Take time out to study Paddy's tips below for getting that winning hand in Texas Shoot Out. He has made suggestions on the cards you are dealt that can take you all the way. As this game is one that involves some degree of skill, practice and study can make all the difference. Review Paddys tips and use your judgement whether to Fold, Call or Raise!You are dealt two cards initially. Based on these two cards and based on how much your opponents bet, you need to decide whether to FOLD, CALL, RAISE, or go ALL IN (which is 8x your Blind bet).

Initial Two-Card Hand

Your two-card hands will fall into a few categories. A pair is any two cards of the same rank. If your cards are not paired, you need to look at the highest ranked card and determine whether or not those two cards share the same suit. For example, a two-card hand consisting of a Queen of Hearts + a Ten of Hearts would be considered a "Queen-high, suited" hand. A Queen of Hearts + a King of Hearts, however, would be a "King-high, suited" hand, and a Queen of Hearts + a Ten of Diamonds would be considered a "Queen-high, unsuited" hand.

Standard Pot and Rich Pot

Most of the time, there will be 3x your Blind bet in the pot before your first betting decision. This happens after the first three community cards ("the flop") are dealt, and one bot calls and raises your Blind bet, whilst the other bot folds. This is the "standard pot" game.

However, sometimes there will be 4 x your Blind bet in the pot before your first betting decision. This happens when the red bot calls your Blind bet and the blue bot calls and raises. This is the "rich pot" game.

RAISE or ALL-IN?

When trying to decide whether to RAISE (2x Blind bet) or go ALL IN (8x Blind bet), consider the following. While the ALL IN bet provides the greatest amount of potential payback, it can severely affect a limited bankroll when you lose, especially on the "weaker" strong hands (unsuited King-Jack, for example). You should choose your bankroll, stake size and strategy accordingly.

Post-Flop Play:

Unless you choose to FOLD, three community cards ("the flop") get dealt before your next betting decision. Your choices are to BET (1x your Blind bet) or CHECK (no bet). A fourth community card is then dealt (called "the turn"), where you'll have the same two betting decisions. (There is no betting round after the fifth community card, which is called "the river")
As a good initial approximation, you should BET if you hold:

• The highest visible pair
• Any two pair that involves at least one of your initial two cards
• Any pat hand (e.g. Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush, etc.)