a new player

Hey guys, well i would like to play texas holdem but i'm a complete novice. i dont have any knowledge of the hands and what suits beat what etc. can anyone point me in the right direction ? i already play online (for play money for obvious reasons) i've won a couple hands but they were kinda lucky..

do you need to be good at maths to understand this game ?
so can anyone help me out ?

thanks
Sam

I think you can look at strategy articles at the top to find out about basics and much more. I think pokerastars also has info on all that.

You don't need to be good at math but it helps. If you just remember basic odds or learn a simple way to approximate you'll be fine. Different suits don't have different values.

um well wikipedia will probably help then.

Rank of hands (poker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Suits have no relative ranking in poker. No you don't have to be good at math to understand poker...it helps but there are little rules of thumbs which are very simple and for most complicated math you can just use a program. As you play you should pick up on general hand %s vs each other.

In general you can break things up into classes. For example, an overpair vs an underpair (AA vs JJ for example) is about 4:1. A small pair vs 2 overpairs is anywhere from 48%-55% for the small pair. Say it is 77 vs JTs, then it is ~50:50 because JTs also has straight possibilities and a flush possibility. If it was the same situation but 77 vs A9o, the 77 is probably closer to 55%. Since the 2 overcards have very minimal straight/flush possibilities they have less odds of winning. Then you just pick up on things like if you have something like A8 vs KQs (one overcard and one undercard vs 2 middle cards...normally like 50%-65%) it is about 55% for A8, where as A4 vs K7 is probably about 60% for A4 (because now the A4 is somewhat connected while the K7 is unconnected and non-suited). JTs vs A6o would be about 50:50 while 73o would be about 35:65 vs A4s, because JT is both very connected and suited and A6o is not, while vice versa in the other example. There aren't math rules for any of the above, it is just basically slightly adjusting certain "situations" that often occur (overcards vs under pair, 2 overcards vs 2 undercards, 1 overcard and 1 undercard vs 2 mid cards etc etc).

There are simple rules of thumb such as the odds of you hitting your hand by the river is 2 x outs + 2 = % and teh odds of hitting your hand by the turn or the river is about 4 x outs = %. Outs are cards that you could potentially hit to give you the best hand. For instance if the board is T92 and you have 87 you can hit either a J or a 6 for a straight and the best hand. Since there are 4 Js and 4 6s in the deck you have 4 + 4 outs or 8 outs. Anyways this probably confused the hell out of you so just read up some on the internet about the basics of poker and practice lots until you are used to things like position, betting, and the strengths of hands etc.

Hi Sam, welcome to the forum and to poker. We'll be glad to help you out with some understanding, especially if you have specific questions about things. It can seem a bit daunting at first. Like the above post for example is good info but much of it may have gone over your head to start with. Don't worry about that and don't worry about what you do or don't know. That's really the key. We all started off the same way at different times.

As far as the forum goes, I'd suggest you start with our Online Poker Guide. Then you can get into the Poker Strategy Articles & Poker Theory. a bit more. Take your time getting through there though since there are more beginner type articles and some others (by name alone) that are a bit more advanced.

We also have several freerolls that we run throughout the week, so feel free to come join those as well for a decent place to play. If you want to play at a site that we host at but that you don't use yet, please consider downloading the site via one of our CardsChat Poker Site Links to help support the forum. You don't have to deposit any money to do this.

Again, welcome aboard. I'll stop rambling now. Don't be shy about posting any questions you have.

Cheers.
JD