Winning at Texas Hold'em Poker

All poker is derived from Five Card Draw. That includes Let It Ride, Pai Gow and the most popular community poker game, Texas Hold’em. This version of poker has grown in popularity because of televised tournaments like the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. Online poker has been booming as well, especially among the 18-25 year old age range.

The game uses a standard 52-card deck and no Jokers. There are seven total cards and you form a five-card poker hand. Just like with other poker varieties, you bet chips into a pot and the standard hand rankings apply. You start with two hole card dealt face down and four rounds of betting. Five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table and a round of wagers is included between each deal. There are other Hold’em options like limit, no-limit, Omaha and ones using antes, but Hold’em using blind is the most common.

The small blind is the person left of the dealer. The big blind is the person to the left of the small blind and is double the size of that. Once the blinds are in, the two hole cards are dealt. The person to the left of the big blind opens the betting with a call, raise or check (pass to the next player with no bet). No Limit Hold’em allows for any raise. Limit Hold’em allows for twice that of the big blind.

You need to learn some poker slang as well with this game. The first three community cards are called the flop. The fourth community card is known as the turn. The fifth community card is called the river, often called the “River of Dreams” since it usually determines the outcome of the hand. Remember that there is a round of betting between each of these steps. When two players are left in the hand, it’s known as going “heads-up.” It's also important to use wise poker strategy in this game.

Winning at Let It Ride Poker

Let It Ride is yet another variation of poker. Like in Pai Gow, you play against the dealer with other players at the table. It has all the standard hand rankings like in Five Card Draw, but the game itself is very different.

The table for Let It Ride Poker is shaped like a blackjack table. The rules are easy but the betting takes some time to get the hang of it. Five cards are dealt with two to the dealer and three to each player in the hand. You try to make the best five-card poker hand from the your cards and the dealer’s, except you don’t get to see the dealer’s cards unless you stay in the hand. You base whether or not to stay in the hand on your first three cards. The rounds of betting are minimal and each player has three spots labeled 1, 2 and $ on the table.

Based on your first three cards, you fold and take away bet 1 or stay in the hand, also known as letting it ride. Then, the dealer turns over their first card. This is the fourth card in your hand and you can remove bet 2 or continue to let it ride. The dealer turns over their second and last card to complete your five-card hand. All players turn over their cards for a winner to be claimed. Let It Ride Poker is like most poker games in that it requires strategy along with the luck of the draw.

Winning at Pai Gow Poker

Are you looking for a different type of poker game with some great action? Look no further than Pai Gow poker. It’s Five Card Draw with a big twist.

Pai Gow Poker began in China and is played against the banker. If you’re not a fan of community poker games, this one is for you. There are seven spots at the Pai Gow table: five players, a dealer and a banker. Players get seven cards and make two hands to beat the banker, not the dealer. The role of the banker rotates around the table. Even the dealer can be the banker. The dealer plays each hand.

For the two hands, one is made up of five cards and the other is made up of two cards. However, the five-card hand must have a higher value than the two-card hand. Your first instinct is to use your top pair as the two-card hand, but that is not allowed in Pai Gow Poker. Instead, your top pair goes in the five-card hand and your two-card hand may just be a high card.

Pai Gow is a tough game because both of your hands must beat each of the banker’s hands. The banker wins if they are equal. If you win one hand and the banker wins the other, it’s known as a push and you get your original bet back. Winning players get paid from the banker’s funds. Losing players pay the banker. The house generally gets a 5% commission on wins.