Buying Poker Chips Clay, Custom, And Casino Chip Sets
by J Finney

If you're in the market for poker chips, it's a good idea to get the chip which best suits your needs. Poker chips come in varying weights and are made from different types of materials. The intended use should be the primary factor taken into consideration while making your poker chip purchase.

Poker chips come in different sizes which are measured by weight in grams. The most popular chip used in casinos is the 11.5 gram chips which are 39mm in diameter. These poker chips are used for their pleasing weight and size, plus they are not the most expensive poker chips on the block. With the amount of handling and abuse poker chips suffer, casinos would rather not shell out the extra money for the most expensive poker chips.

Actually, who could blame the casinos for wanting to reduce the costs involved in keeping an item which can be put in the players pocket and taken from the casino? Collecting poker chips is growing in popularity, so logically the amount of poker chips leaving the casino premises would also be on the rise.

If you're in the market for a regular game night with your friends type of chip, you may want to go with a less expensive poker chip yourself. If that is the case, then you have the option of going with the low budget ABS plastic poker chip. If you're intent is to impress your friends, or have a local charity poker night gala, then you may opt for the next step up the ladder which is the mother-of-pearl chip. The mother-of-pearl chips are also referred to as ‘plaques'.

The clay chip is next in line, and most of them are made of ABS plastic with a metal insert to give it an extra bit of weight, which makes for a more pleasant feel to the hand. Some clay poker chips are made of a ‘clay composite', and are what is currently considered to be the top of the line in poker chips.

A new poker chip to make it on the scene is called ‘Nexgen', which is made up of a type of clay composite material with a metal insert added to give it a weight of either 13gm or 15gm. It is yet to be seen whether this new poker chip will become the next favorite among avid poker players, or become the new choice for casinos.

You can purchase poker chips at novelty stores, online auctions, casinos and online gaming and hobby stores. Of course the price you pay for your poker chips will depend on the type of chips you choose, and the vendor. Before buying any of the higher end poker chips you should always do your research, and also ask other poker players where they purchase their poker chips.

About The Author:
Read online poker room reviews at http://www.poker-reviews-online.com and get caught up on the latest poker tournament news at http://www.poker-weblog.com.

Posted by metula at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

5 Texas Holdem Tips!  

 by James Obrian

Texas hold Em tips!

Texas Holdem Tip #1

Don't Fall In Love With Your Start

Another very hard lesson to learn. Who doesn't find it nearly impossible to fold two queens, or AKs? Or even a pair of tens? Who doesn't hate the idea of folding on the turn after flopping two pair? Or a set? Everyone wants to see these great starts to the river. Problem is, there are other people in the game. Though it may make your eyes light up when you get top pocket cards, or have three of a kind after the flop, these hands are no guarantee of winning. Failing to re-evaluate the strength of your hand at every step of the way is a sure way to lose a lot of money.

Texas Holdem Tip #2

Stop To Think

Too often players act without thinking, getting carried away by emotion instead of considering a bet calmly and rationally. This happens especially in live poker, where you may feel vaguely defined urges not to "be a coward," "take a shot," or "to go big." These urges often are setting you up to lose. Texas holdem tip always, when confronted with a big decision, pause to review your reaction, your instinct. Very often our natural instincts need to be rerouted into poker instincts. For the beginner, this process involves a full stop, and an open-minded consideration of the situation. Good players feed on the "natural reactions" of the less skilled. So don't react. Think.

Texas Holdem Tip #3

Consider The Pot

Something I often see, but will never understand, is players using all-in bluffs to win tiny pots. This, to me, is the height of bad poker playing. Pot odds are a huge part of the game. When you're taking a risk, you want to be entirely sure you'll be justly rewarded for it. That's why some players can make a living at holdem. They know the odds, and know consistently staying in on gigantic pots, and quickly giving up small pots, will pay off in the end. This concept is closely tied to expected value (EV). These good players may lose the big pot nine out of ten times, but the tenth time more than pays for the other losses. Factor the current and potential size of the pot into every decision you make.

Texas Holdem Tip #4

Strong Players Bet Big On BIG Hands

This is why they're strong players. If you've made your hand, and are up against a tight player who's raising you big, take a good look at the board. Possible flush, straight, full house? Chances are she's hit something. The best players bet big when chances are very slim that they can be beat. This means you should very often take their implicit advice and get out--especially as a beginner. Unless you've got the nuts, or near it, yourself, that is. In that case, raise the hell out of them.

Texas Holdem Tip #5

Be A Rock, Except...

This is the best texas holdem tip I can give you. Being a rock is a very good way to start out. Though it may seem unexciting to some, who long for the high-stakes stack-pushing (highly edited) drama of the TV-poker world, poker is a game of inches. A waiting game. Throwing 80% of your hands, at least, is the only way to win in multi-player games. Bet only on the best hands, semi-bluff very occasionally, and bluff almost never. This is a winning recipe against 90% of the poker players you'll meet at low-limit tables. As a beginner, consider yourself a hunter sitting calmly in a blind, waiting hours for prey to fly overhead. If you go the other way, take your shotgun and go walking around in the jungle, very often you'll get eaten by a lion.

