The poker game that is all the rage these days is Texas Hold’em. It became so popular that there even were televised events of celebrities playing the game for their favorite charities. This particular game relies more heavily on strategy than other forms of poker, and with all the cards on the table the game can seem a little daunting. But really the rules are quite simple to learn.

Here is how a hand of Texas Hold’em is played, including when you bet:

Ante up.

1) Hole Cards. Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are the players’ cards, and no one else at the table can use them to help their own hand.

Place a bet here. Tip: if you have low cards and no pairs, fold and sit this hand out. It is better to lose only your ante and not all your chips.

2) The Flop. Three cards are dealt on the table face up. These are community cards that any player can use for the betterment of his or her hand.

Place a bet here.

3) The Turn. The fourth card is a community card and dealt to the table face up.

Place a bet here.

4) The River. The fifth and final card is dealt to the table and is also a community card.

Place final bet.

You can fold at any betting point, and that is why strategy is so vital to this game.

To determine the winning hand, you make the best poker hand that is possible by using five out of the seven cards dealt — a combination of your two hole cards and the community cards. It is important to remember that any player at the table has the use of the community cards, so and take that into account when you devise your strategy for each round.

As you walk through a casino, the loudest area of the room will be where the craps tables are located. Craps is one of the most high-paced, exciting, and energetic games in the casino, and players really get into the game. They aren’t afraid to let their emotions show with whooping, hollering, and slapping each other high fives. Because of how fast the game moves, the crowds it draws, and how much noise it generates, it can be quite an intimidating table to walk up to, especially if you’ve never played it before.

In fact, craps is a really easy game to learn and one of the gambling games with the best odds in a casino. In reality there are over forty bets you can place on a crap table, but you only need to know two. With the other thirty-eight the odds are against you even more, so I never really play them. Why bother, when you’re almost guaranteed to lose.

The first bet you need to know is the Passline Bet. The passline bet is when you place your bet on the passline before a new shooter comes out. The Shooter rolls two dice, and if the total of the dice equals either a seven or an eleven, you win. If they roll a two, three, or twelve — you lose. If the Shooter rolls anything else it’s the point number. Your money stays on the table, and the Shooter has to roll that number again before a seven is rolled. If that happens, you win even money. If it doesn’t and they roll a seven first, you lose.

The other bet is called an Odds Bet. An odds bet is made after the Shooter has rolled the dice and gotten a point number. Then if the Shooter rolls the point number again before the seven, you win.

Now you can confidently be a part of the rowdiest game in the casino. Let’s roll.

Poker players soon learn that one of the most important skills they can have is to have a poker face. “Poker face” is an expression often used, but what is a poker face and how do players use one to their advantage over a game of poker?

A poker face means keeping all expression hidden behind a facial mask. Grins and smiles can reveal a good hand just as a frown or sour expression might indicate a less than perfect hand. Experienced poker players show nothing, no expression of any kind.

The next step is how to develop the skill of keeping a poker face.

First, concentrate on the game. Watch the cards; know when to hold cards and when to discard them. Think about the game, not about possible wins or losses.

Next, stay calm and don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Excitement over what seems to be a great hand, disappointment over poor cards, or eagerness to win all can reveal more than you should to your opponents. A good poker play never wants his or her opponents to know what cards he or she has and if he or she is bluffing.

Third, don’t fidget. Telltale signs of nervous stress like tapping fingers or feet can give an opponent the advantage. Whether your hand is a potential winner or a big loser, be calm and still. You just might bluff a win over someone who had a better hand but folded in the face of your icy calm.

Last, if keeping a bland poker face is too difficult, think about using sunglasses, a hat with a low brim, or tinted cosmetic glasses that hide your eyes.

Body language is a big part of keeping a poker face, so be still, keep emotions under check, and play to win!

Poker is a classic American game of cards, a popular pastime whether it is played by a group on Friday nights or taken more seriously at a casino table. Unlike most games of chance, poker was created in the United States, in the rowdy seaport of New Orleans some time around the start of the 19^th century. Poker most likely has roots to both a French card game called Poque (although the game itself is quite different from poker) and a British card game Brag. Brag is the most similar to poker of other card games that predate poker in the United States, but the final game, the poker we know today, has elements not found in either of the earlier games.

By the mid to late 1840’s, the game of Brag vanished, apparently assimilated into the new game of poker. Poker became common almost everywhere within the United States by the time of the Civil War, and soldiers on both sides who played during that conflict spread it further.

The original game was draw poker but stud poker, said to be a cowboy version, showed up around the mid 1860’s. Another version originally called Jackpot poker appeared in Hoyle, the official manual for card players everywhere, by 1875. Today, many games still use the Jackpot theory which is that players must have “Jacks or better”, meaning at least a pair of Jacks, to play in the game.

Official poker rules first appeared in a New York newspaper in 1904, and the following year the first book about the game of poker debuted, “Practical Poker” by author RF Foster.

Poker remains one of the most popular games, and the newest version is Texas Hold ‘em.