Learn to Play Poker Using Facebook and Zynga

Zynga poker is a Facebook application for people that like playing Texas Hold Em Poker or want to see what it’s about. It’s a fun, free and friendly way to learn about this card game. Texas Hold Em and poker in general is a game one can learn to play in a few minutes ,and take a lifetime to master. This guide will explain the basics of poker play, how to get some free chips in Zynga and give you some good tips and habits to follow while expanding ones poker skills.

The first thing you are going to need to know is the hand rankings, they are ranked in the following order, Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High Card.

A flush is when a player holds five cards of the same suit,  the suits are Clubs, Hearts, Spades or Diamonds. Suits appear as symbols on your cards and are colored either black or red.

A straight is a run of five cards in numerical order, the numerical order of the cards is as follows: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace again. A royal flush is a straight from 10 to Ace of the same suit.

A Full House is three of a kind and one pair.

A round of play goes as follows, all players sitting at the table are dealt two cards face down. These cards are your hole cards and must never be revealed or disclosed during play. The two players sitting to the dealers left have to put money into the pot, these are called the blinds and they are necessary to give every round value. The dealer changes after every round moving one place to the left or clockwise.

After receiving the hole cards the player must then decide on the strength of the cards they have received. The best possible two cards are Ace, Ace, often described as the nuts and the worst two cards are 7, 2, of a different suit, better known as the beer hand because a person only plays this hand when drunk. Next follows a round of betting.

In this round of betting every player will have the option to Call, Fold or Raise, except for the player who posted the big blind as described earlier, this player can Check instead of calling. Betting is used to gather information on an opponent and is one of the most exciting aspects of poker.

To Call is simply to match the amount of the big blind which was described earlier, to Raise is to increase the amount being put into the pot by a minimum of two times the big blind. Raising is a way of telling others that you have a strong hand. After a player has raised all following players must match the size of that bet to continue in the hand or round, the amount will automatically be entered by hitting the call button. To Fold is to quit playing in that hand because one does not like the hole cards they have received. After folding a player takes no further part in the round and does not risk any chips.

After this round of betting three cards are then dealt face-up in the centre of the table so all remaining players can see. This is called the flop. Now all the remaining players in the hand must make the best five card combination using their original two hole cards, and the three on the table then asses the strength of their hand again. Another round of betting follows with all players able to check, bet, raise or fold initially. If the pot is raised the check button changes to Call as before.

After the Flop and betting round another card is dealt face-up on the table. This card is called the Turn. The same rules described above apply. Each player must assess the best five card combination they can make using the four cards on the table and the two in their hand. Another round of betting follows.

After the Turn card one final card is placed face-up on the table, this card is called the River card. The same rules apply. The best five card combination followed by the round of betting. If there are players remaining at the end of this round then those players must show the original hole cards to the table, the winner is determined using the hand rankings described above. The winner receives all the chips or money that was bet.

These are the basics of how a poker game is played out. Some tips for new players and Zynga players follow.

Always raise strong hands in the first round of betting such as AA, KK, QQ, AK suited, AQ suited. Raising will push people with weaker hands to fold giving you the player, a better chance of determining what kind of hand the remaining opponents have.

Don’t bet too big. During the first round of betting it’s not necessary to bet more than five times the big blind. In later rounds don’t over-commit or bet too much if ones hand isn’t very strong looking.

Don’t play every hand and don’t chase straights and flushes all the time, unless it is cheap to see the next card.

Only go all in when you are sure you have the best hand, want to stop a player chasing a straight or a flush, or have very little chips. Going all in, all the time will label you as a bad player and is a sure fire way to lose chips over time.

Claim free chips by playing Zynga poker everyday. Make as many poker buddies as possible by chatting to others and being friendly. Poker buddies can send free gifts and chips to each other. Claim free collectibles which will give a player chips and experience. Use challenges as your poker buddies grow to earn more chips and experience.

Learn from ones mistakes, don’t get upset or keep playing when angry. Poker is all about learning so after experiencing a bad beat or losing with a  strong hand just remember, that’s what poker is all about. Enjoy it don’t go crazy.

Nobody can win all the time so when picking what game to play pick a game that will leave you with chips left if you lose. For example if you start with 2000 chips don’t play a game where you can lose all those funds. Never play in games where you pay more than 10 percent of your total. In this case play games where you commit no more than 200 chips. Staying disciplined is key to gaining chips. Professional players will generally not commit more than 5 percent of their total funds.

Don’t argue with other players when learning to play. Some players will use trash talk as a means to break others concentration. One can select to ignore annoying players so that the selected persons messages become invisible.