Scoring Texas Holdem Poker Hands

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Learn how to play poker: Texas holdem hands and rules. Texas Holdem (Hold'em) is one of the world's most popular poker game. This article will teach you how to quickly master the rules and enjoy the game. At the start of the game. When playing Texas HoldEm poker, every player is dealt two cards face down – these are called your 'hole cards'. In total, there are 2,598,960 possible poker hands with 52 cards. The odds of getting four of a kind in Texas Hold ‘Em is 4164 to 1. Basic Poker Rules – Texas Holdem Poker. The winner – the one with the best 5 card combination from the hole cards and the board according to poker hand ranking rules wins the total amount of all bets - the pot without the fee of the poker room (just when you play cash games) – rake (usually 1-2%).

History

The general consensus is that Texas Hold'em had its origins in Texas in the early 1900s. It was first introduced to Las Vegas in 1967 where it was modified from its original form so that Aces were now high instead of low.
It became the main event of the newly established World Series of Poker in 1972 where there were 8 entrants. By 1982 there were over 100 entrants, and by 1991 over 200.

The poker odds calculators on CardPlayer.com let you run any scenario that you see at the poker table, see your odds and outs, and cover the math of winning and losing poker hands. Texas Hold'em Omaha. Jun 30, 2006  In Texas Holdem a flush (five cards of the same suit) always beats a straight (five cards in a numeric sequence). A straight-flush, which is five cards of the same suit in consecutive order, beats both hands. What poker hand is better - two pair or three of a kind? Three-of-a-kind always beats two-pair.

The popularity of NLHE continued to grow after the inception of online poker in 1998. However, one event singlehandedly initiated the biggest explosion of poker, often named “the poker boom”. It occurred in 2003 when an unknown online qualifier by the name of Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP. By 2004 interest in the Series had tripled. Regular every-day people now saw it was possible to make it big if they had just a few dollars in their online account.

Can you choose which of the four hands wins in each of these rounds of Texas Hold 'Em Poker? Test your knowledge on this gaming quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. Texas Hold 'Em Poker: Which Hand Wins?

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To date, Texas no-limit hold'em remains the most popular poker variant, although admittedly the “Texas” part is often omitted these days. Generally if someone tells us they are playing poker we should assume they are referring to No Limit Hold'em. The majority of films with poker scenes depict no-limit hold'em, whereas older movies would typically show stud or draw games. The 1998 cult classic “Rounders” also played a big role in boosting the popularity of poker as we know it.
'Poker boom' started after an online qualifier, Chris Moneymaker, won WSOP Main Event in 2003

Texas Holdem Poker Rules


Similar to all other variants of poker each player starts with a number of “chips”. These are small circular bits of plastic or clay used for betting and keeping score. Generally these chips can be traded in for their monetary value after the game is over.
The objective of any poker game – to win your opponents chips. In a poker tournament, you win by accumulating all of the chips on the table.


A poker table can consist of anywhere between 2 and 10 players, with one player being the dealer. The dealer will have a button indicator beside him, which is a plastic disc marked “dealer”. This moves round the table clockwise after every hand to indicate whose turn it is to deal. In a home game the player with the dealer button will generally shuffle and deal the cards, although in a casino this job is performed solely by a designated dealer. The dealer button will still be used in such cases to indicate the various positions players occupy at the table.
To create a starting “pot”, certain players must make mandatory blind payments before any cards are dealt. These players are located immediately to the left of the dealer button: firstly, the “small-blind” (SB) position, and to the left of the SB is the “big-blind” (BB). Both these players must make the mandatory blind payments.
In most games the BB blind be will be twice as much as the SB blind is, although this can vary depending on the casino.
The best position at the table is generally considered to be the BTN, while the worst is considered to be either the SB or UTG
Immediately to the right of the “button” (BTN), is the “cut-off” (CO), followed by “middle position” MP, and “under-the-gun” (UTG). Specifically on a 9 or 10 handed table, the position directly to the right of the CO may be referred to as the “hi-jack”, while the position to the right of the “hijack” may be referred to as the “lo-jack”. Generally the main difference between a 6-handed table and a 10-handed table is that the 10-handed table will have 3 middle positions and 3 under-the-gun positions whereas a 6-handed table has only one of each.

