The Beginners Guide to Texas Holdem Poker

The first thing to learn after getting the rules down pact is how each hand ranks and which hand beats what.

Once you read over the list a couple of times it becomes really easy to remember and can be the difference of winning or losing a pot because if you don’t know if you’ve won the pot I’m sure nobody else is going to tell you that you’ve won.

Breakdown of each poker hand from the best to the worst…

Royal Flush - A, K, Q, J, 10 - A royal flush is any A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit
Straight Flush - 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 - A straight flush is any five consecutive cards of the same suit
Four of a Kind - A, A, A, A, K - A four of a kind is any four of one card
Full House - A, A, A, K, K - A full house is any three of a kind plus pair
Flush - A, J, 9, 5, 3 - A flush is any five cards of the same suit
Straight - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 - A straight is any five consecutive cards of any suit
Three of a Kind - A, A, A, K, Q - A three of a kind is any three of one card
Two Pairs - A, A, K, K, Q - Two pairs is simply having two paired up cards as shown in example
One Pair - A, A, K, Q, J - One pair is again simply just one pair as shown in example
High Card - A, K, 8, 5, 2 - When nobody has even one pair then high card is used to determine pot winner

Remember when judging hands that you need to always use five cards to make the best possible hand. When players have the same hand then high card decides who wins the pot, here is an example of what I mean by high card.

Player one has - A, A, K, J, 8
Player two has - A, A, Q, 10, 6

Since both players have a pair of aces you can’t decide who wins based on that so now you must go to the only possible way to determine the winner which is high card. In this instance player one has a higher kicker being the K versus player twos Q. Don’t forget to make sure to utilize the kicker when determining the winner of hands.

Why Should I Avoid Hands Like K7, Q6, and J5?

Often times when playing poker you’ll be dealt hands like the ones just mentioned. The reason you shouldn’t play pots with K7, Q6, and J5 is because your odds of winning are very slim and depending on how many people there is playing it makes the chances of lucking out even slim.

To win a pot with those cards you’d either need to hit high pair and hope nobody has your kicker beat or get lucky and hit two pairs or three of a kind. The chances of hitting that are very slim though so placing any money into a pot when you are dealt those whole cards is completely the wrong move.

You also have no chance or hitting the straight which means you’re only chance of winning is through hitting your cards. When you have odds this low you should fold and move on to the next hand. Patience is a virtue in poker and overtime you’ll learn to be more patience, it takes practice and repetition to become better at anything and poker is the same.

Why Certain Power Hands Are Stronger With Fewer Opponents?

If you’ve even played poker before or watched it on TV then I’m sure you’ve seen the classic situation where you’re sitting with a monster hand like AA, KK or QQ and you’re last to call. In these situations you need to think differently then normally because typically you would slow play your cards in order to draw the most money out of everyone but with a hand like this you want as few opponents as possible.

The reason being is because it’s very hard to improve upon high pocket pair unless you get four cards to make a straight or flush which is unlikely and in most cases if there are a lot of opponents in a pot then a single pair won’t win. If you raise before the flop to scare a couple of the opponents out with low chaser hands then you’ll stand a much better chance at winning the pot.

Remember although pocket aces is the best starting hand it isn’t always the best finishing hand so getting your chips in early when dealing with high pocket pairs is ideally the route you want to go.

Which Hands Do I Prefer Having Lots Of Opponents In The Pot For?

As I just mentioned above the reason why certain hands call for fewer opponents I’m now going to tell you which hands I think are great for having lots of opponents in for the flop. When you have lots of people in the pot when you’re going to the flop ideally you want a hand with a lot of outs.

The hands I love having a lot of opponents in for are my suite connectors. Anything like a J-10, 9-8, 6-5 of the same suit and you’ll ideally want to have as many opponents as you can get to call the blind and move into the flop. The reason being is you can’t find yourself getting into very much heat with a hand like this for the following simple reason.

You either make a strong hand or you don’t make any hand when you’re in the pot with suited connectors and typically you’ll know after the flop if you’re in the pot or folding. So you either hit a straight or flush and stay in the pot or you hit nothing and throw your cards away.

It’s a great way to win a huge pot with minimal risk of your stack. Calculated decisions are very important when playing poker and if you plan on becoming serious about playing poker you need to be able to weight out the calculations in your head on a constant basis.

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