The Curriculum And The Classroom Of The Classrooms Of U.s....

Throughout our course I have become more and more interested in the idea of Westernized pedagogical practices in the classrooms of U.S. schools. More specifically, during our course I was inspired to explore how literacy and the teaching of reading have perpetuated dominant stereotypes in the classroom and how these Western ideas and canon have affected students’ perception of a culturally diverse and inclusive classroom. Traditionally, Westernized approaches to literacy education have excluded and assimilated many non-native individuals, and even with good intentions; it is difficult for educators to incorporate non-mainstream speakers into their pedagogical framework as our Westernized education practices have centered themselves on not†¦show more content†¦Emphasizing a multicultural pedagogy in the classroom is beneficial in the development of and focus on plurality of cultures and individuals in order to avoid perpetuating harmful or insensitive stereotypes. Cons equently, the questions we as educators must ask is: how can we encourage teachers who speak English to be more mindful of non-native or diverse speakers in their classrooms? How has this lack of multicultural awareness complicated our understanding of other cultures and their acceptance in Western classrooms? And furthermore, how can we raise awareness of the dangers of cultural imperialism by failing to introduce non-native histories, traditions, and practices into the classroom? For example, if teachers do not include texts published by non-native writers within their curriculum what may result is a negative compromise of cultural identities, or what students currently see as ‘acceptable stereotypes.’ Given the possibility of such a negative effect, I believe we as educators should consider how we can best prepare monocultural educators to incorporate multicultural experiences into the classroom and how we can adjust our pedagogical frameworks to best suit this chan ge to benefit our students and enrich their understanding and appreciation of other cultures and diverse backgrounds. Introduction To begin, I believe it is essential for teachers to learn to redefine and re-conceptualize the

Birmingham International Airport †Competitors Free Essays

Like any other airport, Birmingham International has enough competitors that want their own share of its market. The theory is the bigger the better, and better = more profit. This means that BIA will keep having to continually renew their prices so that they stay ahead of the market, and cause their opposition to loose out. We will write a custom essay sample on Birmingham International Airport – Competitors or any similar topic only for you Order Now I will now discover how BIA keeps ahead of their game, consistently from year to year. One way that BIA keeps ahead is making sure that the facilities that they offer are up to scratch at all times, and they constantly update them to meet demand, and maintain them if necessary (such as toilets etc). BIA have also displayed instances where they care for the customer, one by investing in the EuroHub tunnel, and the other by adding an ‘Air-Rail’ link to the airport, one of this have decreased the flight transfer times dramatically, and the other has made the travelling times lower than they were before. By creating and maintaining these type of facilities, they do not award their competitors the opportunity to beat them at their own game, and therefore will always stay on top, which has been proven in my other parts of work (how big they are). Referencing to the ‘Master Plan’ again, they are going to develop the airport fore dramatically which shows again they are always growing bigger, and reducing the opportunity for any other airports to get in edgeways. If you were to contrast this airport against their major rivals you will see that London’s Heathrow has become the biggest mainly because of the flights, facilities and the number of runways that are on offer. An airport that is hardly referenced to is ‘Heathrow’ whom is growing at a rate like BIA, as they too have released plans to increate their traffic to 30,000,000 passengers flying with them every year, which was names the ‘Development Strategy for the year 2005’. Airport are no longer about providing solely the best flights, but they are about providing the best overall facilities to their customers, and if they fail to do this, you may see that in the future, they could loose out on potential customers. Alike with any business, BIA would encourage all customers to use the facilities more, an implying to use their competitors less! Despite this, you cannot persuade someone to travel from Heathrow to Birmingham so they can fly internationally, as this would not make sense if they could fly from their local airport, unless there were exquisite travel links, which took a fraction of the time that they should have. As a result of this, they would only try to tap the market that are available to them, which may result as far out as London, but if their campaigns produced results, then this would be all worth while. For example, London’s Heathrow have an internal ‘train’ system that will connect you from terminal to terminal, which I have personally experiences. This is like no other, and the facilities that are provided by them are excellent (not that I have tried BIA’s personally), so I would find that hard to beat. On the other hand, if the facilities of BIA are anything like theirs, then they would stand a chance of matching the size of Heathrow, but this would not happen with the right staff motivation, capital and long term experience. One of the main factors within the competition is the flights, or even the lack off, and prices. For example, if someone in the vicinity of BIA is charged double that to fly to the destination they want that Heathrow is quoting, then it would obviously make sense for them to go to a different airport, which would mean BIA will loose customers quickly. The rule â€Å"it’s 8 times harder to win an old customer back as to gain a new one† takes a leading role here. Providing that BIA has the right accessibility to their airports, and the fact that they offer good prices would mean that they will be quite successful in the long term. As you can see from my research below (provided courtesy of Expedia.co.uk), there are major price variations with the same flights: Birmingham International Airport Global: Adults: 2 | Children: 0 As you can see from my research above, it is not completely obvious who is the cheapest in the market, because it depends solely upon where the flight’s destination is. For example: * At the specified time period, BIA was the cheapest to fly to Barcelona * In spite of this, they were the most expensive to fly to Copenhagen (When compared to Gatwick and Heathrow) I believe that the reason that BIA cannot be the cheapest for all of the available flights is because of the fact that if a fly is not popular, they would not fly that often, so tickets may be more expensive (for advanced bookings). As everyone has witnessed over the past year or so, each of the airports has had to dramatically increase the security due to terror attacks. They’ve had to reduce the number of liquids that you may carry on a flight, and they have diverted even entire flights because they thought there was a suspected attack, where 99% of the time, the were wrong. This shows that competition for security is not always good, as it may put of even the most frequent flyers because of all of the security checks that are involved. How to cite Birmingham International Airport – Competitors, Papers

