Playing cards are a key element in the enjoyment of your card games whether your card playing choice is Texas Holdem poker, bridge, canasta, euchre, or any other popular card game. For the avid card player, there is nothing better than shuffling and dealing a new deck of cards. They have a nice crisp feel, bright easy to read print, vivid colors and slide easily across the table.If you have used cheap discount dollar store playing cards made of low-grade paper for your home poker or social card games you understand how quickly these cards break down with frequent use. You have felt them getting thicker and feeling sloppy as the paper fibers separate and the edges start to fray. They were easily soiled from food, skin oils or liquid contamination from the table top which made them sticky and therefore, difficult to shuffle and deal. If they encountered drink spill, disaster, open a new deck! The wearing process began to show after a few hands. They quickly began to display creases and bent or missing corners. These blemishes provided clues as to the identity of the cards for the sharp-eyed players. You would have been lucky to get more than one or two nights of satisfactory use from these low-end cards.These problems are greatly reduced or even eliminated by choosing top professional, casino or card room quality cards for you home poker or social card games. By purchasing higher quality playing cards you get a more durable card that is resistant to the problems associated with deterioration due to prolonged usage. Plastic coated casino quality cards are manufactured using high-grade paper with a top quality plastic coating. With plastic coated cards you have a card that maintains its crispness and new card feel much longer. They stand up during long periods of intense play without bending or tearing and they maintain their clear sharp lettering and images. Plastic coated playing cards can be washed but contact with liquids is not advised for any paper based card.For the greatest degree of durability and longevity, your best purchase option is 100% plastic premium casino grade playing cards. All-plastic cards will last up to fifty times longer than regular playing cards because they are not subject to the same rate of deterioration. The quality, all-plastic composition of these cards gives you a playing card with outstanding durability, literally lasting for years. They maintain their crispness, sharp lettering and images and allow you to clean them with a damp cloth when they become soiled. You just wash them, let them dry and they are ready for more play.While all-plastic playing cards are more expensive to purchase initially, the durability and length of service that they provide makes them the most cost-effective playing card purchase in the long-term. All-plastic cards are generally available for purchase in high-end department and chain retail stores, sport and game specialty stores and also on poker, bridge and playing card specialty websites online.As the host, you want your poker or social card games to be as enjoyable as possible for yourself and your card playing partners. By purchasing higher quality cards you will reduce the amount of time spent playing with worn, sticky cards that are difficult to shuffle and deal and will reduce the frequency with which you need to replace your cards. Be a good host! Choose top quality playing cards that will help ensure the most enjoyable experiences for yourself and your playing partners while playing your favorite card games.

To check, raise or fold? This is the most important questions to answer when it’s your turn to make the bet in a poker game. Deciding which call to make takes strategy, patience and a string understanding of the game. While there are tips to guide you on betting in a Texas Hold’em card game, practice is still your best bet.The PotIn a Texas Hold’em card game, the pot depends on the amount of money players have contributed to the pot, either through ante or blind betting. Ante means the predetermined amount all players place on the pot as the initial fund. This is usually a small quantity, just enough to get the pot started. Technically, a player’s ante is not an actual bet but just a token to start with even before the cards are dealt.The pot money can also come from blinds. Starting from the left of the dealer clockwise, players make “forced” bets either as a big blind or small blind alternately. For this betting round, the big blind is equal to the minimum betting amount, while the small blind is half the sum. As this is the startup bet, no one can make a “check” or pass the bet yet.After determining the starting pot amount, the four rounds of card dealing and betting progresses. It is during this time that you will determine the amount of your bets based primarily on the hand that you are dealt with.Check, Raise or Fold There are three types of bets you can make in a Texas Hold’em card game. To check means to match the bet placed before you, to raise means to increase the bet amount, and to fold means to give up on your hand.It is important to have a mindset that whenever you place money on the pot, it technically isn’t yours anymore. Experts say this is the windfall of many novice players, where they play just to protect their money. Think of the pot as a whole, and play according to your best strategies, not whether your bet is big or not for that round.There are many ways, play patterns and statistics to consider when deciding your next bet. But for starters, there is the basic rule of betting depending on the hands that you have.In simple terms, when you have a starting weak hand, you need to fold. Some people mistakenly believe that they can still stand a good chance depending on how the game plays out, so they still put more money to the pot even when they get the weakest combinations such as 2-7 and 2-8. But more often than not, with a weak hand, you rarely win.Meanwhile, a strong hand allows you greater chances of winning, especially if it’s among the strong suits of Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen and Ace-King. However, excellent cards alone don’t help you win big – you also need to apply the right strategies to play well in a Texas Hold’em card game.In a Texas Hold’em card game as with any casino game, winning is your ultimate goad but when you’re just starting out, you are also after the experience itself. The more games you play in, the more skilled you will be and be quick in making the right decisions in different card situations.