The single most popular form of poker being played today, bar none, is texas holdem poker both online and off, so if you want in on the poker scene then it’s important to know how to play holdem. Fortunately, part of the reason that this poker variation is so popular is because it is quite easy to learn to play. Don’t let that fool you, though, it will still take a lot of skill and experience to get really good at this fun game.

Basic sequence of play

Texas hold ‘em is played in four different rounds, defined by the cards that are turned up. It’s a community card game, and that means that the cards are in the middle are used by all the players to make the best hand possible. The player with the top hand after all the rounds are completed takes the pot.

In the first round, each player is dealt two hole cards by the dealer. These cards are only known to the player, and a round of betting ensues. A player who has not been dealt good hole cards may choose to fold at this point, while other players may bet or check. A check occurs when a player does not wish to raise and has already put in the amount of money or chips needed to meet the last bet. Those who know how to play holdem with skill will usually tell a novice that it is not a good move to bet pre-flop.

Once all the players have decided to fold, check, or bet, the dealer puts three community cards face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the flop, and it’s often right here where a player decided to take his or her chances or fold. After the flop comes several more rounds of betting, and then the dealer places a single card face up, known as the turn. Again there is betting, and the final card turned over is known as the river. If there is still more than one player left, it’s time to call for a showdown. Players may try to bluff opponents into folding or they may just call.

Limit hold ‘em vs No limit holdem

There are two big variations on texas holdem poker, limit and no limit holdem. In limit hold ‘em, there are set amounts that a player can raise at any one time, as well as rules governing how many betting rounds can take place during each round of play.

In no limit holdem, there are no rules placed on bets or amount of bets. Betting increases by any amount until all players have either called or folded. This is the variation of the game in which all-ins are frequent, and where skill comes to the forefront. It’s also very important to be patient in this type of holdem game; a lot of newbies especially LOVE to go all-in all the time, and if you’re playing online with fun money this can be a real pain in the ass. I’d recommend no limit holdem only for tables where once the table has been set, no one else is allowed in.

So that’s a basic overview on how to play texas holdem poker. Of course there are dozens of variations depending on whether you are playing in real life or online, your hole cards, and the types of player you are up against.

You see it all the time on TV. Poker superstars, the world series of poker, the world poker tour, etc…star poker players are born. TV has turned nobody’s into somebody’s through the world series of poker especially. Take for instance Jamie Gold last year. He came out of know where to win the world series of poker. He did it through hard work, making the right calls, and a little bit of luck.

Basically the world series of poker, is a large sit n go tournament if you think about it. The only way to practice for sit and go’s is to play many single table and multi-table tournaments daily. Sit n go’s are definitely a confidence booster and can earn you quite a stable income at that if you master it. When you play sit and go’s you have to go into the mindset of making first place each time. You can’t rely on just making 2nd or 3rd place if you want to make a stable income playing. You have to gun after first each time and here is why:

1st place = 50% of the prize pool
2nd place = 30% of the prize pool
3rd place = 20% of the prize pool

Now as you can see 1st place pays almost 3 times as much as a third place victory. When playing sit n go’s the best poker tip you can have at the poker table is to play tight until there is 4 or 5 people left and switch to playing aggressive. The reason being, with 4 poker players left, everyone will be just trying to hold on and make it to the money. There games will be altered and they will pretty much fold anything. This is seriously the most crucial point in a poker tournament and will separate you from the rest down the stretch to take first down. If you are sitting there with 4 players left at the poker table you need to try and steal blinds as much as possible and not reveal your poker hand.

Many players today will not throw one chip in the pot if they are on the “bubble”. These players will never elevate to the next level because they truly do not understand the game and poker rules. You must play aggressive with 4 players left no if’s, ands, or buts.

If you master sit n go’s there is no doubt in my mind you can’t handle a first place victory in the world poker tour or world series of poker. The best way to get there is by playing poker freerolls and other smaller buy-in tournaments leading to a seat in the world series of poker or world poker tour. There is absolutely no better feeling than winning a seat to one of these events for cheap. I bought into an 11 dollar multi-table tournament a few years ago and won a seat to the world series of poker. I needed money at the time, so I sold my ticket for $9000.00. Not a bad turn around, 11 dollars into 9k! Can’t beat that.

