Introduction - It’s becoming almost as big as baseball, football, hockey, and other sporting events. Television has increased its popularity. With the Internet, it’s coming into our homes at a lightning fast rate. The rage that’s sweeping the nation – poker! Although the game has been around for years played in family recreation rooms, smoky bars, casinos, and even retirement homes, these days, poker has become the game of choice for hundreds of thousands of people.

01. History - The history of poker is a matter of some debate. The name of the game likely descended from the French word poque, which descended from the German word pochen ('to knock'), but it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors.

02. Online Poker - Other types of online gambling sites were launched before the first online poker room. Online sports books were introduced in the mid 1990’s which was also the time of online casinos sprouting up around the web.

03. Poker 101 - Following is the ranking of general poker hands from highest to lowest.

1. Royal Straight Flush - 10-J-Q-K-A, all of the same suit.

2. Straight Flush - five cards, of the same suit, in order, such as 2-3-4-5-6 all of diamonds.

3. Four of a Kind - four of the same card, such as K-A-A-A-A.

04. Texas Hold ‘Em - Hold 'em is probably the best known and most popular form of poker today.

Each player starts with two hole cards. There are three rounds of community cards. These are dealt face up, for every player to use, with betting after each round. Players make the best 5-card hand using any combination of the five community cards and two hole cards.

05. Position - Position is simply where you are sitting in relation to the dealer's button. In hold em and many other poker games, your position at the table is a big factor. The strength of your position comes from the fact that the betting goes in a clockwise fashion. In a favorable position you get to see how many other players react to their hands and whether they fold, bet, or call before you do. The poker phrase, "Position is power" comes from this simple idea.

06. Pot Odds - Probability and odds are huge factors in Texas hold 'em. Players use odds to determine their actions. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probability of getting an over card, the percentage of times you're going to flop a set to match your pocket pair are all important factors in poker. Knowledge of these statistics is a key to winning.

07. The Flop - Besides the dealing of the pocket cards, and your decision to fold or hold them, the Flop is probably the most important moment in Texas Hold em. Three cards hit the board, often making “nut” hands out of weak pocket cards, and at times, making strong pocket cards useless. Your ability to read the flop will be a huge factor in your success in Texas Hold em.

08. The River - The River Card. Showdown. It’s time to see who is taking down the chips, and who is drowning in the river. River play is fairly simple. If you have the best hand either by strength of good cards early, or luck of the draw on the river, now is your final chance to get a few more chips from your opponents.

09. Betting - Nobody is always a winner, and anybody who says he is, is either a liar or doesn't play poker.

— Amarillo Slim

A bet is a declaration that either:

a)"I have the best hand and I'll wager money on it" or

10. Strategies - "Know how to win before you sit down. Experience may be the best teacher, but it’s also the most expensive."

-Doyle Brunson, Poker Wisdom of a Champion, 2003

Hold'em is basically HIGH card game. The players holding two good high cards have the best chance at the best hand or a draw to the best hand after the flop. Only play strong hands that will stand a raise or multiple raises, from early betting positions.

11. Tells - If you can't spot the sucker within the first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.

-- Common poker saying, as spoken by Matt Damon in Rounders and originally attributed to Amarillo Slim

In live games, reading your opponents is much easier than it is online. Professionals wear sunglasses to hide any trace of emotion in their eyes. They bring I-pods and portable CD players to listen to and minimize distractions.

12. Bluffing - Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand.

— Paul Newman as Cool Hand Luke, showing his stone-cold bluff after winning a 7-card stud pot

The do's and don't of bluffing could fill a small book on their own, but here are a few of the most important things to keep in mind:

13. Tournaments - Online multi-table tournament play is not only fun and educational, but they’re a great way to maximize on your bankroll if you play them right. Many sites offer low entry fee tournaments that pay out the top places at a mostly decent increase on your investment.

14. Sit and Go’s - Sit and go tables are a wonderful place to hone your game and make a little money. You can learn many, many things at the sit and go. These tournaments are usually low-cost, fun, and convenient. There are always sit and go’s going on in the major online poker rooms. You can play them quickly (usually less than an hour), and there’s no scheduling involved as in multi-table tournaments.

15. Limit Poker - There are many differences between limit and no-limit poker. Many no-limit players have difficulty gearing down for limit play, and limit players lack the courage and feel needed for no-limit games.

16. Keep In Mind - Poker is a godless game, full of random pain.

— Andy Bloch

Texas Hold ‘em is such a complex game that there are literally hundreds of different methods and strategies that can be successful. Good advice to any reader would be to invest a few dollars into at least one good Texas Hold ‘em book, written by such masters as Doyle Brunson or Phil Helmuth.

17. Out of Hand - Just like any of our other vices, online gambling can get very addicting, very quickly. It’s important to make sure that your online gaming doesn’t get out of control. It may be fun for awhile, but when you can’t make your mortgage payment because you’ve dumped too much money into your online poker account; it’s time to think about holding back and seeking some help.

Conclusion - This book isn’t guaranteed to make you a successful poker player. It’s meant to offer you some tricks and strategies to get you to a new level of play. Poker games change with the dealing of every card. There is no tried and true formula to guarantee a win each and every time.

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