Playing Texas Hold Em Poker Online

Become one of the many, many people playing Texas Hold em poker online. You may have seen it on TV, you may have a friend who has introduced you to the game. Maybe you saw the film 'Rounders' with Matt Damon and Edward Norton and thought that Texas Hold em was just about the coolest thing you could do. The lure of big prizes all at the turn of a card is hard to resist for even non hardened gamblers. But to play Texas hold em poker online successfully you have to get a few things in place first.

Obvious things to begin with-make sure you are the of the legal age to play and that it is legal to access these sites in your area. Once you have chosen a site that suits your pocket and level of experience decide how much you want to spend. This may sound too obvious but separating your gambling money from day to day money is one of the ways you can play Texas hold em poker online without worrying when to stop. Less stressful too. You don't want to have to tell your kids why Santa has only got them Cheetos this Christmas.

And then the game. The basics of Texas Hold em poker online are that you join a table, with real or virtual players, and wait for the posting of the small blind bet from the person to the dealers left. The big blind is then placed by the next player and then finally some cards are dealt! Oh-small blind is half the set minimum bet, and big blind is the full minimum bet.

Each player is dealt two cards, face down, for their eyes only. Now you try to evaluate how good a hand you potentially have even though you have no idea what other cards you may join them with later in the game. Following a round of betting the dealer then moves on to the flop, providing no one has raised the bid and then the dealer would have to wait for another round of betting to pass around the table.

The next part of playing Texas Hold em online involves the dealer dealing three cards face up on the table-'the flop'. These are called community cards as they are available for everyone to use. Here comes the part where you try to add to the value of your hand by using what's laid before you.

More raising, betting and folding (quitting the hand!) ensues as first one more card is turned over -the turn- and finally one last one-the river. At this point the bluffing and double bluffing kick in as you try to assess the strength of your hand against all your opponent's. As the bidding process goes on, the real fun of Texas Hold em poker online really becomes apparent. The adrenaline is flowing and it all comes down to the reveal to see if your hand is the one that takes the pot back to your corner.