History of Texas Holdem
Texas Hold’em is the most popular community card poker game and is the most played poker game in casinos in the United States. It origin is unknown but according to Wikipedia.org, “According to legend, the earliest game played was in Robstown, Texas, in the early 1900s and it first came to Dallas, Texas in 1925.”

After the introduction of lipstick cameras that allowed audience members to see what cards the players at the table had, the popularity of Texas Hold’em skyrocketed. Many events are now showcased on television including the World Series of Poker (WSOP). With the risen popularity of Texas Hold’em, tournaments such as the WSOP raised significantly in entrants. At the 2003 WSOP there were 839 entrants and at the 2005 WSOP there were 5,619 entrants. Along with the excitement, the roller coaster of emotion will help continue to drive to popularity of the game.

In No Limit Texas Holdem, a player may raise the bet to anything they wish including all the chips of another player from the table (All-In Bet)

Texas Holdem Rules
Texas Hold'em...minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. The rules of Texas Hold em are simple:

• The two players to the left of the dealer are the small and big blind bets, in that order. Each of the players at the table is dealt two cards face down. These cards are considered the player’s hole or pocket cards. These cards should only be revealed when all the betting is over
• The hand begins with a round of pre-flop betting, which is begun with the player to the left of the big blind
• After this betting round, assuming that there are at least two players left in the hand, the dealer deals the flop, 3 community cards face up in the middle of the table. This is followed by a round of betting beginning to the player to the left of the dealer
• After the betting on the flop, the dealer deals one more community card, the flop. Followed by a third betting round.
• Finally a final community card is dealt, the river. This is followed by a fourth round of betting.
• After this round of betting, if only one player remains in the hand, this player wins the pot. If there is more than one player remaining, the players play the five best card hand that they can from the seven cards that are in play for them. A player is able to use two, one or none of the cards in their hand to make their best 5 card hand. The player with the best hand wins the pot. (Poker Hand Rankings)
• If two or more players share the same hand, the pot is split.

All-In in No Limit Texas Holdem

• When a player is faced with a bet where they are unable to match, the player may fold or if they wish, they may go All-In. The player now holds onto his/her cards until the end of the deal. The player may not win any of pot that is above the amount that he/she has bet.
• The poker strategy advantage of going all in is the fact that the player cannot be bluffed because the player is allowed to hold his/her cards without placing in any more money in the pot.

Playing No Limit Texas Holdem Poker on the Internet

Internet Poker, namely Texas Holdem, has greatly benefited many novice and professional poker players alike. With the ability and ease of internet play, geographically disperse players can play many different styles of poker. Internet poker allows for the chance at very low stakes poker including 1 and 2 cent blinds and even freeroll Texas Holdem tournaments.

One of the largest attractions to intenet poker play is the ability at free money through freeroll tournaments and the chance to win a seat in the WSOP. Chris Moneymaker won his entry to the 2003 WSOP and won millions just by risking pennies.

The most notable difference between internet and Conventional poker is the fact that internet poker does not have the other players literally across the table from you. Online poker makes you focus on more than body language due to the fact that you are unable to see the players. Players have to learn how to focus on betting patters, reaction times, and other betting tells that give away players hands.

Internet poker players have the ability to play many low stake games at many different tables at once thus increasing profitability. If a player makes an average of 8 per table per hour, the player can play anywhere between 1-5 tables. If playing 3 tables, the player could make an average of $24/hour, a nice little salary for an online poker player or even college student.