Reading the Board Cards

When you're playing holdem poker game, it is very important for you to be able to read the board in order to determine what the best possible hand is with every community card game that that is dealt. It is impossible, for example, for anyone to have a full house or four of a kind unless the board is paired. If you have made a straight or a flush, you can easily decide whether it is the best possible straight or flush.

You should always ask yourself, "What, at this moment, is the best possible hand?" The answer can chance with every card that come out in the middle. For example, if you start with two aces in your hand, you have the nuts Before the flop. Then, depending on the seven card stud cards that are dealt on the flop, the value of your hand may change,

If you have two cards of the same suit in your hand and three cards in your suit come on the flop, you have made a flush, which probably is the best possible hand at the moment unless someone else has two higher cards in your suit. Then if the board pairs on the turn, your flush may no longer be the best hand because it is possible that someone else has made a full house. (However, just because the board pairs doesn't mean that your flush is Beaten.)

Here's another example. If the flop comes K ? Q ? 2 ? and you have K ? K ?, you have the nuts on the flop. But the turn card could change the whole scenario. Another club could come on the turne, giving somebody else a flush. Or another card game (such as a ten) could be dealt that makes a straight hand for an opponent who has the A ? J ? in his hand, which would also beat your three kings.

The Bottom Line

Reading the board correctly plays an important role in determining the value of your hand is important in deciding whether to bet, fold, call or raise. Betting the correct amount of chips when you are the first player to act, folding when you know you should, just calling the opening bet, and raising the appropriate amount when the time is right are skills that unique pot no-limit poker. When you have mastered selecting the best hands to play, reading the board correctly, understanding the value of your hand, knowing when to bluff, and determining the correct amount to bet, you are on your way to becoming a winning no-limit holdem player.