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A card deck has 52 cards. Possible distinct starting hands are 52*51 / 2 = 1326. Wow, would be really difficult to learn what to do (call, check, raise or fold) with all of them. Luckily, most of them have identical value before the flop (the 3 first community cards). For example, A♥ J♥ and A♠ J♠ are identical, because both have an Ace and Jack of the same suit.

There are 169 starting hands combinations of different value. Yes they are a lot too, but they can be divided into (in order from better to worst):

• Pocket pairs, e.g. 9♠ 9♣. 13 cards * 4 suits * 3 other suits / 2 half repeated.  (78 out of 1326, aprox 6%)
  • There are 13 combinations of different values
• Suited Cards, e.g. A♣ 6♣. 52 cards * 12 cards (same suit different number) / 2 half repeated. (312 out of 1326, aprox 24%)
  • There are 78 combinations of different values. 13 cards * 12 other cards/ 2 half repeated.
• Unsuited Cards, e.g. K♠ J♥. 52 cards * 36 cards (different suit and number) / 2 half repeated. (936 out of 1326, aprox 70%)
  • There are 78 combinations of different values

Hand groups

David Sklansky proposed some pairs have a similar value, so they can be played similarly. If we put a reference number of pairs value (being the 1 the best), we could divide starting hands into:

So if you have a 7 and a 2… hey, you better fold. Or you can bluff… which will be explained in our next post.

In conclusion and making it short, here are the combinations:

First of all: playing and watching others play is the best way to learn. Anyway, here are the basics of No Limit Texas Hold’em:

1. Usually there are about 10 people per game. There can be from 2 to millions of players.
2. Two face down random cards are given to each player. These are called starting hands.
3. In each table there is a Dealer (a different person in each game), a Big Blind to his second left (who has a forced minimum bet) and a Small Blind to his left (who has a forced minimum bet half the Big Blind). That way, a minimum pot is set depending on the payers and/or time.
4. The first person to bet is the one to the right of the Dealer. Players can fold (don’t bet nor play), call (match the previous bet, being the first time the Big Blind) or raise (increase the previous bet, as much as you want). All-in is when you bet all your money; then leftover chips will go into a side pot for remaining players.
5. When it comes to Big Blind’s turn, he can only raise or check (stay playing without paying). Call is impossible because he already has the maximum bet, and folding would be stupid because he isn’t risking any money. Bets are set until everybody has the same bet.
6. Three community cards are dealt face-up simultaneously in the middle of the table. These are called the flop.
7. Now the first to bet is the Small Blind. He can bet (as much money as he wants) or check. Others can now call, raise or fold. Bets are set again considering whichever combination considering your cards and community cards to have the best combination (see combinations here).
8. Another community card (now called Turn, there are four now) is dealt. Bets are set again.
9. Another community card (now called River, there are five now) is dealt. Bets are set again.
10. Once everybody’s got the same bet, cards are shown. The best combination wins all the pot money. Sometimes only one person hasn’t fold; then the winner can decide whether to show his cards or not.

I think this 2 videos can help you out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vPpAhwhM1M

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ2QRBsJoOk

You can play poker wherever in Vegas. I remember seeing people playing poker while I was having lunch in a restaurant. But not everywhere in Vegas is as cool as the places I’m going to explain you. The best poker experience can be found at…

Poker at MGM

MGM Grand Hotel is the second biggest hotel in the world. Only with this information, I think you can imagine how gorgeous it is to play poker with high chips in there. You can feel like a millionaire, either if you are or are not.

Make a room reservation at MGM poker rooms! You will never forget it. It includes tableside food and beverage service and even massage therapists – it’s much better playing with comfort, don’t you think? Opened 24 hours a day.

Once you’ve win you can day-party at Wet Republica Ultra Pool. Life is cool; live it up.

Poker at Luxor

You just can’t miss Luxor Poker (make a room reservation here)! In Luxor, the fourth biggest hotel in the world, and it’s plenty of hot girls. Did I just say that? Oh pardon me, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. The only thing I gotta tell you is: if you’re single and willing, in Luxor you can have a lot of fun. Promised.

Do you know ladies receive a special bonus at poker tables just for being ladies? I know you just want the money, but winning money rounded by beautiful girls is a lot more satisfying. And they like players with chips, I’m telling you.

No doubt the place you gotta go when you’re done playing is the plenty of celebrities LAX Nightclub. You’ll never forget it.

PokerStars.com is the best online poker site. Enter here and you can have a free $600 bonus to play poker. Don’t believe it? Read the conditions at the official site.

What you have to do is register using the code “STARS600“, and PokerStars will give you the double of your deposit up to $600 dollars. The limitation is tat you can only deposit the money during the first 90 days from your registration.

Anyway I personally advise you to play with free money (with the same PokerStars program) for a while; then, when you consider you can win money that way, you can start playing money for real. Consider you will be playing money that this site has given you away!

There are a lot of Poker variants, basically divided into three types:

• Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. Most common are Five-card draw and Badugi.
• Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. Most common are Seven-card stud and Five-card stud.
• Community card poker: Games in which each player’s incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. Most common are Texas hold ‘em (the most famous) and Omaha hold ‘em.

The most common of all them is Texas hold’em, which I’m going to explain on next post Poker 102: Basic Rules.

Low and High-Low

Moreover there are lowball poker games too, which reward poor poker hands. Some of these are A-to-5 low, A-to-6 low (also called 6-4 low), 2-to-7 low (also called 7-5 low), 2-to-6 low (also called 6-5 low). There are variations of them, for example:

• Razz: Seven-card stud + A5 Lo
• California Lowball: Draw poker + A5 Lo, with one joker.
• Kansas City Lowball: Draw poker + 2-7 Lo
• Triple Draw: Draw Poker + either A-5 or 2-7 Lo
• London Lowball: Seven-card stud + A6 Lo

It is also common playing High-Low split poker games, where the player with the best traditional poker hand (called high hand) splits the pot with the best low hand. Most common are Omaha Hi-Lo and Seven-card stud hi-lo.

Mixed poker games

The most notable mixed poker variation is H.O.R.S.E poker. It is a combination of Hold’em Texas, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud and Stud 8-or-better. Every one half hour, the game mode is changed. H.O.S.E. and H.O.E. are also common.