How to Win at Casino Poker

The most famous game in the casino is poker and it gives

skilifuiplayers the best chance to make money, but you don't

have to wear a stetson and drink whiskey to learn the ropes.

Of all the casino games, there is none as familiar to the public as poker. Although its roots are said to spring from European card games of the middle ages, poker could be described as the one truly all-American game. Since the 1850s, poker has been a staple in any gambling hail, legal or illegal. More Americans have played poker than have played golf, tennis and backgammon combined.

Whether they learned around the kitchen table, with a wise aunt or uncle showing them the ropes, or got involved in a hot game in the boys' room in grammar school, most poker players can trace their joy of the game back to childhood. And whether they play for big stakes, nickels and dimes, or for matchsticks, the players' enjoyment of poker is the reason it is undoubtedly the most popular card game.

Even when casino gambling was legal only in Nevada, poker could regularly be found in fire hails, social clubs, church basements, and fraternal organizations. ft is now played legally in more than half the United States, and semi-legally in all the other states and territories.

As you might suspect casino poker varies a bit from your kitchen table variety, but the basics are essentially the same. What is most different in the Poker En Ligne is the skill levels of the players.

You might be the card shark of your neighborhood, but when you play poker in a casino, there are many other factors to consider, other than which player has the best hand.

You've seen that there are professional blackjack players who can make a living playing a game in which they can reduce or eliminate the house edge. And you learned that good sports bettors can handicap a sporting event through knowledge of specific details unknown to the average better. But since poker is a game that has no house edge, you must be prepared for a large collection of players who are trying to make a living from poker. There are more professional poker players than any other type of gambler.

Don't be fooled into thinking that all the "professionals" are playing the high limit games, and if you play games with $1 minimum and 4 maximum bets, you won't have to worry about the pros. That's not true. You'll meet the professional poker players at every level, whether they are on the way up the ladder, or have been knocked down and are looking to get back up.

Should this deter you from playing France most popular game in a poker? The answer is a qualified "no".

Because poker requires skill, it's not something where you

KNOW WHEN TO HOLD 'EM

can hope to stumble across enough good luck to win. While there is some debate on how skill is acquired (are good poker players born or made?) you can read enough about the game to understand its nuances and sit down and enjoy a lively session. Just remember that you never stop learning about poker. After getting the basics down, your education is just beginning. The various plays, the different combinations, but most of all, the variety of players is what often makes this game the most fascinating game of all.

There are many different kinds of poker games. Five-card draw and five-card stud may be popular around the kitchen table, but are now a rarity in the casinos. Forget about the "wild card" games they play down at the fire hail. You won't see any Deuces wild, one-eyed Jacks, or Jokers added to a poker game in a casino. The two most popular poker games by far in a casino are seven-card stud and Texas hold'em.

While there are many other poker permutations that you can find--Omaha hold'em, Omaha Eight-or-better, razz, lowball draw and many more--for purposes of bte' nc comprehension, you'll be wise to concentrate on the two most popular games, which will be covered in this book.

POKER GOALS

The obvious object of poker is to win the pot. That is easier said than done, but there are two ways to accomplish that goal. The first is to have the best hand at the table, and the second is to convince the other players that you have the best hand so they'll drop out and leave you the pot. This is called bluffing, and is not nearly as successful as many of the experts would have you believe.

Before you begin to play, the most important thing to understand is the ranking of hands in poker. Many a game has been lost when a player--usually a beginner, but sometimes an experienced player--forgets which hand beats which. The most frequently confused hands are the full house, flush and straight. Commit to memory the chart in this chapter before even considering venturing out into the cruel world of casino poker.

os poker games, including seven-card stud and Texas hold'em, use this ranking, which are the best hands, using five cards.

POKER PROCEDURES

In some other jurisdictions, the house charges a "seat rental". This is usually an hourly fee that progresses upward with the limits.

Unlike poker played at home, casino poker doesn't necessarily require an "ante" or bet prior to receiving the initial cards. In Texas hold'em, a "blind" is used. A blind is when one or sometimes two players put up a small ante before a round begins. The blind is rotated in clockwise direction around the table.

When betting commences, you must bet in a prescribed sequence depending upon the rules of the specific game. The person with the high hand will make a bet in seven-card stud. The player to his left then must "call" (match that bet), "raise" (increase the bet), or "fold" (throw his cards in and withdraw from the hand). A player who acts out of turn can influence the play of the others, so it is important to take your cue from the dealer as to the correct time to make your bet.

In Texas hold'em, the first "live" player to the left of the "dealer" makes the initial wager. A live player is one who has not folded on a previous round. And while the casino uses a dealer at Texas hold'em, each round, a player is designated as the "dealer" so that the deal will start with a

It's also important to realize that casino rules are vastly different from those that you employ in a friendly family game. if these rules are ignored or violated it may cost you a very valuable pot.

The chief advantage to playing in a casino is that the house provides a dealer. You don't have to worry about Uncle Joe dealing from the bottom of the deck or some card shark dealing "second", saving the best card on top for himself and dealing the cards underneath to the other players.

It will cost you a little to play in a casino. Because there is no casino advantage in poker, the house charges players for providing the space and the personnel to offer an honest game. In most casinos, the house will take a "rake" from each pot. A rake is a percentage of the pot that is taken out by the dealer after every round of betting. This percentage will vary between five and ten percent, and most casinos put a limit on how much money will be withdrawn from each pot.