Wed, 04/06/2011 – 04:20 – PokerPages Staff

#5 Fortune Valley is a small card room located in Central City Colorado in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, just minutes away from ski areas.  The central location, just 40 miles from Denver, is convenient to everything that Colorado has to offer. 

#4 Circus Circus in Las Vegas Nevada offers convenience when traveling with family including your children.  The card room has 10 card tables with low-cost games.  Circus Circus is a fun, whimsical circus-themed casino.

#3 Bay 101, located in San Jose California, in northern California, is a stop on the World Poker Tour.  The poker room here offers weekly tournaments as well as being the site of the Bay 101 Shooting Star / WPT Season 9.  The poker room offers a wide variety of live games, weekly tournaments and special events.  Games run around the clock and all year long.

#2 Foxwoods Resort Casino is located in Mashantucket, Connecticut.  This resort casino has a lot to offer, such as weekly tournaments, special events, live games and round the clock action.  With 81 tables dedicated to poker playing it is sure to provide a poker experience to remember.

#1 Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Located in Atlantic City, New Jersey, this is the ultimate location and experience.  Buy-ins for regular poker games range from $40 to $85.  The poker room also has weekly tournaments, special events, and live games around the clock.  They also offer special room rates for poker players.  The Borgata has also been a stop for the World Poker Tour.

No matter what you are looking for when it comes to finding a place to play poker check out the PokerPages cardroom directory.

Tue, 04/05/2011 – 02:17 – PokerPages Staff

Omaha is a poker game played in tournaments.  Gaining a thorough understanding of the rules and learning when to bet will improve a beginner poker player’s ability to follow tournament play, and will help to develop the personal skills necessary to become a better poker player. 

The  rules of Omaha are similar to the rules of Texas Hold’em.  The dealer needs to be determined first.  Like Texas Hold’em, the two players to the left of the dealer place the blinds before any cards are dealt; first the small blind then the large blind.  Internet play requires a means of identifying the dealer; most sites utilize the dealer button.

Play begins as the dealer gives each player four cards face down, one card at a time.  In Texas Hold’em, you are dealt two and both must be used, in Omaha you are dealt four and only two are used to make the best five-card hand.  With the hole cards dealt, the first betting round proceeds.  Now the first three community cards are placed on the table.

A second poker betting round then proceeds.  Once betting is complete; the fourth community card is laid on the table.  The third betting round will then proceed and when complete the final community card is placed on the table.  Play now proceeds with a last betting round, which leads to the showdown. 

By showing their hole cards, players determine the best hand possible.  Omaha rules state that only two hole cards are combined with community cards to make the best hand.  The winner of the pot is determined by the best five card hand.

Visit PokerSchoolOnline a great internet source for poker related lessons and poker information.  Afterwards, try out your new skills by using free play at PokerStars.net.