About the Author

James O'Brian is a writer and a avid texas holdem player. He owns Texas Holdem Advisor located at: http://www.TexasHoldemAdvisor.com and has launched an unbelievable offer for a free 105 page in-depth ebook on Poker Strategy, absolutely Free. Free Holdem Poker eBook

Posted by metula at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

           

Play of the hand

Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down. These are the player's hole cards. These are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown, making texas holdem a closed poker game. The hand begins with a "pre-flop" betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to
the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. After the pre-flop betting round, the dealer deals a burn card, followed by three face-up community cards called the flop. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player to the dealer's left and continue clockwise. After the flop betting round ends, another card is burned, and a single community card called the turn (or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final burn card is followed by a single community card called the river (or fifth street), followed
by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.

Betting structures

In casino play, it is common to use a fixed limit and two blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called a small bet, while the limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is called a big bet and is generally double the small bet. The small blind is usually equal to half of a small bet, and the big blind is equal to a full small bet. (In some cases, the small blind is some other fraction of a small bet, e.g. 10 is a common small blind when the small bet is 15; this occurs mainly in brick and
mortar rooms where higher-denomination chips are used. The double-blind structure described above is relatively recent; until the 1980s, a single-blind structure was most common.)

Occasionally, the fourth bet is larger still (a big river bet), and the big blind is sometimes less than the small bet, in which case it is treated the same way a sub-minimum bring-in is treated in stud poker. Antes may be used instead of, or in addition to, blinds; this is especially true in tournament play. The game also plays very well at the no-limit level, and many tournaments (including the above mentioned World Series championship event) are played with this structure.

In no-limit hold 'em, any player may wager all of the chips that he has on the table at any time. This is known as an "all-in" wager. If another player still in the hand wants to call the all-in bet, but doesn't have enough chips on the table to match the bet, he may call for the amount of chips he has in front
of him. The original bettor then takes back the part of his bet that exceeds the amount of the call, unless there is another player also in the hand who calls the bet, in which case a side pot is created between those two players for the amount in excess of that matched by the caller with the fewer chips.

The showdown

If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the seven cards comprising his two hole cards and the board (the five community cards). A
player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community cards form the player's best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board.

If the best hand is shared by more than one player (e.g. if no player is able to beat the board), then the pot is split equally amongst all remaining players. However, it is common for players to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked hands. In particular, kickers are often needed to break ties. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand, because often
the board nullifies kickers. (See the second example below.) Straights often split the pot, and multiple flushes may occur. In the case of flushes, the flush is awarded to the player with the highest flush card which completes a flush and beats the board's flush cards. If there is a flush on board, (i.e. if all the board cards are the same suit), then under cards in that suit do not play, and if no one has a card in the flush suit beating the board, then the pot is split. The sole exception to this rule is the case of a straight-flush.

The best possible hand given the five community cards is referred to as the nuts. The lowest possible nuts is three queens (this occurs with, for example, 2 3 7 8 Q on the board, with no more than two cards of any one suit).

Online Poker

We suggest that you practice at any online poker room at
the free tables before wagering your own money. Many online poker rooms will offer you sign up bonuses so that you can play for money, but minimize your risk and capital outlay

Posted by metula at 01:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Playing Longhand Limit Holdem Poker Games   by J Finney

To play longhand limit holdem you will have to understand the game as it is. In starting hands most beginners make mistakes. They simply play them too often. As the name says longhand limit hold'em is a game where patience is values the most, so a player should have patience until he or she gets the proper hand to play.

Once on the flop you can either have a good hand or have a second-best hand or just have a drawing hand. If you have the best hand it means you have either a three of a kind or a full house even. So in this situation you know you will probably win. It is recommended that you make others stick around as much as you can and get from them as much money as you can.

If you have the second-best hand then you should either treat it as a winning hand or fold. Yes, you should fold even with a great hand because being second won't bring you any pots. A second best hand is something similar to Ac,Qd and on the flop Kh, Qc, 4s.

A drawing hand is a hand that holds a great drawing odd. So, if you have for example two hearts and there are two more on the table. Then you can draw for a flush but be careful not to draw for a second best hand because it is not worth it as illustrated above.

These were the winning possibilities you have on the flop in longhand limit poker. If you are already on the flop and you have nothing at all or a low pair that has no value, then it means you have chosen a wrong hand to play, it means you should have probably folded pre flop and now all you can do is fold. Pay attention - a hand that has a drawing possibility is not "nothing".

Above you have been presented with some basic strategy for long hand limit poker. The good thing about this game is that almost all situations can be compared with others and no tricky hands can put you in difficulty. You only have to remember that when so many people are playing and you are not holding the best hand, someone probably does. So fold when you should, especially pre-flop with very low hands or hands that have a low value. It should be easy enough if you are just paying attention to your game.

About the Author

Read up on all of your favorite poker players including Annie Duke and Phil Ivey at http://www.poker-player-profiles.com/ today.

Posted by metula at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)