How To Shuffle And Deal In Texas Hold'Em

And It All Began With A Shuffle And A Dealt Card...

Do you want to play poker like a veteran? Do you want to learn how to play Texas Hold'em? Do you want to play any type of card game at all? You DO ?!? Well, in that case you want to learn how to shuffle and deal a deck of cards properly.

Let's leave the fancy stuff for the professional dealers. We are here to summarize the basics of poker shuffling and dealing. Face it, if you do become a great Hold'em player, shuffling and dealing wouldn't be any of your concern. BUT until you become a professional you may end up in the position of a dealer, that's why we are going to try and teach you the basics.

For the moment forget what you have watched on TV. If your intentions are to become a Pro dealer then we suggest that you find other specialized books.

Shuffling

When it comes to learning how to shuffle it is most difficult and troublesome to learn it through a book or any kind of written text. So we are just going to give you some basic instructions and you should do your best as far as technique is concerned.

Heck, you might not even want to be a card magician and that's not wrong at all as being a virtuoso has got nothing to do with playing poker. What's important is that you do shuffle the cards thoroughly, and be careful not to expose any cards to anyone including the bottom card (no not even yourself!).

So, the first thing a real dealer might do is gather the cards in a big pile (face down of course) and mix them all around as randomly as humanly possible. At that point the dealer should gather them all together, and cut the cards, while making sure that no cards are exposed. Now the time has come to do our best in shuffling the cards.

After a thorough shuffle you might try and use some other shuffling techniques where cards are basically pulled from the bottom/middle of the deck, and put on top. While doing so this be mindful not to expose any cards to the players.

This can be done several time just to make sure that the deck is properly randomized. At the end you might want to give the cards one final cut before begin dealing.

When dealing texas holdem at home, you may wish to skip the fancy techniques, and just shuffle the cards. This is fine, but just be sure to shuffle them at least 5-10 times while ensuring that no one can see them, and then perhaps give the deck a cut before you deal.

Dealing Texas Hold'em

Before dealing out the cards, it is customary to "burn" a card (to put a card aside from the deck face down into what will be called a "muck" pile)

After all the blinds are set, each player is then dealt two cards face down clockwise starting with the person to the left of the dealer. While the betting round is commencing, the dealers job will be to move all folded cards into the muck pile. Once the betting process is complete, the dealer then moves all the chips at the center of the table forming a pile but making sure not to splash the stacks.

In turn comes time for the flop -the dealer once again burns a card, and then places three cards, face up, on the table making sure that they are visible to all the players. Another betting round commences.

Second comes the "Turn". The dealer in turn burns a card, and places another card face up on the table. The third betting round takes place.

Last comes the "River". The dealer burns a card again, and places the fifth and final card face up on the table. After this final round of betting comes the showdown, when the winner being awarded the pot.

When playing at home and a regular dealer can't be assigned the player on the left of the old dealer becomes the new dealer for the next hand.

A Begginers Guide - Basic Hold'Em Strategy

Helping Beginners Understand the Basics so They can Play Like the Pros

If you want to be a better great Texas Hold 'Em Poker player, you will need to be able to read your opponents, ascertaining when they are having a solid hand or if they are just bluffing. But learning some general rules and basic strategies will go a long way toward making sure you can at least hold your own in a friendly game.

Throwing My Two Cents

It may seem silly of me to remind you of the following fundamental facts, but it's surprising how often players get swept up in and exciting game and forget the basics.

So, always keep these two things in mind when playing:

1. The two cards you hold are the only cards that set you apart from the other players and give you the chance to win.

2. All of the face-up cards are community cards, shared by you and every other player. It's vital that you focus on what those cards could mean to someone else at least as much as you focus on what they mean to you.

In particular, keep your eyes open for your opponents' straight and flush possibilities.

Being Able To Evaluate Your Own Cards.

Often, the first decision you make in a hand of Texas Hold 'Em Poker happens with your only knowledge being what your two cards are.

When you firstly look at your cards, be careful not to reveal your thoughts with your reactions -- facial or otherwise. Taking a sharp breath, no matter how quietly you do it, can tell a wily opponent all he needs to know to have an advantage over you. The keyword here: emotionless.

How do you know if your cards are good?

It partially depends on how many players are in the game, but a general rule is that you should seriously consider folding before the flop if you have two non-pair cards, both less than 10. A more conservative player might fold if just one of the cards is less than 10; a more aggressive player might stay in with, for example, an 8 and 9 of the same suit (because those cards give you decent possibilities for a straight or a flush).