Position is very important in NLHE because it determines the order of betting. The best position at the table is generally considered to be the BTN, while the worst is considered to be either the SB or UTG.
Playing a Hand of Poker
Now that we have our players all set, let's get into playing a hand of poker!
The game-flow is broken down into rounds known as “streets”. Each hand of Texas hold'em is broken down into 4 streets referred to as “preflop”, “flop”, “turn” and “river”.
On each street, a round of betting takes place. If more than one player is left in the hand by the river we reach what is referred to as “showdown”. All remaining players show their hands and the best hand takes the chips or “pot” that is in the middle.
Round 1 – Preflop

Before any action takes places, all players are dealt 2 “hole-cards” starting with the player on the dealers left and moving clockwise. These cards are kept secret and should not be shown to any other player. By the time the cards are dealt, the SB and BB have already posted their mandatory blind payments.
Before any additional cards are dealt a round of betting takes place. UTG (to the immediate left of the BB) is first to act, and we move round the table clock-wise. BB will be last to act preflop. Once all the betting has taken place we move on to the next street. (More on how the betting works later.)
'Hole cards' are to be kept secret and not shown to anyone.
On each street players have the option to bet/call/raise or fold. Depending on the situation not all of these options will be valid and this will be fully described below after the betting rounds.

The betting order changes slightly on the flop. On each street, SB will be first to act, with BTN now acting last. This is why BTN is considered the most favourable position on the table. The BTN gets to see what all other players do before he acts.
Round 2 - Flop
Before any betting takes place, three “community cards” referred to as the “flop” are dealt face-up in the centre of the table. All players may make use of these cards to construct a 5-card hand along with one or both of their hole-cards.
Again, players may 'Check', 'Bet', 'Fold' or 'Raise'.


After this round of betting is complete, an additional community card is dealt face-up, referred to as the “turn” card. Another round of betting takes place.
Round 4 – River
Finally, one last community card is dealt face-up, referred to as the “river” card. A final round of betting takes place. After this round of betting any remaining players must reveal their hole-cards. The player with the strongest hand takes the pot.
Scoring Texas Holdem Poker Hands
Showdown

Betting

The following is a list of the available actions players may take during the betting round.
Bet – A player wishes to bet some of his chips on the outcome of the hand. Generally betting implies that no-one has acted yet on the current street (And therefore cannot be performed pre-flop, since a blind bet has already been placed). Players should place their wager chips into the centre of the table or “pot”. This is done automatically online.
Check – A player wishes to take no action. The game-flow passes to his left where it is now the next players' turn to act. Note that checking is only a valid option when no bet has been made on the current street (and therefore cannot be performed pre-flop). If someone has already made a bet, the only valid options are “call”, “raise” or 'fold'.
Call – Call is a valid option when a player who has acted before us has made a bet on the current street. In order to continue with the hand we need to match the bet made by the previous player. If the player before us bets 5 chips, we need to place 5 chips into the pot to stay in the hand. Assuming we don't wish to continue with our hand it's necessary that we “fold”.
Depending on action before them, every player has an option to either check, bet, call, fold or raise
Fold – Assuming we are facing a bet from another player that we don't want to match we have the option to discard our hand. When we fold our hand we agree that we are no longer involved in the hand and have no possible way of winning. Our folded hand will generally be returned face-down to the dealer.
Raise – Raise is an option when a player before us has made a bet. We can increase the bet by “raising” to a higher amount of chips. Players acting after us, including the original raiser, must now call, fold, or re-raise. A round of betting will only end when either one player calls a bet, hence closing the action, or he decides to fold.
Players may continue re-raising each other until one player is “all-in”, at which point the other player may only call or fold. It is not possible to re-raise a player for more than the chips they have at the table. Sometimes in movies we see players re-raising each other for watches, phones, houses and private yachts. In pretty much any casino game, players may only wager what they bring to the table ('table stakes'). While a standard “bet” may also be considered a “raise”, it's common to only use the terminology “raise” when a player before us has already made a wager and we wish to increase the size of the wager.

