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Article 1: Playing the flop in Texas Hold’em
Article 2: Texas Hold'em Preparations
Article 3: Bluffing in Poker Hold’em
Article 4: No Limit Holdem Strategy - Playing in Low Stakes Games
Article 5: Texas Holdem - Why So Popular?
Article 6: Fixed Limit Hold`em Strategy-Playing Middle Stakes Games
Article 7: Advanced Holdem Poker Strategies -Short Handed Games
Article 8: Books That Will Improve Your Holdem Game
Article 9: APlaying Aces in No Limit Holdem
Texas Holdem - Why So Popular?
Here's a common question that is more than likely to pop up among an average group of all-American poker aficionados at some point or another: "Just why the heck is Texas Holdem so popular?"
Go ahead, it's OK to say that you are stumped for a definitive answer. And don't be ashamed to admit that this query may have crossed your own mind once or twice. The truth is a lot of folks, from top-dollar Vegas analysts to everyday slobs like you and me, have been examining this issue for quite some time. Why is that so? Because Texas Holdem has proven to be a genuine phenomenon, the likes of which the gambling world has not seen in many decades, if ever. So it's only natural to wonder what is behind a massively popular force that seems to be sweeping across the globe with no signs of slowing down.
You will be glad to hear that, after an exhaustive survey that used up a whole lot of valuable taxpayer money, there is now some sort of consensus among gambling experts as to why the game of Texas Holdem (which was virtually unheard-of among mainstream gamblers as recently as a decade ago) is now the top dog on both the televised professional and the amateur poker circuits. And it's probably not a huge surprise to hear that the answer is multifaceted in nature. (Nothing as huge as the Holdem phenomenon could be explained with a pat answer, of course.)
Let's start with a look at the game itself, and the massive stage upon which it is currently played. Texas Holdem's phenomenal public recognition is due in no small part to that fact that the no-limit version of the game serves as the main event of the widely televised World Series of Poker, considered the definitive championship of the game. Bingo: right there, you're taking about an audience of millions.
Digging deeper, it's fair to say that, compared to a lot of other poker variants, Texas Holdem is inarguably a lot more dramatic in its very structure. There's a certain genius to the design of the game that almost automatically creates a sense of excitement: starting with the Pre-Flop, moving to the Flop and not slowing down for the Turn before plunging into the River and, with a wonderful sense of inevitability, ending up at the Showdown. That's pure drama for you, folks. Just sit back and watch it get played out in five compelling acts of poker glory.
Another element of Texas Holdem that makes it so lovable is the wide range of nicknames assigned to some of the more common hands. A few prime examples are: King/Jack ("Kojak"), Jack/Four ("Flat Tire"), Jack/Five "Motown", Ace/Deuce ("Michael Jackson"), and two Queens ("Siegfried and Roy"). Having such a colorful and provocative lexicon of hand names at your disposal is bound to make a player identify with this particular poker variant.
So, when you add up the massively high profile that televised poker has brought to Texas Holdem, the sheer excitement built into the design of the game, and the exuberant list of common hand nicknames, it's really no surprise that this game has dominated the public imagination with such superiority.
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