If you’re concerned about cheating in poker, especially online, the only realistic type of cheating that does go on is collusion. It’s not as common as it was before, but on a rare occasion I still run across some idiots that think they can get ahead by playing together and sharing info.

It’s done by two or more players all playing at the same table and communicating with each other via telephone or something like MSN. They know each other’s hands and try and force players out of hands by raising and re-raising each other, then one of them folds on the river once they’re head to head.

Unnoticed it can make a small amount of profit in the correct setting. It doesn’t take long to recognize when you’re in a situation where this is going on, and most sites can recognize this behavior once it’s pointed out to them through hand histories.

Deciding when to bet in Hold’em is dependent on the situation in which you find yourself. If you’re playing at a table where the players are calling down to the river often, betting should be done only with a hand you feel is in the lead. This situation is not good for bluffing.

If you’re at a table full of tight-style players who can be pushed off of pots easily, it’s a good idea to bet at any flop that doesn’t have an Ace or King in it. Tight players play big cards, and when the flop has none in it you can pick it up by betting into it.

Another good time to bet is when the flop has a pair or three to a straight or flush. Betting into these flops will scare off everyone except the opponent that may have the big hand. Then you can get away from it if you get called.

A proper pre-flop strategy is dependent upon the type of game you’re in. If the game is loose affair, then a tight pre-flop strategy is your best approach. Waiting for big hands in a game that has action almost every hand will make you money. When you get dealt big hands, cash in on your big pairs and “big slick” hands by raising and re-raising the overly aggressive players who are trying bully the rest of the table.

If the game is tight and all the players are waiting for good cards to enter a hand, an aggressive pre-flop strategy will serve you best. Raise the blinds when you’re in the later positions, and get out of hands you’re in when you get raised or re-raised by one of the tight players.

Steal as many pots as you can and control the game by isolating players. Once you have them isolated your chances of winning improve.

Calculating odds in Texas Hold’em may seem like a mountain to learn if you’re not a mathematician, but it isn’t as tough as many think. Calculating your outs is as easy as counting the cards that would give you a hand that would beat the current nut hand someone may be holding.

If you hold A, K of hearts, and there are two hearts on the board, you have nine possible outs to make the flush. Some outs are not true outs, as in the situation where an opponent may have two pair, and if your flush card comes it may give an opponent a bigger full house.

You take the number of outs and calculate that number against the number of cards left in the deck. Simply:
Total Outs
Remaining Cards

The remaining cards are always all the cards other than yours and the board, like you were playing alone.

Kickers are very important in the game of poker. Often two players will have a pair of the highest card on the board, usually an Ace or King. The other card in their hand is their kicker, and unless the board cards are bigger than these kickers, they will come into play in the hand. That’s why it’s important to play two big cards pre-flop; weak kickers will cost you lots of money in a tight game.

If the kickers don’t come into play, then the hand is a tie – a “chop” in poker terms. Chops happen most often when the board has paired and there is another big card out there. A common chop is two players with an Ace and a low kicker. The board cards will often be bigger than the kickers. Other common chops include boards that have made big hands like a straight or flush or trips, omitting the player’s cards.

The games that are most like hold’em are the Omaha versions of poker. It’s essentially the same game except that you get dealt four cards instead of two to begin each hand. All the rules are the same as hold’em, except that a player can only use two of the four cards to complete their hand. It’s not an option to use one or three of them; it must be two from your hand and three from the board.

Omaha has many variations including Omaha High, High/Low Split, and Pot-Limit, no-limit or limit. The one that most plays like hold’em is the straightforward version of Omaha High. The common opinion is that the pot-limit version is the best way to play Omaha because the betting is limited enough for players to call bets on draws in hands that they would have been forced out of in a no-limit version.

Playing cash games is a lot different than a tournament. Even the average home game is different than a cash game, which usually resembles a sit and go structure. When it’s real money instead of chips, one should realize that more care needs to go into deciding to get into a hand. The game has more of a trapping mentality to it than a tournament, and players tend to chase draws less.

The best part about the cash game is the ability to leave the game whenever you want. You don’t get that option in any other structure, and if you’re up money you can take your winnings and go at any time. Remember to choose the cash game that’s right for your bankroll; you should have at least 200 times the big blind to play at a particular table in order to survive a bad run of cards.

The showdown is when two or more players complete all the betting rounds and the cards are turned over to see who has won. Only a percentage of your hands are going to make it to showdown; many you will pick up when everyone else folds or you will muck out yourself. Sessions will vary, but my play usually produces numbers between 15% and 25% of the hands in which I see the flop going to the showdown. That’s a lot of my play, so I want to have a high showdown winning percentage.

The showdown percentage can even be below 50% and still produce a winning session if you’re picking up enough uncontested pots. Showdown percentages are higher for players with a tight style, and often low for maniac or very aggressive style players who earn their bets through a higher uncontested pot winning percentage.

The hold’em explosion occurred for two reasons. The first was the creation of online poker. Suddenly people who enjoyed the game could play whenever they wanted to from the comfort of their own home. All one needed was a computer, internet access and a credit card. Before this, poker was an activity that either consisted of going to the casino and being limited by the action, or required a lot of effort to get enough players together for a home game.

The catalyst that set off the poker boom was 2003 WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker. He got there by winning a $40 online satellite which paid his way into the main event. ESPN took the Cinderella story and ran with it, showing poker players everywhere that the tournament can be won by anyone, not just seasoned pros. The game has grown ever since and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Hold’em was created in the town of Robson, Texas, sometime in the mid-20th century. It was introduced to Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texas poker players which included Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim.

The only place that you could find hold’em action in the late ’60s and early ’70s was at the Golden Nugget. When Tom Moore held the first poker tournament at the Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention in 1969, Jack Binion bought the rights for the tournament the next year, and the World Series of Poker was born.

The game slowly grew in popularity over the years until Chris Moneymaker won the main event at the WSOP in 2003. The story of the amateur winning $2.5 million, and the ability for players to play online, launched the game to levels of popularity the old Texas pros could never have imagined.