How to Play Yahoo! Hold'em Poker

Hold'em poker started in Texas in the early 1900s and made its way to Las Vegas by 1967. In recent years, the popularity of Hold'em style poker has skyrocketed, with championships finding their way to cable television. Based on a 52-card deck, it is possible for up to 22 people to play a game of Hold'em poker, but most games consist of two to 10 people. Yahoo! has put together Hold'em poker games for people to play at any time of the day or night.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Yahoo! account
• Java-applet program

1. Go to the card games section of Yahoo! and click the Hold'em poker name or icon (see Resources below). Enter your Yahoo! account information when prompted.
2. Go through the ad by clicking the "Click Here to Continue" line quickly.
3. Choose a game room to play in, based on your skill level at Hold'em poker, by clicking the name of the room. Rooms range from beginner to expert.
4. Select a table to play at by clicking one of the "Join" buttons. Find a table with the number of people you would like to play.
5. Select the "Start Game" table to officially sign in to play at the table.
6. Add chips to the ante pile in the middle of the table at the start of each hand (taken care of by the computer).
7. Look at the initial cards dealt, and decide to play out the hand longer or fold and wait for the next hand.
8. Place bets on your turn to stay in the hand. You can bet the minimum or raise the bet at various times.
9. Look for the best combination of only five cards in the cards in your hand and those shown by the dealer.
10. Win the money in the pot (the middle of the table) by having the highest hand at the end of betting.
11. Win Yahoo! Hold'em poker by having the highest chip count or taking all of the chips from other players.

Tips & Warnings

• Like any poker game, Yahoo! Hold'em is more about the play against other players than the cards dealt.
• Playing online eliminates the physical signs poker players look for (called "tells"), so you must play special attention to the bidding patterns of the other players.
• Remember, poker is not about winning the most hands. Instead, it's about winning the largest amount of chips.