If the big blind (a forced bet designed to ensure that every hand has a pot) is low enough, it may be worthwhile to pay in so that you can see the flop even if you don't have particularly strong cards in your hand. But don't abuse this exception to the rule -- it can get you into trouble more quickly than you imagine.

A lot of Texas Hold 'Em strategy is based on the cards in your hand. You must be willing to suffer through a series of poor hands (e.g. 5-8, 2-6, 4-9) without getting impatient. The good hands will come, eventually, and you'll be in better position to take advantage of them if you don't waste your chips trying to get something out of nothing.

The Flop

After seeing the flop, don't be afraid to cut your losses. A common mistake made by novices is to decide, "I'm already in this hand, so I might as well play it out." Wrong.

With seven players at a table, two pair or better will generally be the winning hand. If you don't have the high pair after the flop (e.g. if the flop is K-9-5, the high pair would be two Ks), and you're not in good position for a straight or a flush, you should probably get out of the hand.

However, remember that as the number of players goes down, so does the potential of a strong hand -- so if you're at a table with just two other players, it could pay off to be more aggressive.

If you're first to bet after the flop, don't be afraid to check. This can work to your advantage in two ways. First, if your hand is on the weak side, you might be able to see one more card without having to put more into the pot. Second, if your hand is strong, you could convince an opponent or two that it's weaker than it really is.

Fourth Street and Fifth Street

Also know as The Turn and The River, respectively, the fourth and fifth community cards give you two more chances to either get out of the pot before you lose even more money -- or increase your winnings.

At this point, it's likely there will only be one or two other players still in the pot with you. The best advice here is to be cautious. After fourth street, don't stay in the pot hoping for a straight or flush, unless you can do so on a check (that is, without putting more chips into the pot). Although there will be times when you would have drawn the straight or flush, they will be outweighed by the times you wouldn't.

The bottom line is this: Don't allow yourself to get sucked in too far with a weak hand.

That said, there is a point where the investment you've already made virtually dictates that you hang in there. It's useful to measure this in terms of percentage of your chips. For example, if you've already committed 40% of your chips to the pot, another 5% isn't that much. This is a gray area, so once again the best advice is to be cautious.

Good luck, and have fun!

Only For The New Poker Players

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The Basics Of Hold'Em

Best Online Poker

Holdem Poker Rules

1. Player with highest hand wins
   
2. Players may use one, both or neither of their hole cards to make their highest hand combining them with the community cards.
   
3. Ace plays both as a high and low card for straights.
   
4. Three raise limit per round
   
5. Cards speak

Card Distribution and Betting Procedure

Typical Holdem hand with community cards

Example: $2/$4 Hold'em with a double blind. At casino Hold'em tables, a round plastic marker called the dealer "button" is placed in front of the player who would be dealing if a house dealer were not provided. The button is moved one seat clockwise after each game and the card distribution and betting starts to the left of that position.

Each player is dealt two cards face down. Then, a total of five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table in three betting segments (3-1-1). After all the cards are dealt the players make the best hand that they can by combining either one, both, or neither of their two hole cards with five community cards. Using the illustration above, a player holding a king and a ten would end up with two pair, kings over tens with an ace. With this board, that player's two pair would be vulnerable to higher two pairs, trips, straights and flushes.

. . . The betting procedure goes like this:

(1.) Before each player is dealt two down cards, the player at the immediate left of the button, called the "Small Blind" is forced to bet $1 (half the minimum bet). Then the player to his left and two seats to the left of the button, called the"Big Blind", is forced to bet $2. Each player is then dealt a two card hand. Then the player at the left of the big blind is first to act and he must either call the big blind's $2 bet, raise, or fold his hand. Continuing in turn clockwise, all the players around the table either call, raise or fold. When the Holdem poker betting procedure rules betting gets back around to the small blind, he or she can fold and lose only the half minimum bet of $1 placed earlier, call the amount necessary to get up to the betting level or raise $2 if there is a raise left. The big blind is then the last to act before any cards are turned up in the middle. The blinds are played in the first round only.

( 2.) The dealer turns three cards up in the center of the table. This is the "Flop". As always, the player at the left of the button is first to act. There are no more forced bets and the players can all check around if they want to. Bets right after the flop are at the $2 minimum bet level.

(3.) Now comes the "Turn" card with more betting that now goes to the $4 level

(4.) Finally the last, or "River" card is turned up. The last $4 betting round takes place. The players still in the contest reveal their hole cards and the highest hand wins the pot.