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Basic Run Through Of Texas Holdem Poker Play
Texas Holdem Poker is considered to be the best type of poker game. Owing to the thrills and money-making possibilities, Texas Holdem Poker is gaining popularity rapidly. Much of the craze for Texas Holdem Poker play can be attributed to the fact that it is a very simple card game.
The players are given two faced down cards each, which are termed as pocket cards or hole cards. This poker play is followed by community cards, which consist of five faced up cards. In the last round of betting, the players should use all the seven cards judiciously.
After the two pocket cards are given, three faced up cards are placed at the centre of the table. Known as flop, such cards help in strengthening the hands of the players. The betting takes place after this. The fourth faced down card, also known as the turn card or the fourth street, is dealt before betting starts again. The final round of betting takes place after the fifth card has been dealt in the middle of the table. With this last card, known as the river card, players can choose to raise, fold, check or bet.
Small blind is a term used to refer to the nearest players on the immediate left side of the dealer during poker play. Big blind is used to signify players in the farthest position on the right hand of the dealer. To prevent themselves from folding and staying put in the game, the players must call the big blind. In Texas Holdem Poker, the player with the best hand wins the game. The standard poker hands determine the winning combinations.
Texas Holdem Poker often witnesses ties when the pot money is divided among the winners. This game allows three types of betting – Limit Holdem, spread Limit Holdem and Pot Limit Holdem.
In case of Limit Holdem bets, the betting amount is restricted to amount mentioned at the beginning of the game. In both the big blind and small blind, the amount of betting has to be pre-determined in the first two rounds. Players can increase their bets in specified amounts in the following rounds of poker play. The betting amount increases further with the river and turn betting. Spread Limit Holdem is similar to Limit Holdem, except that the bets are placed according to pre-determined ‘spreads’ instead of amounts. The term spread in Poker lingo means range. The maximum bet of a player is limited in the Pot Limit Holdem. The maximum amount should not surpass the total money in the pot.
1976 World Series of Poker
The 1976 World Series of Poker was the seventh annual World Series of Poker. It was held at Binnions Horseshoe in May of 1976. There were seven preliminary events, up from four the previous year, and a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em Main Event.
The preliminary events included $2,500 No Limit Holdem, $1,000 No Limit Holdem, $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw with Rebuys, $1,000 Ace to Five Draw, $1,000 Seven Card Stud Split, $500 Seven Card Stud, and $5,000 Seven Card Stud.
The big winners of the preliminary events were Howard Andrew and Doyle Brunson. Andrew won both the $2,500 No Limit Holdem and the $1,000 No Limit Holdem tournaments for a combined total of $51,600. Doyle Brunson walked away from the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw with Rebuys as the winner of an $80,250 cash prize.
Poker legend Johnny Moss had an impact on the WSOP yet again. The 3-time world champion won the $500 Seven Card Stud for a cash prize of $13,000. He struggled in the Main Event though. It was played on his 69th birthday, and the aging legend was out of the tournament after two hours. He was the third man out.
Brunson wasnt done after the preliminary events. He was one of 22 players to participate in the Main Event, up from 21 in 1975. All but 3 of the 22 were full-time gamblers and 13 of them were Texans. Each player needed $10,000 to enter the tournament, and when the players stock was gone, so was he. The last man standing would end up with all the cash $220,000 to be exact.
Brunson had been a staple of the WSOP since its inception. His two friends, Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston and Brian “Sailor” Roberts, had both won the Main Event, but Brunson had yet to win it.
After 20 players were eliminated, Brunson was left in the final two along with Jesse Alto. Alto was one of the three players in the Main Event who wasnt a full-time gambler. At first, Alto held the chip lead, but the experienced Brunson knew it was only a matter of time before he started to let his emotions get the best of him.
Brunson ended up winning the tournament on a very unlikely hand. Eventually, Brunson was dealt a 10 of spades and a 2 of spades. Prior the river card being flipped, Brunson had a pair of 10s and a pair of 2s. Alto, however, had a pair of aces and a pair of jacks. With Alto all in, the river card was flipped to reveal another 10. Brunson had miraculously pulled off a 10s over 2s full house to win the tournament and $220,000.
The ten-deuce hand would later come to be known as “the Doyle Brunson.” Reportedly, it didnt take long for Alto to get back to playing cards. He is rumored to have been playing in a new game of Texas Holdem just a half hour later. “Why not?” he asked. “I came to play. That game is over.”