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Texas Hold em Poker (also know as Holdem Poker) is a card game which you’ll take a few minutes to learn but many years to master. As a beginner you’ll want to learn the Texas Hold em Poker basics - the rules, hands rankings and types of texas hold em poker.

The absolute Texas hold em poker basics : The game is played with a standard 52 card deck and there may be a minimum of two or a maximum of ten players per game.

Players are dealt two cards each, which are used in addition to the 5 communal cards to create the best possible 5 card poker hand.

The dealer begins the game by dealing two cards to each player; this round is known as the 'Pre-Flop’. The two cards dealt by the poker dealer are placed face down on the table – these cards are called the pocket or hole cards.

A round of betting occurs before the second round of cards is dealt. In this round the poker dealer places 3 cards face up on the poker table. This is known in Texas Hold em Poker games as the 'Flop’. Each player now has an opportunity to bet or check.

By 'checking’ you are choosing not to bet but you still remain in the game, checking is only allowed if there have been no bets placed before your turn in that round.

In the third round, the dealer places another communal card face up on the table. At this time there are 4 communal cards on the table, as well as 2 hole or pocket cards per player. Considering the current choice of cards in their hand and those open on the table, the players again place their bets. This round is known as the 'Turn’.

In the final round before the 'Show-down’, the dealer places the fifth and final communal card on the table, face up. And the players begin betting. This round is known as the 'River’.

After the River, the remaining players begin to show their hands. Players may use any combination of their two hole cards and 5 communal cards to create the best possible hand. You may even use all five communal cards to create the best hand.

It’s best to play Texas Holdem Poker for free before playing for real. Spend a few minutes getting use to the game, you’ll realize how simple and entertaining this game really is.

Play Free Online Texas Holdem Poker now – it’s a great way to learn the game!

We will never understand, and it’s just that simple. We will never understand what it’s like to be so competitive and have the adrenaline rush of 50,000 fans screaming your name while you are knocking in the winning run or scoring the winning basket. This is a rush sitting at home and watching television just can’t replace. So, what do athletes do? They gamble. They get involved with sports betting.

The debate is out whether it is ok for athletes to gamble after the recent comments made by John Daly and Charles Barkley. Daly recently came out and said he has lost between an estimated $50 million and $60 million in the last twelve years due to out-of-control gambling. Barkley followed up by saying Wednesday on ESPN that he has lost ″probably $10 million″ gambling, adding, ″It is a problem for me.″

″Do I have a gambling problem? Yeah, I do have a gambling problem, but I don’t consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble. It’s just a stupid habit that I’ve got to get under control because it’s just not a good thing to be broke after all of these years,″ Barkley said.

Embedded in this touchy subject are two issues of great importance. When athletes gamble, how much is too much and what is ok for them to gamble on?

I believe there is a fine line between recreational gambling and just utter craziness. In this situation, Daly is crazy, and Barkley is not. I truly believe it’s ok for a former athlete to call up their local sportsbook and place a small-to-medium wager on a ball club if that athlete feels like this bet will satisfy their need for an adrenaline fix. We, as fans, don’t know what it’s like to be in competition everyday on the greatest stage and then have it snapped away just like that. That transition can be brutal and can lead to depression–the reason most of our childhood heroes fall so far from grace. This is also why athletes stay in the game way too long after they should have retired years before they actually do. For Barkley, it is what it is–a habit that needs to be under control. Does he have to stop? Absolutely not.

On the flip side, we have John Daly. It’s one thing for an athlete to gamble a few million if they can afford it. Hey, it’s their money, and they can spend it how they please. We are not their parents or superiors, and let’s stop pretending we are. It’s another thing, however, to end up flat broke and put your family at risk. That is what a loss of $50 million will do. We all know gambling isn’t the only addiction Daly has gone through; he recently beat an addiction to alcohol. This connection leads us to believe Daly really has a problem, and Barkley does not.

