Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Everything’s Bigger in Texas: Welcome to Texas Hold’em!
Chapter 1 A Bird’s-Eye View of Texas Hold’em
Considering Why You Want to Play
Working with Game Dynamics
The importance of position
Playing move by move
Moving Up a Notch
Gleaning your opponents
Playing the roles
Figuring in math
Places You Can Play
Home games
Casinos and poker rooms
Online
Chapter 2 Ranking and Reading a Hand
Hand Rankings
High card only — no pairs
One pair
Two pair
Three-of-a-kind
Straight
Flush
Full house
Four-of-a-kind
Straight flush
Royal flush
Reading a Hand
Straightforward hands
Subtle hands
Counterfeiting
Paying a Hand
The winner
Tie hands
Chapter 3 Just Tell Me How to Play: Texas Hold’em Basics
The Order of Play
The Dealer Button
Dealing the Cards
The hole cards
The flop
The turn
The river
The showdown
Posting Blinds
Betting
Spread-Limit Hold’em
Limit Hold’em
Pot-Limit Hold’em
No-Limit Hold’em
The Importance of Your Bankroll
Recommended bankroll sizes
Moving up and moving down in limits
Poker Etiquette
Handling your cards
Handling your chips
Playing in turn
Tipping the dealer
Keeping an eye on the game
Watching your manners
Part 2 Texas Hold’em: Play by Play
Chapter 4 Beginning with Two
The Importance of Position
Early position
Middle position
Late position
The hands you should play, by relative position at a table
Considering the Players in a Hand
Keeping track of the number of players
Watching the types of players
Hands You Should and Shouldn’t Play
Probable winners
Quite possible losers
Borderline hands
Using “Fold or Raise” to Make a Call
Chapter 5 Flopping ’Til You’re Dropping
Fitting or Folding
Great flops
Good flops
Very borderline flops
Downright dangerous flops
Just plain bad flops
Betting the Flop
Sizing up the table for a bet
Making the bet
Calling a Bet
Raising the Dough
Check-Raising
Getting a Free Card
The free card setup
Defending against a free card
Chapter 6 Taking Your Turn
Watching a Hand Fill Out
To check-raise or bet: That is the question
Made flushes: The notable exception
Watching for “hidden” improvements
Keeping Track of the Action
Determining a hit
Comprehending the miss
Chapter 7 Dipping in the River
Plotting Your Course During Final Betting
All checking, no dancing
Walking through the firestorm
Betting in moderation
Deciding if you’re being bluffed
Showing a Hand . . . or Not?
Watching for Mistakes
Movin’ On to Higher Stakes: Advanced Strategies of Hold’em
Chapter 8 Playing the Players
Classifying Players
Aggressive versus passive players
Tight as an oyster or loose as a goose?
Combining your evaluations
Looking for Tells
Watching the right place at the right time
Who’s acting and who isn’t?
Watching other people’s hands
Listening to what people say
Involuntary reactions
Failing all else . . .
Zeroing In on Specifics
Figuring out the table in order
Looking at individuals
Chapter 9 Bluffing: When Everything Isn’t What It Appears to Be
The Basics of Bluffing
Your turn not to tell
Don’t bluff people worse than you
Making your bluff count
When to Bluff
Bluffing based on your image of “predictability”
Looking at your hand from the outside
Bluffing in the right game
Who to Bluff
Preying on weak personalities
Taking advantage of other situations
The Semi-Bluff
When to semi-bluff
Why semi-bluff?
You’re Caught — Now What?
Chapter 10 Maximizing Your Win: Check-Raising and Trapping
Mastering the Art of Check-Raising
Bluffing on a check-raise . . .
Playing a good hand on a check-raise . . .
Considering a check-raise
Check-raising round by round
Trapping through Slow Play
Timing a slow-play
Understanding the Theory of Two
Executing the slow-play
Maximizing Your Returns
Deciding when to sit back
Rafting the river: Check or bet?