Texas Holdem Hand Rankings

Naturally the above information is not of too much help if we don't understand how to read the strength of our hand. The following is a list of the hand rankings used in NLHE (and many other popular poker variants). Keep in mind that all hands in No-Limit Hold'em are comprised of 5 cards.
For example, assuming that we hold the same “pair” as another player, the strength of the remaining 3 cards or “kickers” will be used to determine who wins the pot. In a situation where these kickers are identical then the pot is a tie and will be split up evenly between the winners.
Royal Flush – T, J, Q, K, A all of the same suit. This is the strongest hand in NLHE and is made quite rarely as a result.

Straight Flush – 5 cards in a row, all of the same suit. For example 7,8,9,T,J all of hearts.
Four-of-a-Kind – 4 cards of the same value. For example QQQQ, or 8888. Usually referred to as “Quads”

Texas Holdem Hands

Full-House – 3 cards of the same value along with 2 cards of the same value. QQQ44, or KKKJJ. Often referred to as a “boat”.
Flush – Any 5 cards of the same suit.
Straight – Any 5 cards in ascending order. For example 7,8,9,T,J but not all of the same suit.
Three-of-a-Kind – Three cards of the same value, for example KKK, or QQQ. Since all hands are 5 card hands the other two cards are referred to as “kickers”. KKKT7 loses to KKKAT for example. Commonly referred to as “trips” when made with one hole-card and a “set” when made with both hole-cards as in the case of holding a “pocket-pair” such as KK.
Two-Pair – 2 cards of the same value along with 2 other cards of the same value. For example KKQQ5 or JJ447.
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One-Pair – 2 cards of the same value. For example TT523, or QQ764.
Straight flush beats quads every day of the week and twice on Sunday

Why Play No-Limit Hold'em

So what is it that makes No-Limit Hold'em so popular and exciting?
Firstly, it is very easy to learn. The rules may seem complex initially, but within a few hands you will quickly realise that the concept is extremely simple. However the game itself is no joke. Playing a strong strategy is something that can take a lifetime to master.
One thing that sets no-limit aside from other variants is the betting structure. Many poker variants make use of limited betting structures meaning there is a maximum amount that can be bet at any time. NLHE removes this limit meaning that any player can potentially bet all of his chips at any given moment. This makes NLHE faster and more exciting than other poker variants.
Also while initially the game seems about making big hands, nothing could be further from the truth. It doesn't take long to realise that we can win pots by pretending we have a hand when we don't. This is referred to as “bluffing”. The thrill of making a big bluff and scooping a huge pot is what drives many to the game.
What makes NLHE exciting is that any player can bet all of his chips at any given moment.
It's also important to remember that NLHE is only partly a game of luck. Ultimately it is a game of skill. While good players go on losing stretches they will always come out on top again if they are skilled enough. The outcome of any given hand has more to do with luck than skill, but over the course of thousands of hands, the best players have a tendency to show profit. For those skilled enough, NLHE can be a lucrative source of income, whether done as a hobby or as a profession.

NLHE tips for beginners

  1. Be selective with your starting hands. We should generally be playing the top 25% of hands only. Perhaps only the top 20% at the start.
  2. Use your position. We should play more hands from BTN and less hands from UTG.
  3. Bet in accordance with the pot. Rather than thinking of our bets in terms of chips or their monetary value, focus on betting a certain percentage of the pot. This means that as the pot grows our bet-sizing will increase.
  4. Slowrolling. This is the practice of taking a long time to call on the river when we clearly have the best hand. Taking a long time on earlier streets with a strong holdings is a good deceptive tactic. Taking a long time on the river when we are closing the action is consider bad etiquette and will make you unpopular at the tables.
  5. String-betting. Not a huge issue for online players since this is automated. If our intention is to raise our opponent we say “raise” and put that amount in the pot in one smooth motion. We don't do as some movies depict “I call your bet <puts chips into pot>, and raise you another 20 <puts chips into pot>. If you attempt to do this in a casino your first action will stand and be treated as a call.
  6. Showing folded hands. Never show anyone your hand after you have already folded. This is unfair and will influence the decision the remaining players will make. It could also get you a penalty in a casino. Feel free to show your hand after the game is over, but remember that you are not obligated to show your hand unless you made the last aggressive action before showdown. So if someone makes a big bet on the river, and we call, our opponent must turn his hand over first. If we lose we then have the right to “muck” our hand and not show anyone; so don't let anyone bully you into showing your cards unless you have already agreed on it beforehand. Assuming we have the best hand and want to take the pot, we must always show of course.
  7. Trash Talk – While even some professionals engage in this practice it is considered bad etiquette to berate or insult your opponents. One mark of a true professional is being able to take beats and losses with grace
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Scoring Texas Holdem Poker Hands R Hands To Play