Now, to the most important issue at hand. What sports are appropriate or inappropriate for athletes to gamble on? I have one steadfast rule on this. In no way shape or form should athletes now or ever gamble on their sport. Barkley has responded by saying he never bet on basketball, and I believe he is true to his word. However, if he ever did decide to take sports betting to that next level and gamble on the Kings vs. the Spurs on Friday night, for example, (Spurs -2), it would ruin his credibility as a player and, more importantly, as an analyst, and Barkley is a damn good analyst at that. This is what got Pete Rose banned from the game of baseball for life. We all know what an uphill battle that has been for Rose trying to regain his eligibility to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gambling on one’s own sport is a big no-no and will permanently ruin a career and reputation.

All in all, I don’t think it is a big deal when athletes gamble on sports or in casinos. I think we, the media, like to make a big case out of everything and blow everything out of proportion. I would much rather see Mr. Barkley put down a couple of thousand in a poker game than see an ESPN article covering his addiction to cocaine. I believe these athletes need a bridge between professional sports and retirement, and let’s give them this. Isn’t it every person’s right to sit back after a hard day at the office, grab a cold beer and watch the ball game that you just happen to have a little wager on? If you don’t think so, I’ll bet you a dollar it is.

You play Jokers Wild with a 53-card deck, the regular 52-card deck, plus a joker.

The joker is a wild card, which you can use as any card you want. This increases the chance of getting a winning combination.

On average, the joker appears in about one out of every ten hands, making Jokers wild an exciting game to play.

Keep in Mind the Following Points:

Play the Better Game - There are two versions of the Joker Wild game.

One version returns your bet on a two-pair hand. The Jokers Wild strategy presented below is for the other (better) game that gives back your money if you HAVE a pair of kings or aces.

Always Play Maximum Coins Per Game - As the payout for five coins played is far greater than five times the payout for only one coin.

Play at Machines that Offer a Full Pay Schedule - The full house pay schedule for jokers wild will be a 7 / 5 machine i.e. 7 Coins for full house and 5 for the flush.

Kings or Better Joker Wild Strategy

If the Hand you’re Dealt Contains the Joker: Keep all hands that are three-of-a-kind or higher, except hold four cards to the royal flush, even if it means discarding a paying hand of lower value.

Always remember that you are looking to hold the joker as a part of ANY combination.

Keep any four-card straight flush and a four-card flush if it includes K, A or both.

Keep three cards to a royal flush.

Keep a paying pair of high cards (King, Ace).

Keep any three cards to a straight flush.

Keep any four-card flush without King or Ace.

Keep consecutive four-card straights.

If not dealt any of the above, keep the Joker only.

If you’re dealt a Hand without the Joker:

Keep all paying hands, except hold a four-card royal flush.

Keep any four cards to a straight flush and any three cards to a royal flush.

Keep four cards to any flush.

Keep any pair of 2’s to Queens.

Keep any three cards to a straight flush.

Keep any four-card consecutive straight.

Keep two cards to a royal flush if one of the cards is an Ace or King.

Keep unsuited King and Ace.

Keep King or Ace alone.

Keep two suited royal flush cards lower than King or Ace.

If you don’t hold any of the above, draw five new cards.

Jokers Wild a Fun & Exciting Game

Jokers Wild is a fun and exciting game and is very popular - second only to Jacks-or-Better and Deuces Wild.

By playing with the above strategy, you will not only have fun but increase your chances of success as well.

There isn't a poker calculator designed for multi table tournament (MTT) advice specifically, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be using one. In fact, I have used Hold'em Pirate for MTT's exclusively and have reached a higher amount of final tables while doing so. Hold'em Pirate instructions don't really mention it's use in MTT's, but you are reading this now because I have found through experience that Hold'em Pirate is excellent for MTT's in assisting you with monitoring the table dynamics, measuring your true hand strength, and picking your spots against aggressive players. Having a good feel for your table's momentum or dynamics can help you combat an endless run of lousy cards.