Tropical Africa Food Production and the Inquiry M Essay Example For Students

Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry M Essay odel Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters. They are beyond our control. It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input, low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding varieties of crops. There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions. Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity. The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and reliable. However, there is much less rainfall towards the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a characteristic feature of these border zones.There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa: 1.a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator, 2. a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter drought, and 3.a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by drought.All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and monsoons.The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperate soils because the climate is different. We will write a custom essay on Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry M specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Because of the great heat of the tropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand, the rainfall leaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to produce very deep soils because the surface rock is rapidly broken down by chemical weathering. All this causes the foods rate of growth to slow down or maybe even stop and as a result food production wont even come close in catching up to the rate of population increase; therefore starvation and hunger is present.In the process of a flood and drought, the roots of trees are shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtained from the soil. The vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which is plentiful. If the vegetation is cleared, then the source of humus is removed and the natural infertility of the soils becomes obvious. As being another factor, this will cause the soil to produce wasteful and useless products which in turn will decrease the production.To conclude this essay, the climates in Tropical Africa take a big role as being factors that could endanger or destroy the process of plantation. On the other hand, it could also bring good fortune if climatic regions are fairly good. . Tropical Africa Food Production and the Inquiry M Essay Example For Students Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry M Essay odelTropicalAfrica: Food Production and the Inquiry ModelHunger is the result of disasters suchas drought, floods, the changing of the jet stream patterns and other naturaldisasters. They are beyond our control. It has been estimated that one third ofthe land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about6% of it is currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input,low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates theuse of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding varieties of crops. There are a number of environmental factors,related mostly to climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmentalsolutions. Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity. We will write a custom essay on Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry M specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and reliable. However,there is much less rainfall towards the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodicand unpredictable droughts are a characteristic feature of these borderzones. There are three climatic zones in TropicalAfrica:1. a region of persistent rain at andnear the Equator,2. a region on each side of this of summerrain and winter drought, and3. a region at the northern and southernedges afflicted by drought. All the climates listed in the previousparagraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountainsand monsoons. The soils of Tropical Africa pose anotherproblem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largelyproducts of their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperatesoils because the climate is different. Because of the great heat of thetropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand, the rainfallleaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to produce very deepsoils because the surface rock is rapidly broken down by chemical weathering. All this causes the foods rate of growth to slow down or maybe even stopand as a result food production wont even come close in catching up tothe rate of population increase; therefore starvation and hunger is present. In the process of a flood and drought,the roots of trees are shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtainedfrom the soil. The vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which isplentiful. If the vegetation is cleared, then the source of humus is removedand the natural infertility of the soils becomes obvious. As being anotherfactor, this will cause the soil to produce wasteful and useless productswhich in turn will decrease the production. To conclude this essay, the climates inTropical Africa take a big role as being factors that could endanger ordestroy the process of plantation. On the other hand, it could also bringgood fortune if climatic regions are fairly good.