The best of anything is a matter of opinion and perspective, and this is absolutely true when trying to decide who are the best poker players. This also has to be broken into tournament play, cash game play, and the type of poker game. Some poker players are great in certain games like Holdem and not so great in other games. According to what is said about Chip Reese, the great poker player, many professionals think he would be the choice, even though his WSOP wins are not as prolific as Brunson, Chan, and Hellmuth. However, Reese won three WSOP tournaments before his death in 2007. In 2006, Reese won the prestigious $50,000 Buy-in Horse Tournament at the WSOP. The Horse tournament is difficult to win, as it combines several poker games in one tournament. These are Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Seven-card Stud, and Seven-card Stud Hi Low. Reese’s long time friend, Doyle Brunson, considered him one of the best poker players he ever played against. That is high praise from a player many considered the Godfather of Poker. Brunson, Hellmuth, and Johnny Chan are considered the best when it comes to playing Holdem. Hellmuth has the most wins at the WSOP at this time with eleven wins all in Holdem.

The Poker Kid, Daniel Negreanu, after a failed try at Las Vegas poker when he was 21, has come on very strong in his play in TV tournaments like the WPT and other tournaments that were TV oriented. Negreanu is also considered a very tough cash game player, unlike Hellmuth who is considered an excellent Holdem tournament player, but an average cash game player. The top cash game players are supposedly happy to see him show up for the big cash games in Vegas.

T J Cloutier, another long time opponent and friend of Doyle Brunson, has long been considered one of the best players in the poker world. His consistency is amazing in showing up at final tables. His cash game prowess has always stood him in good stead. Like Brunson, he makes few mistakes, and players who win against him are usually just a shade luckier than he was in the tournament.

One of the long time faces at final tables is the player, Dan Harrington. He made the final table two years in a row against huge fields in the WSOP. That is a testament to his skill at playing tournament poker. In one website vote, he was voted the best player of the professionals.

Some of the recent winners of the WSOP main event have become money leaders, or very high on the list of earnings due to the huge 1st place prize money. However, few if any are considered the best poker player in the world at this time. It will take several years to see if these winners were a one trick player or have the real skill to get to final tables again.

The public has little knowledge of another group of players that are extremely good players. These are the players that take a seat in some of the biggest cash games in the world. Las Vegas has long been the place to play if a player wanted to play in a poker game which had the highest stakes Almost every day, you can see some of the best cash game players play in places like the Rio, the Bellagio, or the Venetian casino. These games are not only for solid players, but also for players with ample resources to play in a game where a bad day could be well over a $100,000 loss. This play not only takes money to play, but the courage to take that level of risk on the turn of a card. These players have to live with the risk that a better hand can crack a solid hand. Many of these player-participants are only known to the cash players and are rarely seen on TV. The only place some of them have been seen is playing in the High Stakes Poker program that is now on TV. But when you watch their play, you can easily see that they do not play bad hands. It is also obvious that they are not prone to making playing mistakes or bad calls. Some of these players cannot afford to play in tournaments, as they would lose too much time and would make less money than they do in cash games. The only time you will see them is in a game like High Stakes Poker, or in a big cash game in a casino. Yet, several of them could be rated in the running for best poker player. Their play warrants it as well as their annual winnings.

Conclusions

The best poker players of all time come down to personal choice and perception. Most of the well-known names in the current poker scene have shown they know how to play very well. Current old timers remember some of the old time players as the best they ever played against. The problem is most people never saw them play. Stu Unger was a kid when he first won the WSOP two years in a row. His play was the best, say the players who tried to beat him. Unfortunately for him, he was a drug addict and addicted to other forms of gambling like sports betting and horses. He disappeared from play after his second win, and when he came back for a third try, he won again. Three tries in the WSOP and three wins. That is an amazing record. The question that still goes unanswered is how good would he have been if he had taken care of himself and lived a less wild life. His talent was at a level that most players only dream about. His name has to be considered when discussing the best poker players. His mental skills were genius level as was his card playing skill. His weakness was his drug addiction. Make your own choice as to the best poker player. Your pick is as good as most.