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Exclusive Netbettor Texas Hold'em Article:
"This influx of 'dead money' has probably made America's poker games easier to beat now than at any other time in our nation's history."
Why Learn to Play Poker? If you’ve been thinking about learning how to play poker, this is a fantastic time to do so. The recent explosion of TV coverage, along with the success of poker movies like ‘Rounders’ and poker books like ‘Positively Fifth Street’, has made poker- in particular Texas hold ‘em—the game du jour in America today. Every day, thousands of new players are flocking to their local poker room, or setting up accounts with online poker sites, anxious to get a taste of the action. As you may imagine, many of these players play horribly. Fewer still have what it takes to be long term winners. This influx of ‘dead money’ has probably made America’s poker games easier to beat now than at any other time in our nation’s history, which means you, as the prospective player, couldn’t have picked a better time to get your feet wet. Trust me; the money is out there, and there’s a ton of it to be had. Is poker easy to beat? Absolutely not. If it were, then there would be no losers. But it is possible, and it’s much easier than most people first assume. All you need to do is master the fundamentals of the game, and commit yourself to learning the requisite tactics and strategies to become a winner. Without a doubt, the best casino game for aspiring advantage gamblers to learn is Texas hold'em, for the simple reason that this is one of the only casino games in which the participants are not directly competing with the casino. When you place a sports bet, and your bet wins, it’s the casino that pays you. The same holds true for blackjack, video poker, and most other casino games. But in Hold ‘em (and in other forms of poker, such as Omaha and Seven Card Stud), your winning hands are 'paid off' by the other players contesting the pot. The house has no vested interest in who wins; whether they push the pot to you, or to the player next you, is simply of no concern to them. It is this singular dynamic, then, that makes poker perhaps the easiest casino game to beat. Again, let's compare poker to sports betting. Now while a sports better can unquestionably realize a significant edge against the house, he is also stacking his wits up against the scores of experts, and volumes of data, that the sportsbook has at its disposal. However, in poker you're only concerned with playing better than the other players seated at the table. When you go up against a casino, you're pitted against a multi-million dollar corporation whose sole objective is to separate you from your money. In poker, you're competing against everyday folk, many-if not most-of whom simply do not seem to place winning as a particularly high priority. Given this, who would you prefer to play against? "online poker rooms provide the beginning player an opportunity to refine their skills without spending hundreds or thoussands of dollars"
In virtually all forms of gambling in which the player can expect to win long-term, knowledge is tantamount to money; if you know more than your opponent, you WILL win going forward, so long as you use that knowledge to inform your play. As a result, you would rather your competition knows less than you about the game you have elected to play. To the sports bettor, this is no mean feat. It’s not easy to spot those situations in which the bettor ‘knows more’ about a particular game than the book that hangs the line. Yet in poker, you'll often have the pleasure of competing against players who have willfully decided not to learn how to play the game profitably or, better yet, have almost no idea how to play at all. Predictably, this translates into a monstrous edge for an informed player. Finally, online poker rooms provide the beginning player an opportunity to refine their skills without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars. In the past, the only way to learn the game was to spend a lot of time (and a lot of money) at brick and mortar card rooms. Now, a beginnner can play online for as little as 25 cents a hand and play those hands four or more times faster than they would at a casino. Within this site you will find all of the fundamental information you need to get started playing Texas hold'em. This information is organized into distinct 'lessons' that will teach you the basic rules and concepts of the game and guide you through correct play during each stage of a hand. The articles explore the finer points of the game, and discuss correct strategy for specific situations you will encounter during a hand. However, if you can learn and implement simply the information presented in the tutorial, you will already be a far superior player than the majority of players you will encounter on online poker rooms. Furthermore, the strategies and concepts presented here also apply to 'live' poker games. So if you're simply looking for some strategy advice to use against friends during home games, or are interested in playing at casinos or card rooms, rest assured that the inforation in the lessons still apply. Return to Exclusive Netbettor Poker Articles Other Poker Strategy Articles: |
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