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Learn Texas Holdem Using Play Money

Novices who seriously want to learn how to play poker well should make good use of sites offering free play of Texas Holdem using play money.

Of course, you will first need to read up on how Texas Holdem is played. There are plenty of resources online. Concentrate on the basic rules of the game first. Do not get muddled with strategies and tactics this early.

Once you have the basics down pat, you can test how well you really understood the game by actually playing Texas Holdem. You are definitely still unprepared for a real money game at this point so go for free play using play money. This way, you can focus on learning without any fear of losing.

You may realize as you play that you have not really understood all the rules of the game yet. Or that there is still much you do not know about Texas Holdem. That's okay. You may be losing but it's only play money. You are actually gaining in knowledge. Now you know what else you need to brush up on.

After your game, do more research based on the gaps you perceived in your knowhow. Take notes if necessary. When you feel you have absorbed enough, play Texas Holdem again using play money.

You will be losing often at first. Don't get discouraged. Only those who persist will eventually gain enough skills to get to the next playing level. Think of this phase as your training stage.

Soon, you will start to win at Texas Holdem. It may begin as an up-and-down on-and-off pattern but you will win more and more as time goes on. This is actually when things get tough. This is when you need to learn how to really handle losing.

Remember that you first started with no fear of losing because you were just using play money anyway. In effect, you had nothing at stake and nothing to lose. Once you have started winning consistently, though, you already have your pride at stake. This could now be your weakness.

Learning how to handle losing is an important skill in playing Texas Holdem. Now you have to play for a different kind of knowledge: self-knowledge. Continue to play for free using play money so that you not only win but also lose in between. It is in these losing experiences that you get to know yourself better. Seize each opportunity to teach yourself how to learn from losing.

After you have mastered all these aspects in the art of playing Texas Holdem using play money, you are ready to play for real.