The Role of Truth in The Things They Carried Essays

The Role of Truth in The Things They Carried Essays The Role of Truth in The Things They Carried Paper The Role of Truth in The Things They Carried Paper Essay Topic: Everything Is Illuminated The Things They Carried The Purest Form of Truth: Truths Role in The Things They Carried â€Å"War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead† (76). According to Tim O’Brien, all of these generalizations about war are the truth. However, as O’Brien continuously reshapes readers’ concept of truth throughout The Things They Carried, one quickly comes to realize that none of these facts represent truth about war. Readers experience the essence of Vietnam through each of O’Brien and his squadron’s vivid memories: Rat Kiley’s loss of a friend as Curt Lemon stepped into his last ray of sunlight and was blown up into the trees, Norman Bowker resigning to letting Kiowa slip under the mud and out of this life, and the â€Å"dainty young man† with his jaw in his throat and his eye as a star-shaped hole that was O’Brien’s only kill. Though portrayed as true life experiences, these events and even most of these characters are eventually revealed as fabrications of O’Brien’s mind. Does this mean that the stories are not true? As explained in another passage, â€Å"You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. Somebody tells a story, let’s say, and afterward you ask, ‘Is it true? ’ and if the answer matters, you’ve got your answer† (79). So, does it matter that O’Brien never really killed a man, that Bowker never sacrificed the Silver Star medal, and that Curt Lemon never trick-or-treated through a Vietnamese village during Halloween? After the undeniable impact on readers associated with the human experience, war experience, and essence of individuals captured within these stories, the answer to that question proves to be a resounding â€Å"no. One of the main reasons for differentiating between â€Å"story-truth† – which may not be true in real life but gives a genuine glimpse of the Vietnam experience – and â€Å"happening truth† – what really occurred – is that â€Å"happening truth† lends itself easily to glorification of war. For example, the story of a man winning a medal for outstanding bravery in saving his friend, or O’Brien’s example of a man sacrificing himself to save his group from a landmine, both convey a sense of pride, honor, and valor associated with having gone to war and even having died in Vietnam. Having been told these stories, learning that they were false would come as a shock because stories like these seem to reassure society that although hundreds of young men lost their valuable lives or came back as changed men, it was all worth some sort of grand distinction in the end. On the other hand, O’Brien’s stories, possessing â€Å"story-truth,† retain their significance whether they have â€Å"happening-truth† or not. As O’Brien puts it, â€Å"A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie†¦You can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil† (65). This quote presents a case of inherent irony in which the fabricated stories – complete with the gore of torturing a baby water buffalo after a friend’s death, the guilt of having a man die under your watch, the terror of looking a man you just killed in the face, and the disappointment of returning home only to find you’ll never fit back in – convey much more truth than most conventionally â€Å"true† war stories, which sweep the utter brutality of war under the rug. Thus, only through O’Brien’s â€Å"story-truth† do we see that these young men did not arrive in Vietnam for honorable reasons. These men went to war for fear of shaming their friends and families, these men gave their lives for a battle that did not enhance their life experiences, and even failed to result in progress for our nation, and those men that escaped with their lives were faced with the burden of death each and every day in that they could never escape the memories, could never truly communicate the horror they went through, and could never completely transition back into normal life. Though O’Brien did not truly kill a man or witness some of these events, the stories leave no doubt in readers’ minds that similar occurrences did happen in war and that the emotions conveyed by the stories truthfully capture