Taking down incidental, non-contested pots is the key to survival and tournament advances. But that requires intuitive information. If you use Hold'em Pirate like I do, the VPIP meter is invaluable in that regard. At a glance you know how your "collective table" is acting and how that is affecting the contested pots. So if you are not in position, or not getting pot odds, you are better off staying out of the action with a high VPIP table rating. On the other hand, a low (tight) VPIP rating with offer up ample opportunity to take down a lot of small pots while building an aggressive image for yourself.

Certain factors in MTT play have inherent value on your hole cards. AKos is much more powerful when you are a big stack, as compared to when you are amongst the short stacks and playing on the bubble. This exact situation happened to me last week in the Party Poker Million. I folded the AKos after an early position raise from a big stack, and a re-raise from another big stack. I felt my hand was at least counterfeited, and surely, I must have been up against at least a pair Queens. It was really a question of $500 bucks. I was short enough to know I was out of contention for big money, so I decided to go for some money. But knowing the true strength of my AKos in that spot was how I folded.

You are bound to run up against those aggressive type tournament players who are always in your face with pressure betting. They may be very good, but they may also be maniacs. Both are dangerous. Either way you need to know the VPIP meter in order to identify them. For example, if you are in late position and considering answering a 3x blind raise from, oh let's say, DuecesCrazy99, all you have to do is check the VPIP meter. You can see that DuecesCrazy99 came into 68% of the pots, raised 40% of those times, and bet out at the flop 100% of the time! Even if you were on an extended coffee break sitting out, you will know from those numbers you are dealing with a maniac. A tournament pro, will probably be more selective than that, and pre-flop raise more, but will have a higher pot win rate.

As with most empirical poker calculators, Hold'em Pirate is like having a pro like Chris Ferguson or Dan Harrington over your shoulder offering up guidance when you need it.

What is a Cash Game?

A Cash Game, also known as a Ring Game, is a non-tournament poker game where players buy-in and cash out as they please. The value of the chip is the same as cash. For example, if I sit down with $10 at a cash game. I have $10 in chips.

You can sit down at a Cash Game with as much money as you want - within the limits. At a $0.10/0.25 blinds game the minimum amount is $10 and the maximum amount is $50.00. Other players can sit down with a different amount of chips. You can re-buy chips in between hands up to the maximum.

How many players are in a Cash Game?

At Absolute Poker, all the cash games are 6 or 9 player tables. Other casinos have different amounts - usually up to 10 players. As long as there are 2 active players, there is no set amount of people needed to keep the game going. As mentioned above, you can sit down and get up as you please at any time.

What is a Sit N Go?

A Sit N Go or SNG, is an online poker tournament. The name ″Sit N Go″ comes from the fact that these games are fast with a clear beginning and end. A Sit N Go has a pre-determined number of players. Once the spots are filled, the game starts. Everyone in a Sit N Go must buy-in for the same amount of money and starts with the same number of chips. The blinds gradually go up in ″levels″ or ″stages″ until one player is left standing. The payouts are determined before the game and are displayed when you buy-in.

How many players are in a Sit N Go?

A Single Table Tournament or STT is usually 9 or 10 players. In a game like this, the top 3 finishers would place ″in the money″. However, Sit N Go’s can have as many as 50 players (which would be 5 tables of 10) or as few as 2 (heads up). A Sit N Go with more than 10 players is played on more than one table and is known as a Multi-Table Tournaments or MTT.

Generally, the more players in the SNG, the more places are paid and the higher the prize money. Of course, with more players the tournaments are longer and there are more players to beat out.

I will use Absolute Poker as an example. Let’s say you want to play a $10+1 Sit N Go. You buy-in for $10 and pay a $1 entry fee to the casino. The entry fee is usually anywhere from 5-20% of the buy-in at most casinos. In this case it's 10%.

Each of the 9 players would start with the same number of chips - let’s say 2000. The blinds would start low, usually 10/25. As the game progresses, the blinds will keep increasing to force action.

