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Texas Holdem
Rake Take
Texas holdem poker is a game where players wager money against one another
instead of other casino games where people play versus the house. The casino/card
room is there to make money so they have to charge something for poker games
and this is where the rake comes in. A rake is a portion of chips taken out
of each pot that the casino keeps. An example of a rake would be 3 dollars
taken out of every pot plus 1 dollar for the jackpot (which builds until someone
wins it).
You can exploit tight players through tactics such as blind stealing and through
buying free cards. Blind stealing is simply betting when only blinds are left
in the game pre-flop. You can raise from the small blind position or from the
position just before the small blind (usually the dealer's position) to try
and steal the cost of the two blinds. Buying a free card is a trick best used
in last position. If no one else has raised post-flop, then you bet. This will
most likely cut down on the number of players (and potential money in the pot),
but everyone who stays will tend to check to you. Then on the turn, after everyone
has checked you don't necessarily have to bet again. That is why it's called
a free card.
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But be careful not you let your great hand become
a so so hand because of how the free card effected the other players
hands. A player can draw into a straight or a pair
very quickly. It's best used with drawing hands, too.
When playing against aggressive players, you
need to tighten up. Be mindful of your playing position. Play only
premium starting hands and fold after the flop if your card don't
work for you. The reason for this is the same reason for playing
tight at all. You will get raked when you win, but if you win just
one extra big hand for playing like this, you'll have covered the
cost of the rake. Enjoy the hands where your single high pair beats
the same pair because your kickers are always better.
Rakes can be pretty expensive when you are playing small limits. For example,
one mountain casino I go to has a 3 dollar rake, even on $2/5 limits. That
means that every hand they take out $3 and after someone tips the dealer $1
it equals $4 total taken off the table every hand. After 30 hands an hour that's
$120 taken off the table -- that is so drastic that you are actually fighting
an uphill battle by playing that limit. This also effect play of table where
there are only a few players. If you have a full table of say 9 to 10 the percent
of take is less on a pot verses a table with 4-5 players. Internet poker better
because little is taken from the games.
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Novice Area
