tired 260
Playing Too Low or Too High a Limit 260
Coin-Flipping Too Often in Tournaments 261
Ignoring What You Know about Players at Your Table 261
Becoming Impatient 262
Staying Too Long in a Tough Game 263
Letting Your Emotions Get the Best of You 263
Treating Your Internet Money Like It’s Fake 264
Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Improve Your Home Game 265
Upgrading Your Deck 266
Chipping Up 266
Chowing Down 267
Lighting Up 267
Venting It All 267
Trashing the Place 268
Wiping Out the Badness 268
Standardizing Chairs 268
Getting Tabled 269
Renting Your Game 269
Chapter 21: Ten Bad Beats 271
Red versus Spudnut 271
Woman Beaten by Madness 272
Hellmuth Yanks His Hair Out 272
Nuts about Flushes 273
Moneymaker 273
Moneymaker, Part Deux 274
When Wheels Go Flat 274
No-Limit Means No-Money 275
Mr Aggressive versus Johnny Conservative 275
Not All Beats Are Bad 276
Chapter 22: Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Your Hold’em Game 277
Studying Your Way Up 277
Showing Off Your Game 278
Keeping Track of Your Bankroll 279
Exercising 279
Digging into the Math 280
Reading Poker Websites 280
Scoring a Free Magazine 281
Throwing in the Towel 281
Meditating 282
Playing Other Games 282
Glossary 283
Index 291
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