The buy-ins on a game like this would total $90. That money would get split between the top three finishers. First place would be $45, second place would get $27, and third place would get $18.

How long does a Sit N Go last?

A 9-player Sit N Go will usually last between 30-60 minutes. Some casinos have ″turbo″ Sit N Go’s where the blinds go up faster. Turbo games finish more quickly. A 2-player Sit N Go, which is really just a ″heads-up″ match, will often last a few minutes before ending.

No limit Texas Hold'em Sit N Go’s are generally faster than limit Sit N Go’s because of the ability to move ″all-in″ gets things moving.

How do Sit N Go's and Cash Games Differ?

The easiest way to understand the distinction is to understand that Sit N Go’s are simply tournaments where players get eliminated. Once you are out, you're out. In a Cash Game, you can re-buy as much as you want, sit down with as much as you want, and leave whenever you want.

Here are some of the key differences:

• You can buy-in or leave anytime during a Cash Game, whereas you must enter the beginning of a Sit N Go to play.

• Sit N Go’s have a clear start (when everyone is ready) and end (when only one player is left). Ring games are ongoing.

• The blinds go up during Sit N Go’s, so in the later stages you’re forced to loosen your starting hand selection and take risks. In Ring Games, the blinds stay the same.

• There are a set amount of winners and losers in a Sit N Go. For example, in a 9 player SNG, 3 players will win and 6 will lose. In Cash Games, there is no set amount of winners or losers. You've won if you cash out with more than you bought in with.

Which do I prefer?

Actually, I really love playing both, but I play Cash Games more often because of the freedom of being able to leave whenever I want to. Also, it's usually a quicker way to clear a bonus. But, from time to time I do play SNG's and MTT's when I know I'm able to sit down for longer periods of time.

Sit N Goes have blazed onto the online poker world with a vengeance and I'm quite sure that they are here to stay. If you have been living under a rock lately, let me fill you in on what exactly a sit n go is. It is a small 6-30 person tournament where the prize pool is simply what everyone pays to enter. Usually this prize pool is divided among the top three finishers, but it does depend upon the individual game. It gives all poker players a taste of what it is like to play at a final table of a large tournament, without having to do all the work to get there. If you are a half decent poker player, sit n goes can be very profitable, even if you only make the money half of the time. In fact, there are many poker pros who are now making their living off of sit n goes alone. You could be on your way to being a pro yourself if you follow a few simple rules.

The most important thing to do is to divide the game into a few stages; early, middle and late. Each of these stages should be approached differently.

In the early stages, you should play only the monster hands. Hold on until you get the pocket Q's, K's and A's. Be very, very selective as to the hands you play and spend most of your time watching the betting patterns of your opponents. Since most sit n go players will start off very aggressive due to the small blinds, it is a great time to watch and learn.

In the middle stages, after about four people (in a 10 person tournament) have been eliminated, you can start to play a few more hands; high suited connectors, lower pairs etc. You should still be very selective since you have yet to make the money.

In the late stages, when there are only four people left in the tournament, a funny thing happens. The once aggressive players tighten up in order to make the money. In the meantime, you have been tight all along, and it is now time for you to make your move. Loosen up, push your chips and watch everyone around you fold. Be careful, don't be silly, but if you play smart, you can stack up a lot of chips fast before you get down to the final three. Ideally, it would be best if you went into the final three with the most chips, but don't get too cocky about pushing your chips around because you never know when you are going to go up against a monster. Play smart, but play aggressive.

When you get down to the final two, heads up; you need to play the player as much as the cards. I find that I try to keep track of my raises, and checks etc. so that I don't become too predictable. Once you get down to the final two, it becomes a big more of a crap shoot, but by this time, you're made the money, so everything else is gravy.

Enjoy the sit n go, play smart, and you will find that you can make a lot of money without the constant financial risk involved with the ring game.

There are many reasons people play poker online, one of the more common reasons used to be because they could not find a game locally and didn't know anyone who played poker. Now the only reason to play online is because you choose to, not because you have to.

