1 week to master Texas Hold Em...Help!

guncollector

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Okay, so my 20-year high-school buddies are having a get-together--and the mainstay of the boys night will be a Texas Hold Em tourney.

I have exactly 1-1/2 weeks (its Sat. night after next) to master Texas Hold Em. That is variation of Poker, right?

Any/all help, pointers, reference to resources, etc. appreciated. TIA!
 

RH

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Watch ESPN2. They show the world series of poker nonstop.
 

paulr

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I have a friend who plays it a lot. It's a very complicated game to master. The Sklansky books are supposed to be good. However, I'd say the best you can hope for is pick up the basics, play real tight, and hope the other players aren't very good either. If they are good, they will beat you, but if you play tight, at least you won't get eaten alive.
 

glockboy

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with beginer luck, I think you'll beat them all, good luck.
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PlayboyJoeShmoe

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The best player in the universe can be creamed by the luckiest player at a table!

You gotta get cards!

If you know anything about poker in general, Holdem is something like 7 card Stud in a way. The rules of what beats what are the same.

Beware of certain facts. I play online (Yahoo) from time to time. I've had my butt handed to me with pocket aces. I've blown everyone else away with full house 33322. It's a very fluid game!
 

bwaites

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Its easy to play, hard to master for big bucks.

I play once a year in a big boys weekend tourney, everyone else plays regularly. I've finished 3rd and 2nd the last two years.

The important tips are:
1) Don't overplay your hand initially. Fold easy, bid hard.
2) Once you have a feel for how the others play, (you'll get it when you closely watch what happens on calls!) you may change strategy. If someone is bluffing or overplaying, you'll see it soon. If everyone else is drinking, keep filling their cups! That makes them both braver and stupider!
3) Don't go all in unless you have an unbeatable hand,(I consider that a high flush, a high full house, or any 4 of a kind{I know, Iknow, they can all be beat, but your odds are very good}) the more players at the table, the more spread the odds are that your hand is the best. I actually won my table with 4 2's when the 2nd flop card was a 2 and I held 2 2's. The river was the last 2. I went all in and beat a full house Ace&Jacks. Talk about pissed!!!!

There are others her who play way more than me, but these are the rules I play by as a raw newbie and I didn't get hurt.

Bill
 

daloosh

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Cool, I have two weeks to learn (Oct. 8th) so I have a couple more days than guncollector, but I feel rather clueless. Must go home and watch poker on TV!

daloosh

But please keep the suggestions coming!
 

Roy

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The BRAVO channel airs Celebrity Poker several times a week. Thet play Tx Hold'm and start each show off the the basic rules. Expert commentator gives a running critque of the play.
 

tylerdurden

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Watching TV is the worst way to learn. They only show "exciting" hands.

Here's a decent starting point:

http://conjelco.com/faq/index-poker-strategy.html

If you really want to learn, get a copy of Sklansky's "Holdem Poker for Advanced Players" - don't worry about the "advanced players" part, it's fine for beginners as long as you know the basic rules already. Another good one is "small stakes holdem" by Sklansky et al.

If you're going to be playing tournament style no-limit holdem, you may instead want to get Brunson's supersystem or Sklansky's tournament poker for advanced players.
 

_mike_

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Might not be a bad idea to do what PlayboyJoeShmoe does and head on over to Yahoo games. At least you could try some of the suggestions here, and some from T.V and some from the book/books and see how things go. That way, at least you won't lose anything but your pride.

Good luck!

Mike
 

BobVA

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Pick up a copy of Hoyle's CASINO 2003 or later. It's got Texas Hold 'Em and can run in a demo/help-ya-out mode. That will let you actually play against several computer generated opponents. Think I paid like $20 for it a Staples before a trip to Vegas. Comes with a handy pocket book on gambling, too.

Cheers,
Bob
 

thesurefire

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Heres a few tips:
Play conservatively till you have chips to burn, then loosen up a little.
Get a feel of what kind of hands the other players will play.
Vary your play. A single good bluff can make you lots of money.
Know when to bail. Its better to lose $20 then 200.
Pay attention to who has how many chips. The "All in" is a great way to make a few extra bucks when your have an overwhelming lead.
PRACTICE!!! Play at the $1 tables and learn the ropes.
The basis of all poker, try and persuade the other player to think you have what you dont.

Hope that helps /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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