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A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O T E X A S H O L D ' E M: W H Y P L A Y H O L D ' E M ? Thirty years ago, in his book Super/System, poker legend Doyle Brunson referred to Texas Hold'em as "The Cadillac of poker games," and predicted it would someday surpass all other forms of poker in popularity. Although Doyle could never have imagined just how his prediction would come about, there is little doubt that it has in fact come true, as Texas Hold'em has exploded across the poker landscape in the 21st Century, and there is no looking back. What is Texas Hold'em? Why is Texas Hold'em so popular? Why should you play Texas Hold'em? | |
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What is Texas Hold'em? Why is it called Texas Hold'em? Texas Hold'em is a community card game that was popularized by Texas gamblers. When players like Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim made the move to Nevada, they advocated for the game knowing that they were more experienced in it than their western counterparts were and they could get a big edge. They also knew that since the game was easy to learn, they could get many amateurs sitting in the game, further increasing their advantage. There were no freeroll poker sites to choose from back in the days. The game is called Texas Hold'em to differentiate it from Omaha Hold'em, where players get four cards and must use exactly two of the four with five on the board, as opposed to Texas Hold'em where players get two cards and can use one, both or none of them with the five on the board to make their best hand. However, Omaha is never called "Omaha Hold'em," it's only called "Omaha." Why is Texas Hold'em so popular? One of the main reasons Texas Hold'em is so popular is because it is the type of poker played at the main event of the World Series of Poker, the event that determines each year's world poker champion. Why was Texas Hold'em chosen as the championship game? This decision was most likely made for the spectators. Since there are five exposed cards that all players share, those watching from the rail (and later, on television) could easily see what possible hands were out there and could speculate on what the players held. If the event were played using seven-card stud, for example, it would be difficult for those watching to keep up, since there would be multiple cards in each player's hand to keep track of. Why should you play Texas Hold'em? As stated, Texas Hold'em is one of the easiest forms of poker to learn and understand. Furthermore, since it has become so popular, the widest amount of games available, both live and online, are available in Texas Hold'em. Finally, if you're interested in learning to become a better player, Texas Hold'em is a great option, as the most poker books and virtually all poker television shows are devoted to this version of the game. Just sign up with a poker site, hook yourself up with a good rakeback deal and then study and play as much as you can! |
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