by Marc Phillippe Babineau

Created on: August 17, 2008   Last Updated: May 24, 2011

Texas Hold Em Poker has gained an almost stratospheric popularity urge since the turn of the 21st Century, especially with the introduction of internet gaming and televised poker events with multi-million dollar prize pools.  Prior to the introduction of Internet poker, poker was mostly 5-card draw or 5-card and 7-card stud poker at some casinos and smoke-filled basements, and at times finding a place to play poker, even when in Las Vegas, was a daunting task indeed.  A beginner’s guide to winning at Texas Hold Em poker would have to start with understanding the game's rules as well as being able to tell when to try bluffing with bad cards and when to fold decent cards.

It should be understood that when looking for tips on how to win at Texas Hold Em poker, the reader has a full understanding of the rules, terms and etiquette for the game.  There are three main types of Texas Hold Em poker, limit, pot limit and no limit poker, and the bluffer has a much better chance at winning in No Limit than they do in the other forms of the game.  In limit poker, the betting rounds are limited to the blinds and in No Limit there is no limit to the amount a player can wager on any given hand, other than the bettor’s bankroll.  In Pot Limit, players are limited to betting a maximum of whatever the size of the pot is at the time of their wager, and in Limit Poker players are limited to wagering the amount of the big blind.

Winning in No Limit Poker is a lot easier than in the other types since players are faced with wagering their entire bankroll on one bet, and if they do not have the best possible hand for the community cards on the table then calling an all-in bet (the wager is the bettor’s full bankroll) takes either a lot of bravado, a little bit of craziness or a bit of stupidity;  when someone is willing to wager their full bankroll, especially in a tournament where losing their bankroll means elimination, they either have the best possible hand or they are bluffing.  Calling an all-in wager requires guts if the calling player does not have the nuts (the best possible hand) or the second-best possible hand.  Calling a bluff can result in winning the biggest hand of the night (or tournament), but learning to tell when someone is bluffing requires a lot of experience in playing against the wagering player, as you can pretty much tell when they are bluffing or when they are holding the nuts.

For beginner players

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