how they made the men feel – which was anything but gratified and honored. Therefore, the lessons one can take away from these stories makes â€Å"story-truth† much more valuable than most cases of â€Å"happening-truth† about the Vietnam War. While O’Brien’s stories leave readers with the knowledge of how human emotions are impacted in a setting none of us are able to imagine, they also serve another purpose that also ceases to rely on truth: capturing the essence of a specific individual. We see this first in the case of Curt Lemon, whose personality is perpetuated throughout the novel by the stories of his best friend in Vietnam. O’Brian states that â€Å"To listen to the story, especially as Rat Kiley told it, you’d never know that Curt Lemon was dead. He was still out there in the dark, naked and painted up, trick-or-treating, sliding from hootch to hootch in that crazy white ghost mask. But he was dead† (227). Although this story about Lemon is highly exaggerated, and the question remains whether it is even true at all, readers can trust that what it reveals about Lemon’s character – his spontaneity and daring behavior – are in fact accurate, so it comes as no offence when it is revealed that Kiley regularly embellished the tale. â€Å"Story-truth† gains its final point of relevance when O’Brien describes how he uses stories to preserve his childhood love, Linda. Linda’s character compares being dead to being like a library book, safe on the very top shelf where no one has checked it out for a long, long time. Like Curt Lemon, Kiowa, Ted Lavender, and even the man Tim killed, Linda and all the memories surrounding her would tend to disappear with time if she were not illuminated by O’Brien’s novel. O’Brien remarks that now when he incorporates Linda’s essence into his stories, â€Å"She’s not the embodied Linda; she’s mostly made up, with a new identity and a new name, like the man who never was. Her real name doesn’t matter† (232). Whether â€Å"happening-true† or just â€Å"story-true,† Linda’s presence solidifies the idea that even if the characters in The Things They Carried have fake names, false actions, or entirely fictitious identities, they each bring forth a unique set of characteristics that alight on â€Å"truth. † For instance, even if Linda were not real, the way she made Tim (and readers) realize the purest form of love cannot be denied, and even if the man Tim killed had no story besides the one Tim developed, the way he represents men who never wished to fight, whose opportunities are cut off in early life, will live on forever. In this, the feigned truth of â€Å"story-truth† creates legends; it sheds light on interpersonal relationships and validates the lives of those who no longer have the ability to do so for themselves. As one progresses through The Things They Carried, it becomes more and more evident just how masterfully O’Brien has blurred the lines between truth and reality. Readers begin the book assuming it contains stories of fiction. It is not until the third chapter that one finds the narrator is a writer plagued by memories of war, and assume the stories to take on an element of truth. Soon after, one sees that O’Brien the narrator and O’Brien the author are two very different personas, and finally, towards the end of the novel, O’Brien reveals that, â€Å"†¦a long time ago I walked through Quang Ngai province as a foot soldier. Almost everything else is invented† (171). Seemingly, traveling through such ups and downs of truth and falsity would be recognized as a sort of betrayal to readers. Yet, O’Brien’s framework of war stories, within the story of the Vietnam War, within the larger story of O’Brien’s actual life serves to undermine any disappointment concerning the authenticity of events. Readers quickly learn that the statement â€Å"This is true† has double meanings, and truth itself is redefined as any incidence lending sincere insight into war and how it affects people, whether it occurred, did not occur, or very well might have occurred. Overall, when it comes to opening society’s eyes to a situation capable of bringing out the most evil, the most desperation, and the most appreciation for life simultaneously, one realizes O’Brien’s novel to be absolutely and undeniably â€Å"true. † OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Boston, MA: Houghton Miflin, 1990. Print.