Table Of Contents

What is Omaha Poker?

Scoring Texas Holdem Poker Hands R Hands Chart

Omaha poker is one of the most popular poker variants. For many poker players who start out learning how to play Texas hold'em, Omaha is often the next game they learn to play, in part because Omaha poker is somewhat similar to hold'em in the way the game is played.

There are different types of Omaha poker games, the two most popular being pot-limit Omaha (which we are focusing on here) and Omaha hi-lo. You can read about Omaha hi-lo poker rules here.

If you know the rules for Texas hold'em, you are more than halfway to knowing how to play Omaha poker. However, let's first sort out how the two games are different.

What is the difference between Omaha and Texas hold'em?

Like hold'em, Omaha is a 'flop' game that uses community cards. Just like in hold'em, players are dealt their own hands face down — their 'hole cards' — and use those cards in combination with the five community cards (the flop, turn, and river) to make five-card poker hands.

However, there is one big difference between Omaha and hold'em. Whereas in hold'em players are each dealt two hole cards, in Omaha they are dealt four hole cards. From those four cards, players must choose two of their hole cards to go along with three of the five community cards in order to make their five-card poker hands.

Texas Hold'em Poker Hands Chart

Note how that also marks an important difference between Omaha game rules and hold'em. In Omaha, players must use exactly two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to build a poker hand. That's different from hold'em where players can use both of their hole cards (and three community cards), just one hole card (and four community cards), or no hole cards (and all five community cards, which is called 'playing the board').

In pot-limit Omaha, the hand rankings are just the same as in Texas hold'em. Like hold'em, pot-limit Omaha or 'PLO' is played as a 'high-hand' game, which means the hands go (from best to worst): royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high-card.

How To Play Omaha Poker

Beginning players who have only been introduced to Omaha poker rules often make mistakes when it comes to building five-card hands, forgetting the rule about it being mandatory to use two of the four hole cards along with three community cards to make a hand.

For example, a new player holding A♥Q♣7♦6♦ might look at a board of 9♥4♥2♣J♥Q♥ and think he has made the nuts with an ace-high flush.

The problem is, you cannot make a hand using only one hole card (in this case the A♥) and four community cards (the four hearts on the board). In fact, this player only has a pair of queens, not a flush at all. Meanwhile any player with two hearts would have a flush, which means the player should certainly fold this weak hand to any bets on the river.

Betting in Omaha poker works exactly like it does in Texas hold'em, with a small and big blind as well as a rotating button, and four betting rounds following each round of dealing — preflop, flop, turn, river. See 'How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker' for an overview of how the game is dealt and the order of play during the betting rounds.

Hand values in Texas hold'em versus Omaha poker

Pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high') is known as an 'action game' which is one reason why it is popular among high-stakes players. Since players start with four hole cards in Omaha instead of two, they can make a much wider range of hands. For that reason, hand values tend to be higher in Omaha than in hold'em, with players making 'the nuts' or the highest possible hand much more frequently.

If you think about it, in PLO players aren't dealt just a single two-card combination (as in hold'em), but six different two-card combinations (among the four hole cards) from which to choose the best hand. It isn't surprising, then, that players tend to make much better hands at showdown in Omaha poker.

In Texas hold'em making two pair or three of a kind can be a very strong hand, but in Omaha there will often be better hands out there to beat those holdings.

For example, say you have been dealt 10♠9♠8♥7♥ and by the river the board is 7♠9♥K♥J♣2♦. Using the ten and eight in your hand along with three community cards, you have a jack-high straight. The problem is any opponent holding Qx10xXxXx would complete a higher, king-high straight and defeat you — and if the betting gets heavy on the river, that's probably exactly what is happening.

