The popularity of Texas hold’em has spread throughout the gambling world. Some casino players would like to get in on the poker craze but are used to traditional table games where they compete against the house. To accommodate these players, casinos have come up with games that are hybrids of Texas hold ’em and casino games. One of these is Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
What Are the Rules of Ultimate Texas Hold’em?
Texas Hold’em is set up like a regular table game. The layout has a spot for “Ante,” “Blind,” “Play” and “Trips.” Players begin by putting an equal bet on the ante and blind spots and playing the trip’s spot if they choose. Each player and the dealer receive two cards, just as in Texas hold ’em.
Post Flop Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Once the player has seen his cards, he can make a play bet of four times the ante. The dealer then turns over a flop. The player (if he has not already made his play bet) may now make a play bet of two times the ante. Finally, the dealer turns over a turn and river card. The player (again if he has not already made a play bet) must now make a play bet equal to the ante or fold, losing his ante and blind.
Texas Hold’em Showdown
The cards are then turned over, and the best hand wins. The dealer must have at least a pair (including a pair on the board) to qualify. If the dealer qualifies and has a better hand than the player, he wins the ante bet, if the player has a better hand, he wins an amount equal to the ante bet. If the dealer fails to qualify, the ante bet is a push. If the player wins, the play bet gets even money and the blind bet gets paid with odds if the player has a straight or better, otherwise it is a push. The trip’s bet pays off with odds if the player gets three of a kind or better.
Poker Book Review
Joe Navarro knows when you’re lying. As you can guess, this may make him someone you might not want to play poker with. Fortunately, Joe is on your side. As a former analyst for the FBI, Joe spent years learning to pick up on subtle clues as to what a person’s behavior really means. In Read’em and Weep, Joe applies those skills to the poker table and shows you how you can get an edge.
Principles of Tell Spotting
The most important thing that Navarro stresses is that poker players need to be observant. Navarro teaches that players should get into the habit of being observant in their everyday lives so that this habit will transfer easily to the poker table. He gives guidelines on how players can do this. He also stresses that players must establish a baseline for their opponents’ behaviors. A shaking hand may be a tell or it may mean a player has a lot of nervous energy. What players should look for are deviations from normal behavior.
Using “Read ‘Em and Reap”
Players should not expect to read this book in one sitting and then be able to run to the poker table and “look through” their opponents’ cards. While Navarro does offer specific clues that generally mean strength or weakness, he stresses that observing and spotting tells is a skill, and the more it is practiced, the better at it a player becomes.
Caveats about “Read ‘Em and Reap“
Readers should remember that a certain behavior does not mean the same thing for every player and a player should not act on a tell unless they are very confident from the repeated observation that it is correct (unless they have to). It will be very tempting once finish this book to see tells everywhere, but players must remain grounded and divine their tells through careful observation rather than simply instinct.
