Online Texas Holdem

Nowadays, new poker players are popping up everywhere. This is especially true for Texas Holdem, which is dominating media coverage for poker these days. So where should a new player start? Well here are five simple things anyone should learn prior to hitting the tables.

Hand Order
First off, memorize what beats what in poker. How else are you going to win if you don’t have a winning hand? It helps to keep a poker cheat sheet nearby with a list of the poker hands.

Top Ten Holdem Hands
Now that you have an idea of what beats what, how do you tell when the two cards you’ve been dealt are any good? To help new players out, here, in this humble blogger’s opinion, are the top-ten hands you can be dealt in Texas Holdem.

Pocket Aces
Pocket Kings
Pocket Queens
Pocket Jacks
Pocket Tens
Pocket Nines
Pocket Eights
Ace King Suited
Ace Queen Suited
Ace Jack Suited

The Basic Rules
Without rules, there is anarchy. Somehow, even with rules, poker seems like anarchy sometimes. As you would do with any game before playing, get a good sense of the rules of Texas Holdem before playing.

Terminology
At the tables, you’re likely to hear many different terms you may or may not understand. To avoid that ”British tourist” feeling, be sure to visit Bodog’s poker site for a complete glossary of poker terms so you understand all the funny names players call things (and sometimes eachother).

Etiquette
As with any sport, there are certain “no-no’s” that may or may not go without saying. Improper poker etiquette may result in your ass being hauled away from a table where you're raking in the money (though most friendly tables will allow a newbie a certain amount of slack). See Bodog’s poker etiquette page to assure you aren’t inadvertently doing something you shouldn’t be. Generally these rules apply to both live and online poker.

Now that you have your so called poker bearings, what’s next? Practice of course! Like anything else the more you practice, the better you get. Bodog online poker offers the best free play money tables for starters. If you’re feeling really lucky, they even offer a 110% bonus on the first deposit.

Good luck, see you at the tables.