Poker has arrived again. It is everywhere. The UK, America and overseas from grandmothers to college students. Everyone plays poker and they play online because they love it.

Most people are finding it is much easier to learn the games you're interested in learning by playing online also. There's no pressure, it's relaxing and exciting at the same time and best of all, you play in your pyjamas and nobody will notice!

If you are just starting out in the game consider these reasons to start your poker game from home:

1. You will always be able to find a game which suits your time schedule.

2. You can learn how to play without any "lessons" just by watching the game online and reading everything you can, when you're ready you can jump in.

3. You can make all of the mistakes that are commonly "new player" mistakes and no one will put the "mistake" with the face.

4. You can play for free without investing a penny in the practice rooms.

5. Your first tournament can be in the form of free tournaments with freerolls.

6. You can learn the lingo so when you sit down "live –and –in-person" you don't look, act , and play like a complete novice.

7. You can learn what works for you and what doesn't.

The virtual poker room offers something for everyone who is ready to play. Beginners have as many opportunities as more experienced players. Find your favourite game and start practicing!

Concern is growing in online chat rooms and news groups devoted to poker that sophisticated card-playing robots – known as ″bots″ – are being used in online poker rooms.

The fact is that such Poker Bots do exists. The question is are they good enough to beat you? and Can the poker rooms stop then?

One poker bot software are WinHoldEm, the first commercially available autoplaying poker software. It also has a team mode that makes it possible to collude with other players running WinHoldEm at the table.

Poker site operators say there’s nothing to worry about, and for them there isn’t. For now, sites continue to earn healthy profits because they make money by taking a percentage - the ″rake″ - of every pot. ″If anyone’s losing money because of the bots, it’s the players,″ says Poker Academy CEO Kurt Lange. ″It’s inevitably going to become a serious problem when they figure out that bots win hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

This is a serious problem for the online gambling business. Players come online seeking a ″fair″ shot - a contest against other humans, not robots. So the poker sites loudly proclaim that automated play is no big deal. At the same time, they are fighting back by quietly scanning for and eliminating suspicious accounts. ″We’re making sure we never have bots on our site,″ says PartyPoker marketing director Vikrant Bhargava..″ PartyPoker reportedly has 100 employees scanning for the presence of bots.

But the cheaters will find out new ways to stop poker rooms from detecting the bots and I'm sure there is a lot of bots playing even at Party Poker. The poker rooms can fight back and make it harder to use bots but I believe its impossible to stop them totally.

I think the more interesting question is: Can the pokerbots beat you?

WinHoldEm can make money in low stakes fixed limit Holdém at least at 10-seated tables. But the profit at such low limits will be small. And since the user risks that the poker room will detect the cheating and confiscate his account question is if it's worth it?

If you are playing limit Holdém at full tables with blinds at 0,25-0,5, 0,5-1, 1-2 and you are a losing- or a breakeven player you are probably losing money to bots.

But if you are a winning player at higher limits or at No-limit, the Poker bots that exists today will probably lose money to you .

The biggest problem for the bots are shorthanded, 5- and 6-seated, No-limit. I think it will take years from now before any Bot can beat this game at any level. And during those years the people who tries to beat the game with bots will constantly lose money and help doing these games even more profitable for the strong solid players.

How not to lose to Poker Bots:

- Learn to play good solid poker and beat up the bots

- Play No-limit or Pot-limit

- Play shorthanded, 5- or 6-seaters

- Chat with your opponents. If they cant tell you their name and what they do for a living its time to get suspicious.

Video Poker is one of the most popular slot versions of playing poker. In video poker you are playing against the machine, not other players, like in traditional poker. Your goal in this game is to get the highest ranking five card hand possible.

How to play

First you place a bet and receive five cards. Then you decide which cards to hold and which to discard. You may draw up to five new cards to improve your hand. Finally you obtain replacement cards in exchange for the cards you have discarded. All cards are dealt randomly from one card deck.

