Poker: Texas Hold'em

Lesson 2: Hand Selection

Reading the Community Cards

Your ability to read the community cards will help make you a winning player. It is not hard to learn. It just takes some playing experience.

Since Texas Hold’em is played with community cards turned up for all to see, you can easily determine the best possible hand that can be made from the board community cards and the two unseen pocket cards.

Two situations should send up a red flag when you see them:

1. If there are three suited cards on the board, someone can make a flush. If a player raises when the third suited card is turned over, you should be wary of continuing.

2. If there is a pair on the board, a player can make four-of-a-kind, two pair, or a full house.

When you are not involved in a hand, you should still pay attention to the action in the game. You can gain valuable information about your opponents by observing what hands they play. It is easy to determine the player who plays suited cards or single aces by watching the hands they turn over at the end.

Never show your hand if you don’t have to. If you win the pot because everyone else folded, you are under no obligation to show your cards. You don’t want to give away any playing or betting style information about yourself if you don’t have to.

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