Another example would be holding J♠J♣9♠9♥ on a board of 9♦K♠Q♥5♦3♦. Yes, you have a set of nines, which would be a nice holding in Texas hold'em, but in Omaha poker there are several hands that could defeat you here. Anyone with KxKxXxXx or QxQxXxXx would have a higher set, and an opponent with Jx10xXxXx would have made a straight. There is also a flush possibility, meaning anyone with X♦X♦XxXx (two diamonds) would make a flush.

Due to the nature of so many better hands, an opponent may just be calling your bets with a set of kings or queens as they may fear a straight or flush, so even if you are not facing any immediate aggression, you could still be beaten so proceed with caution.

Omaha Poker Rules

Another factor to consider when it comes to Omaha rules when playing the most popular pot-limit Omaha version of the game is the pot-limit betting format, which is another way PLO can play differently than no-limit hold'em.

Like in hold'em, the minimum bet allowed in Omaha is always the equivalent of the big blind. For example, if the game is $1/$2 PLO, the minimum a player can bet would be $2. However, while in no-limit hold'em a player can always bet all of his or her chips at any point, in Omaha the maximum bet allowed is the size of the pot.

Calculating what exactly is a 'pot-sized' bet can be trickier than it might seem at first glance. If the pot is $10 and a player is first to act, $10 is the maximum bet that player can make — simple enough. However, if there has already been a bet and a player wishes to 'raise pot,' that gets a little tricky.

Say there is $10 in the pot and a player bets $5, then the next player wants to 'raise pot.' The most that player can bet would be $25, a total calculated by adding the $5 to call plus the $20 that would be in the pot after the call ($5 + $20 = $25).

In fact, preflop the blinds are considered forced bets, so once again a bit of math has to be done in order to figure out how much a player can raise even when acting first. In a $1/$2 PLO game, the maximum a player can open-raise is $7, the total coming from adding $2 or the equivalent of the big blind to $5 or the size of the pot after calling the big blind ($2 + $5 = $7).

When playing in a casino, the dealer will take care of the math for you should you announce you wish to bet the pot. Meanwhile, when playing online poker the calculations are automatically made right on the screen.

Other Omaha Poker Tips

Just like in hold'em, position is an important element in Omaha. Many consider it to be even more important, both because of the pot-limit betting format and because of all the possible combinations a player can make with an Omaha hand. When sitting in position, you can follow the actions of your opponents and make your decisions based on the information you received. When out of position, it is much harder to make the correct decisions because you are dealing with incomplete information more often.

Another benefit of being in position is that you have a better chance of controlling the size of the pot, which is often based on the strength of your hand and your overall goal in the pot. Being out of position to one or more opponents gives them the ability to control the pot size and also capitalize on the added information of knowing your actions first.

Because Omaha is so focused on the nuts, it might seem like bluffing plays an important role in the game. A player can represent a wider range of hands in Omaha, and also open up with a bit more with so many more semi-bluffs available. In fact, experienced Omaha players will often bet big draws heavily on the flop, since in some cases those draws are actually mathematical favorites versus made hands.

All of which is to say players do bluff in pot-limit Omaha, but with so many possible hands out there you have to be judicious when deciding when it is best to bluff. The more you learn about the game, the easier it will become to pick up on these spots and determine how to proceed against various opponents.

Relatedly, blockers also become much more prevalent in Omaha than in Texas hold'em. Blockers are those cards you hold in your hand that prevent an opponent from making a specific hand.

For example, if a board reads K♠10♠5♥2♠4♦ and you hold the A♠ in your hand but no other spades, you may not have a flush, but you know your opponent cannot make the nut flush. This gives you added power in the hand being able to push your opponent off certain hands as your opponent is guaranteed to not contain the nuts. Internal no more process (multithreaded server) slots available list.

Conclusion

Omaha poker is a game of action, but it can also be a game of big swings. Many players first learn Texas hold'em before taking up learning the rules of Omaha. Having a good knowledge of fundamentals in Texas hold'em helps a lot when making the transition into Omaha.