Texas Holdem Betting

Betting is the crux of poker. The Texas Hold’em game consists of a series of bets based on the perceived strength of your cards – without betting, it would simply be a game of who got dealt the best hand. You may as well flip coins.

Many people like poker, but they only express their admiration from a distance. They think poker players are cool, yet they themselves have not tried it all for fear of getting too confused. They believe that only those with dedication can play the game, but in reality, it is a very easy game to learn. One can easily grab a pack of cards and learn all the essential rules. In fact, it is very easy that even kids can play, though they cannot place bets of any kind until they are of legal age. If you have a deck of cards, the first thing you need to learn before playing cards at a poker room such as Lucky Ace Poker, are the hand rankings in online Texas Holdem Poker.

Understanding the Value of the Hands

Though most of the action in a game of poker centers on the betting for each round, the end result is determined by the hands of each player. A hand is a combination of 5 cards from a standard deck. Combinations are ranked according to a set of rules, and in the end of a poker game, the hand with the highest value wins.

Recall that each deck of cards has 52 cards divided in four suits: black clubs, red hearts, red diamonds, and black spades. Each suit has the 13 cards whose rank from the highest to lowest follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.

The color of the suits does not hold any value except in some occasion. Else, the suits are all equal. Here are the ranks of the hands from the lowest to highest:

A High Card is a set of five cards with no similar cards. A Pair is a hand with a pair of similar cards. Two Pairs means there are two pairs of identical cards plus one other card. Three of a Kind has three identical cards and two other cards. A Straight is any five consecutive cards with the Ace capable of being a 1 to make 5, 4, 3, 2, A. Flush is any five cards of the same suit. A Full House is a three identical cards plus a pair of another. Four of a Kind has all four cards of the same rank. A Straight Flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit. The most valuable hand is the Royal Flush, which is the five highest-ranking cards of the same suit.

Playing the Actual Game

Once you are familiar with the various hands, you can then learn the game play. Poker would have a card dealer surrounded by the players. The first two players to the left of the card dealer start the betting process, which is called posting a blind. Their bets will comprise the initial pot. Then the card dealer shuffles the cards and deals each player with two cards face down. From these two cards, the first round of betting begins, with the two players exempted. The player next to them can call (match the bet), raise (increase the bet), or fold (give up without showing his cards). The round of betting ends when all the players have bet.

The card dealer then reveals two cards face up called the flop, and based on the possible hands, players begin the second round of betting. The card dealer will proceed to revealing one card called the turn followed by another round of betting. The last face-up card is revealed, and the last betting round happens. If more than one player is left standing, the showdown occurs to reveal their cards. The best hand from the dealer’s three cards and the players’ cards wins the pot. Note that the showdown may not happen at all if most of the players have folded in the rounds of betting leaving one to collect the pot.

Betting in Texas Holdem Poker

Many players totally misunderstand the art of betting – too often on forums, I’ve heard players say they bet “to see where I’m at” or “because he checked.” Let’s be clear: your bet should be one of two things; a value bet or a bluff.

Value Bet

A value bet is, quite simply, betting your hand for value. This means you believe your opponent will call with a worse hand. When you raise AK before the flop, it’s a value bet. If you bet 88 on a 824 board, it’s a value bet. It’s quite simple – if you think that your opponent’s range of hands is worse than your holding, bet for value and hope for a call.

Bluff

A bluff is the opposite of a value bet – you think your opponent’s range of hands is stronger than your hand, however you don’t think it is strong enough to call a bet. So, you bet.
A common bluff is undertaken by a flush draw – if, for example, you have Ah-Qh on a low board with two hearts, you have a strong hand and bet for value. The turn and river blank and your opponent checks to you. If you think he has a middle pair that won’t call a third bet, bet and take down the pot.

Semi-Bluff

A semi-bluff is, in contrast to my earlier statement that a bet is for value or as a bluff, a combination of both. Take the example above of having Ah-Qh on a board of 9h-4h-2c. You have only ace high but your nut flush draw and two overcards give you a good chance to win the pot – in fact, against JJ on that board you are a 55/45 favourite!

Therefore a semi-bluff is a bet made as a bluff, such as with ace high and a flush draw, that aims to fold out a better hand but has numerous outs if called. This way even if a better hand does call your bluff, you can still take the pot with a good turn or river card.

When to Value Bet; When to Bluff?

This question simply boils down to how to read your opponents’ hand. A detailed article on this would far exceed a reasonable word count, so I’ll attempt to surmise succinctly as I have done in the previous beginner articles.

Firstly, you don’t put your opponent on a hand – you put him on a range of hands. If someone raises before the flop then bets the flop and turn of a 9-8-2 board they don’t automatically have KK or 22 or 98. To narrow down an opponent’s range, let’s use an example hand. A decent, tight-aggressive player raises under the gun. You call on the button; your cards are irrelevant but say you have 77. Both blinds fold. Now, before the flop is dealt, ask what is his range? Knowing what you know about this player (that’s he’s a pretty good TAG) you can confidently give him an estimated range of AA-22 and AK-AJ.

The flop is something unconnected and dry, such as 9c-5d-2d. Your opponent bets and you call, knowing he will continuation bet his entire range. The turn is the 5c and your opponent bets again – now his range has narrowed.

He is unlikely to have 99, 55 or 22 as many players will check this hand and allow you to bluff off your chips into their monster.

He also probably doesn’t have any pair less than 99, nor is he likely to have AK-AJ unless he holds the nut flush draw. His range therefore has narrowed to TT+, AdKd, AdQd and AdJd.

This is a very simple example about how you can narrow down someone’s range of hands over a few rounds of betting. Try your hand at betting by playing poker at Full Tilt.