Perfect Play

Video Poker is a game where skill is important. With enough practice, you can learn how to play video poker like a professional. Video Poker can be one of the few potentially profitable casino games. Some video poker games are positive expectation games. It means that if you play properly, some Video Poker machines actually offer over 100% payback for perfect play over the long run.

You have the best chance of winning (losing less money) at video poker over the long run if select the holding with the highest Expected Value. Expected Value (mathematical expectation) is the statistically projected average of all possible outcomes for a particular play or game. In other words, EV is the amount one would expect to win or lose if this decision were to be repeated millions of times.

There are 32 ways to hold cards for any dealt five-card hand. For each of these holdings you have to calculate the expected value (EV) of the result and draw to the combination which has the highest EV.

The math used to calculate the Expected Value is not very complicated at all. To compute the EV for the particular draw, you have to multiply the probability of each possible outcome by its value and sum up the results.

The following example explains the above definition.

The dealt hand is 8c 9d 4h 9s 8s in the Jacks or Better (8/5) video poker machine. In this simple example the holding with the highest EV is 89_98. There are 47 cards remaining in the deck. 4 cards would make Full House and 43 others would make Two Pairs. We have a payoff value of 8 for a full house and 2 for a Two Pairs.

EV= 48/47+432/47=2.51064

Calculating EV is straightforward. But it is a tedious task for a human. Luckily, there are several computer programs designed to evaluate the optimal strategy for each hand as it is encountered. They can catch your mistakes and warn you about them, showing you the difference in EV between your play and the best play. You can use your computer to master your video poker skills at no cost.

Roulette does not have the best odds of success and is like other games of chance such as craps, slots, or baccarat where the odds are in favour of the house and always will be.

It is however; a game of glamour and to play roulette gets us into a different world and is pure escapism.

You can also pick bets that are close to the house edge and once you know them, you will have as much chance of winning as anyone else.

If you play roulette you get a simple game that’s fun, glamorous and exciting, it’s therefore a great game for seasoned players and complete novices.

Roulette History and Tradition

When most people think of casinos they automatically associate it with roulette and it is of course, hard to imagine a casino without a roulette table!

There is no other casino game that reflects the glamour of gambling more than roulette. It has quite rightly has become known as ″a game for kings and queens″

The movies have reinforced this image further. From the café in Casablanca, to James Bond coolly betting all on a single number, reflect the glamour and mystique that surrounds roulette.

Roulette is Exciting

If you play roulette, you will know how exciting it is. As you watch the ball spin quickly and then the flush of anticipation just before the ball settles, you get an unrivalled buzz of excitement that no other casino game can match.

Roulette is Easy to Play

This is why newcomers and even seasoned casino players like roulette. Sure, you can make more money in blackjack and poker, but is it as exciting?

This is why experienced players still play roulette as a light relief from the more profitable yet, mentally tougher casino games such as card games.

Of course, the simplicity of roulette also makes it a great place to start for novices.

Roulette is Not Just for the Rich

Roulette had an image of just being for the rich, but the spread of online gaming has altered this perception entirely.

Anyone can now play and if you play online you don’t even have to dress formally to come to the table!

Just sit back with a few beers, play roulette, and experience it in your own home.

How to Win at Roulette

If you play roulette correctly, you will find that the odds are not so bad - you just need to know the right table to play and the right bets to place.

Firstly, play the European roulette wheel with a house edge of just 2.7%; you also need to play bets with low odds.

For example, if you were to only bet black or red you would win just under half the time and this will allow you to often walk away from a roulette session a winner.

There is also one bet you can place with a house edge of just 1.35%; and we explain this at our web site.

How to Manage Your Money

If you play roulette, you will need to set aside some fun money - not money set aside for the school fees or housekeeping! This must be money you are prepared to lose, and when it’s gone, that’s it - no chasing losses!

So, there you have it, a quick introduction to the world of roulette - a fun, exciting and glamorous game.