YAY!!!!!!!It's finally Chinese New Year!!!!You know what that means.........red packets!!!!!!However today for my post i will not be talking about that.Instead, I will be discussing about gambling during Chinese New Year. Most chinese belive that during Chinese New Year the God of fortune we be with them and therefore gambling is very common occurence when relatives meet,be it playing mahjong or a game of poker. Now, I know what you're thinking:"Oh man, this blog post is going to be about the dangers of gambling blah blah blah..." Well its not.I will be talking about my experience with gambling(don't worry i broke even at about the fourth hour mark)(I'm just kidding, I used the chips but we did no play with money). The two games i played were Texas Hold 'Em Poker and "dai di"(big two, sort of the cantonese version of poker). Before i start here's a quick rundown of the rules of Texas Hold 'Em Poker:The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the "hole cards."
A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call(match the bet), raise(increase the bet), or fold(give up) when it's their turn to bet.
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.
The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop."
After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer.During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.
The dealer burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn" or "Fourth Street."
The player to the left of the dealer begins the third round of betting.
The dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the "river" or "Fifth Street."
Players can now use any combination of seven cards -- the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them -- to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.
The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer.
After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first.
The player with the best hands wins.

Bluffing and reading your opponents emotions and habits are important.(however if it's the first round of betting and you have no matching cards at all you should'nt throw all your money in, thinking that you can bluff them. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience.) Remembering your opponents habits are extremely important, for example your opponents might touch his ear when he's bluffing or lick his lips when he's got a good hand. These will tell you what kind of cards he has and how you should proceed, call,raise or fold.These are the basics of Texas Hold 'Em Poker, my young padawan. I know it may sound easy but trust me it takes years of practice and A LOT of money to become a master.