Chapter 11 Camouflaging Your Play and Dodging Traps
Setting Expectations throughout a Game
Setting a style
Changing your style
Avoiding Pitfalls
When aggressive players merely call
Raising and reraising after rounds of checking in Limit
Judging when you’re dominated
Chapter 12 Considering Mathematics
Differentiating Fact from Fiction in Math and Poker
Knowing that close enough is good enough
Understanding players is better than understanding numbers
Taking a Shortcut with Math
Counting your “outs”
Calculating your pot odds
Combining outs and pot odds
Using quick math tricks
Considering implied odds
Flipping a coin
Using Math to Your Advantage
Memorizing a little goes a long way
Calculating deeper
Chapter 13 Advancing Your Knowledge
Playing with Game Theory
Grasping the meaning of game theory
Understanding how to use it
Cashing In on Equity Theory
Cross-breeding the animal of psychology with the beast of mathematics
Going back to square one
Part 4 Casinos, Card Rooms, and the Internet: Places to Play Hold’em
Chapter 14 There’s No Place Like Home: Playing in Private Games
Determining the Level and Type of Play
Identifying stakes and games
Playing with friends
Meeting strangers
What You Should Give
Skimming the pot
Bringing on the refreshments
What You Can Get
Enjoying the situation
Watching the action
Looking for the unusual
Chapter 15 Opting for the Internet: Online Games
Choosing a Site
Narrowing down your options
Transferring money
Exploring the bonuses
Watching Your Back
Being wary of the robot revolution
Spotting collusion
Chapter 16 Harrah’s, Here I Come: Playing in Card Rooms
Playing in a Professional Card Room
Introducing the staff
Getting started
Exploring your possibilities
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Betting properly
Playing in turn
Raising properly
Minding your own money
Playing only your hand
Trying to Score a Jackpot
High-hand jackpots
Specific-hand jackpots
Bad-beat jackpots
Qualifying for jackpots
Chapter 17 Competing in Tournaments
Coming to Grips with the Differences
Tourney basics
Rebuying and adding on
Prize structures
Understanding Your Chip Position
Your position at your table
Your position in the tourney as a whole
Playing Your Way Through
Shifting tables
Maneuvering relative to the herd
Seating adjustments
Bursting the bubble
Adjusting Your Play for Prizes
Keeping your eyes on the prize
Splitting the prize money
Part 5 The Part of Tens
Chapter 18 Ten Differences between Online and Real-World Play
Not Telling in Live Action
Adjusting to the Speed
Understanding Position
Taking Up Space
Getting at Your Cash
Becoming “Serious” in the Real World
Adding Up Online Mathematics
Tipping the Dealer
Changing Your Venue
Keeping Track of Your Online Cash
Chapter 19 (Almost) Ten Common Mistakes
Playing Too Many Starting Hands
Playing Tired
Playing Too Low or Too High a Limit
Coin-Flipping Too Often in Tournaments
Ignoring What You Know about Players at Your Table
Becoming Impatient
Staying Too Long in a Tough Game
Letting Your Emotions Get the Best of You
Treating Your Internet Money Like It’s Fake
Chapter 20 Ten Ways to Improve Your Home Game
Upgrading Your Deck
Chipping Up
Chowing Down
Lighting Up
Venting It All
Trashing the Place
Wiping Out the Badness
Standardizing Chairs
Getting Tabled
Renting Your Game
Chapter 21 Ten Bad Beats
Red versus Spudnut
Woman Beaten by Madness
Hellmuth Yanks His Hair Out
Nuts about Flushes
Moneymaker
Moneymaker, Part Deux
When Wheels Go Flat
No-Limit Means No-Money
Mr. Aggressive versus Johnny Conservative
Not All Beats Are Bad
Chapter 22 Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Your Hold’em Game
Studying Your Way Up
Showing Off Your Game
Keeping Track of Your Bankroll
Exercising
Digging into the Math
Reading Poker Websites
Scoring a Free Magazine
Throwing in the Towel
Meditating
Playing Other Games
Glossary
Index
EULA