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Texas Holdem Terms

Terms that are often used in Texas Holdem games are:

Action – takes place when a player stays in a hand.
All In – to place all your money in the pot.
Bad Beat – have a hand that is way behind and with a little chance of winning.
Bankroll – refers to player’s money.
Bet – to place wager.
Big Blind – left of the dealer and the bigger of the two blinds.
Blind – refers to the forced bet for the first two positions.
Burn Card – to discard the top card to prevent cheating.
Buy In – amount you pay to play in a game.
Call – to put money equal to the best placed before you.
Check – you don’t bet though no one has bet in front of you.
Check Raise – you check and not everyone checked or called then you raise.
Dealer Button – determines who is the current dealer.
Early Position – first player to act in a betting round.
Fifth Street – the fifth community card, also known as the River.
Flop – the first three community cards.
Fourth Street – the fourth community card, also known as the Turn.
Heads Up – 2 players are left in the game.
Hole Cards – two cards in player’s hand.
Kicker – the top high card after matched hands.
Late Position – final players to receive cards.
Limp In – call pre-flop.
Middle Position – player that acts half way.
Muck – fold the hand.
Nuts – the best possible hand.
Position – position of the player at the table.
Pot – money in the current hand which players are playing for.
Pot Committed – a point when the player has to stay in the pot for he has so much money into the pot.
Raise – to bet.
Rake – amount of money collected by the house.
Rebuy – option in a tournament to buy back after losing money.
Reraise – raise a raise.
River – fifth and final community card.
Semi-bluff – bluffing without a strong hand but can still be drawn to.
Showdown – stage where remaining players will have to show their hands.
Small Blind – the smaller of two blinds, left of the dealer.
Turn – the fourth community card, also known as “fourth street.”

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I have K7 unsuited and flop is A – 7- 4. I normally wind up calling it but later I lose as it comes back to haunt me. Do you think I should call with a hand like such? Why?

By the way, with suited connectors do you think I should call preflop bet?

Many thanks,
Drew
Drew,

1. You should probably lay down this hand on this flop when it is bet to you in No Limit as there is an ace. If it is Limit, you can stay in due to the limited bets and the fact you have odds.
   
2. A-K, A-Q, A-J and maybe K-Q, K-J, and K-10 are the only suited connectors I am going to normally consider calling a raise preflop with against a single opponent.

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I guess I have a very simple question to ask. When and for what reason will you check?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,
January
January,

There are lots of reasons to check. You may want to check to induce a check-raise, you can check when you miss with your hand, you may want to check to induce a bet. You may check to slow play. You may check dark to throw your opponent off. You can check because your opponent’s hair is blue. The reasons depends on the hand conditions and is up to you.

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Once I was burnt with 2 pair so I want to know if how one should actually play it. I was thinking maybe I played it incorrectly.

Well, say you get dealt 2 pair on the flop and slow playing is not a good idea as players can pick up sets, straights, much more that can beat you. What will you do then? How will you bet?

I’ll be glad to hear from you.

Thanks a ton.

Warmest regards,
Jin
Jin,

If I flop two pair without an apparent straight or flush draw on the board, I will tend to slow play it. If I am in a loose game or against calling stations, I will still bet as they will likely call me down or even raise. If there is a potential straight or flush draw, I will bet the hand to try and push players out.

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I was in a Pot Limit Holdem online the other day. Blinds then were $0.5/$1 and bets were $1/$2. At first, I was just observing but later I joined other players. Another guy joined in after me.

At certain point, I was dealt a pair of two’s and was UTG. I checked and then decided to fold in case someone raise. Following player placed $1 bet, everyone else called or checked. Then I raised to $10. Two others folded and everyone else then called, flop came and brought 2 5 T rainbow. Small and big blind then folded while I raised to $90. Four players then folded. Suddenly, three callers appeared. At such point, pot was $450. Turn came and brought Ad. I stopped for a while to think and then just decided to once again raise the bet to the size of the pot, $450. Two players folded while I called. River came and brought 7h. Once again I placed a bet while last player called. In the end, I won with a set.

Well, I know I should be happy but I don’t understand my feelings and my thinking. Why players back then are fond of calling? Maybe the reason has something to do with the time I joined the table, I joined quite late.

Any thoughts?

Best regards,
Zowe
Zowe,

Chances are players were overvaluing their pair’s. Also, it may have had something to do with the lateness of the day. Sometimes players will chase their losses later in the day and will call bets that they shouldn’t. You played the hand well. The only way you were losing is if someone had a pocket pair that connected with that board or if someone had 3-4. You would have been raised if either were the case. Nice hand sir.

