Vast majority of winning Texas Holdem players have started with home games. Home games are way easier than casino games and they are truly simple. The structure of home games is usually similar to Limit Texas Holdem – everyone would ante a certain amount of money, say $0,50 and then the betting is structured as to have a maximum and a minimum bet. For instance, the bets and raises will range between $0,50 and $4 each betting round.

The play in home Texas Holdem games is generally as follows: bet and then call, or maybe bet, raise and then call. In home games, most hands see the showdown and usually the player with the hottest cards wins in the end of the day. What makes home and casino games significantly different is that home players mostly rely on luck, while poker room players mostly rely on skill. The three major differences between online poker room and home games consist in the betting structure, the ante structure and the competition.

Ante structure

First of all, unless you play 7-Card-Stud, there is no ante, which is replaced with the “blinds�? in Texas Holdem and many other poker games. The blinds are also frequently referred to as the forced bets, because they are obligatory. The first player sitting to the left of the dealer button posts the small blind and the next player posts the big blind. The rest of players sitting at the table are not forced to pay any chips to get their pocket cards, which means that they don’t need to ante. However, they have to match the big blind, or any raise made by previous players to that big blind in order to see the flop. Hence, a typical Texas Holdem game involving six players, with a small blind worth $1 and the big blind worth $2 would go as follows preflop:

First player: posts the small blind ($1)

Second player: posts the big blind ($2)

Third player: folds

Fourth player: calls the big blind ($2)

Fifth player: raises the big blind ($4)

Sixth player (dealer): folds

First player: folds

Second player: calls the raise ($4)

Fourth player: calls the raise ($4)

After the flop, the betting would start with the big blind, since the small blind folded.

Betting Structure

Besides of the described differences in the ante structure, online Texas Holdem games also differ by the type of the betting structure. No-Limit Texas Holdem is most similar to the spread limit. There’s still a limited minimum bet, but the maximum bet is limited with the size of your bankroll.

There is a spread No-Limit Holdem myth that if a player bets more chips than you possess, then you have to fold. That’s pretty far from truth. Say Alex bets $60 and Mary only has $30 – she only has to put $30 into the pot to call. If Mary is the only person in the pot, then Alex is essentially betting $30. However, if there is one more player in the pot (Steve), and both Alex and Steve have $100, while Mary has same $30 and Alex puts $60, Mary goes all-in for $30 and Steve has to call $60 to stay in the pot, then only $30 from each player ($90 total) would form the main pot and $30 from Alex and $30 from Steve would form the sidepot. In this case, at the showdown, Mary will only compete for $90 main pot, while Alex and Steve will compete for $90 main pot as well as $60 sidepot. If Mary will have the best hand and Alex will have the second best hand, then Mary will get $45 and Alex would get $30, but if Alex’s hand is the best one, then he gets the entire $150 (the main pot plus the side pot).

Another Texas Holdem variant, very similar to No-Limit Holdem is Pot-Limit Texas Holdem Poker, where a play can bet any amount of chips starting from the minimum bet and up to the current size of the pot.

The most popular Texas Holdem variant available in all online poker rooms is Limit Texas Holdem, also known as Fixed-Limit Texas Holdem. For instance, in a $5/$10 game, the size of bets are limited to $5 or $10 depending on the betting round. In Texas Holdem and Omaha Holdem each bet preflop and at the flop is $5. The raises are also fixed to $5, which means that a four-handed Limit Texas Holdem game would go as follows:

First player: checks

Second player: bets $5

Third player: raises $5 to $10

Fourth player: calls $10

First player: folds

Second player: calls $10
On the turn, when the fourth card is dealt on the board, and river, when the fifth and the last card is dealt on the board, the size of the bet will be limited to $10. Considering the given example, the betting at the turn will go as follows:

Second player: bets $10

Third player: folds

Fourth player: raises $10 to $20

Second seat calls $10

Competition

Remember that Texas Holdem played in online poker rooms is a game of skill, not luck. Players actually try to win, because the stakes are way higher than in home games. In online poker rooms you mustn’t just push even a poor hand to the showdown in order to see what your opponents have. You must apply logical thinking, discipline and wise strategy, if you expect to win in the long run.

Of course even a home player can get lucky and win in an online poker room once, but he will definitely lose in the long run. Valuable tips and in-depth Texas Holdem Strategy articles available on this site will be a great help on your way to success.

Also recommended:

1. Ring games (Cash games)
2. Advanced Limit Texas Holdem Strategy for Shorthand Games
3. Limit Texas Holdem Strategy for Longhand Games
4. Playing Multiple Poker Games
5. Practicing Holdem Poker Tournament Play