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I played poker yesterday. Early position, I had AK off suit and then raised it preflop. No raises appeared but for the flop 4 players stayed. Flop came but not that significant, 10-9-3 rainbow. At such point I had 25% chance for a top pair top kicker by the river. However I was not sure then if possible top pair top kicker can make it till the end.

After a while, bet appeared right in front of me. I then had to choose whether I’ll call, raise or fold. Well, I can call however I can only obtain additional infos about player’s hand if somebody else raises. Folding was the worst choice then as I only have a 25% chance to win and so I just raised. Two players then folded and opener called my bet. Table then was up for a heads up play.

Later, he didn’t raise pre-flop and didn’t raise me back after the flop. I then I figured out it was impossible he had flopped a set. He might be holding then either a 10 or a 9, probably with a bad kicker but not necessarily.
Turn came and I had K. He then checked and then called my bet. Well, he doesn’t have K 9 and so I won with a pair of Kings. He had pair of Tens with crap kicker.

Do you believe that raising pre and or post flop when it is cheap can really give you lots of information about other people’s hands?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Lowell
Lowell,

Raising in your situation can give you information on your opponents hand. Like you, when he didn’t reraise, I would have put him on a pair. Personally, I would have bet out on the flop since I was the preflop raiser. The player with the pair of tens would have probably only called the bet thinking that you may have an overpair.

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First I would like to commend you for this nice site. Keep up the good work.

Well, I’m actually here to ask you something. I’m just a newbie and have actually tried playing small pocket pairs recently. The experience was really intriguing.

At a certain table, I had 22 with a similar flop of 2 6 T rainbow. Unfortunately, because other players who called preflop had 66, I didn’t win such hand. Also he called post flop. I thought I then bet the river but later on discovered things went differently, also called post flop.

After the flop I was really troubled. I was thinking what if someone started with starting hands like 55, TT, 52s, T5s and even T2s that was being slow played and could eventually beat me with a draw on the turn or else on the river.

Now, is it the nature of the betting scenario that creates the confidence to play small pairs or is it an odds or probability scenario? Any thoughts? By the way, any specific way I should play small pocket pairs? Most of the time, I play limit holdem tournament style.

Thanks and more power!

Regards,
Phillip
Phillip,

Small pairs in limit are usually playable, sometimes to a raise in later position. You still want to hit the flop hard with them. When you do flop your set, bet your hand aggressively. The odds of a player flopping a set is around 11% so don’t worry about another player flopping a set too. It happens and when they flop a bigger set, you will lose usually, but that is just part of the game. Most of the time, you will win a nice pot with your set.

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For several times, I heard that it’s actually better to be on the button or in late position and that one should play tight earlier and then later part play loose. On the flip side, it seems to be different in some tournaments featured on television, it’s playing loose earlier.

Well for me the only way to win is to play loose, then bet big and do some scaring works to some players. In case I’m holding J8 and flop is AQ8 or even Q 10 7, I think the only way for my hand to win is to bet big. I believe this will make players not on Ace fold.

On a sided note, if one were to play tight in early position, player on button or in late position might bet big and so I will be forced to fold. What do you think?

Regards,
Jet
Jet,

You have it backwards, play tight in early position and looser in later position. Doing otherwise will be a long term loser. Don’t pay attention to what you see on TV. TV poker is heavily edited and they only show the entertaining hands or the significant hands.

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It’s really hard for me to win and I don’t exactly understand why. I’m a decent player who’s actually learning how to play well. Oftentimes I can make it to the pay out level or if not to the final two.

Just last night, I made it to the final two once again. Game actually started with 10 players. I remember I was getting decent card then and was playing aggressively. At some point I got my first bad hand, a straight on the river with 3 hearts and a spade. On the flop he didn’t placed any bet but only called. I then placed a big bet, $2400, about half of my chips. I thought he was only up for a flush draw. Then he called and hit his flush. On the flop, I hit a straight 10-9-8-7-6. I was then all in for $3000. After a while, with A8 he called. Turn and river came, 2-J, which meant we gonna have to chop the pot then. Next hand, I had J7s hearts while he had K2o. Flop was J-7h-2h. I went all in at some point while he called with nothing. Much later he hit one of two Kings on the river so it was finally the end.

Do you think I was just unlucky or I actually just folded winners? By the way, if I have two pair, what are the chances another player has a set against me? Any idea? How about tips?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Zedrick
Zedrick,

It sounds like your opponent got lucky in most of those cases. Of course, in a tournament, you sometimes have to get lucky to win. A player is 11% to hit a set on the flop. If I am heads up and flop two pair, I am push the hand in most scenarios.

It sounds like you are playing well. Eventually the streak of luck your opponent is on will end and you should take down a few winners.

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