Texas Holdem Rules Everything You Need to Win

Texas Holdem Rules Everything You Need to Win SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Imagine this scenario: your friends invited you to a poker night. There's going to be food, booze, and poker. You want to join in on the fun, but you have no idea how to play poker. Well don't worry about missing out on beer and bonding: I'm going to teach you how to play Texas Holdem, so you too can partake in the poker festivities. Texas Holdem (aka Texas Hold 'Em) is the poker game played most often at casinos and home poker games. Becoming a great Holdem player generally takes years of practice and studying, but learning how to play doesn’t take long at all. In this article, I’ll walk you through the Texas Holdem rules. After studying this article, you’ll be able to play online, at a casino, or with your friends. Hooray! Remember, just knowing the rules won’t make you an outstanding player, but you’ll be able to play, and you can get better through practice. How to Win Texas Holdem The goal in poker is to win as many poker chips as you can, one hand at a time. Typically, different chips will represent different denominations of money. You can win chips by having the best 5-card hand or remaining in a hand and having all the other players fold, meaning they give up instead of risking additional chips. The 10 Possible Poker Hands In Holdem, each player is dealt 2 cards (â€Å"hole cards†). Then, up to 5 community cards will be flipped in the center of the table. I’ll thoroughly explain the concept of community cards later, but Texas Holdem rules dictate that your best 5-card hand out of the 7 total cards is your final hand. These are how all the different poker hands rank. The Royal Flush is the best hand and the worst is â€Å"high card.† #1: Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J, 10 all the same suit (all clubs, all diamonds, all spades, or all hearts) #2: Straight Flush: Five cards in a sequence (example: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), all the same suit #3: Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank (example: four kings or four 8’s) #4: Full House: Three of a kind and a pair (example: three jacks and two 7’s) #5: Flush: Five cards of the same suit (example: five clubs or five hearts) #6: Straight: Five cards in a sequence but not of the same suit (example: 7, 8, 9, 10, J) #7: Three of a Kind/A Set: Three cards of the same rank (example: three 5’s or three kings) #8: Two Pair: Two different pairs (example: two 6’s and two 9’s) #9: Pair: Two cards of the same rank (example: two queens or two 10’s) #10: High Card: If you haven’t made any of the above hands, then your highest card determines the strength of your hand. (Example: if your highest card is an Ace, you have Ace high, and you would beat another hand in which the highest card was a King and none of the other hands were made.) If multiple players have hands that are ranked the same, the best hand is determined by the highest card within the hand. For example, if each player has a pair, then the highest pair wins. If somebody has a pair of 7’s and somebody has a pair of 5’s, the player with the pair of 7’s has a better hand. If two players have a pair of 7’s, then the player with the highest other card wins. If you're comparing two straights or flushes, then the player with the highest card within the straight or flush has the better hand. If you're comparing two full houses, the player with the highest card in the three of a kind has the better hand. In most hands of Holdem, the winning player will only have a pair, but if you play long enough, you'll see every type of hand. A straight! Texas Holdem Setup Holdem can be played with 2-10 players at a single table. Players sit around the table. Before beginning playing, each player purchases his chips. In a home game or tournament, everyone typically starts with the same number of chips. Usually, each player will put in the same amount of money and get the same number of chips. For example, everyone may put in $40 and get $2,000 in chips. At a home game, you can decide if the winner (person who ends up with all the chips or the most chips) takes all, or if you’ll end up dividing the money among the top 2-3 finishers. Each tournament has its own guidelines. At a regular casino game, the number of chips you get is based on your buy-in (the amount of money you give the dealer to receive your chips). If you spend more than the minimum buy-in, you’ll get more chips. If you buy in with $100, you’ll get $100 worth of chips. If you buy in with $200, you’ll get $200 worth of chips. At most casinos, there will be a minimum and maximum buy-in. Generally, the minimum buy-in will be 50 or 100 times the minimum bet. The Dealer Button At a home game, the dealer button is placed in front of the person who will play the role of the dealer for that hand and bet last after the initial round of betting. After each hand, the dealer button moves to the left. At a casino, there will be a casino employee who will deal each hand, and the dealer button is solely used to determine who will bet last. Again, after each hand, the dealer button moves to the left. Here’s what the dealer button looks like: John Wardell/Flickr If you’re playing a home game and don’t have an official dealer button, you can use any object to function as the dealer button. Just make sure not to use one of the same color chips that you’re using to place bets, so you don’t confuse the dealer button with a bet. The Blinds Blinds are the initial bets at the table. At the beginning of each hand, two players will post bets before any cards are dealt. These bets are referred to as the small blind and the big blind. The player to the left of the dealer button posts the small blind and the player to the left of the small blind posts the big blind. To post your blind, just place your blind in front of you on the table. The big blind is the minimum bet after cards are dealt, and the small blind is half of that. In casinos, at the tables with the lowest minimums, small blinds are usually $1 and big blinds are $2. These games are referred to as â€Å"$1-$2 holdem.† Most casinos will also offer â€Å"2-4 holdem† and â€Å"3-6 holdem.† The first number is the small blind and the second is the big blind. The purpose of the blinds is to stimulate betting. The blinds guarantee that there will be chips to win in each hand. Also, extremely conservative players are forced to make bets and can't just play for hours without risking any chips. Betting Rounds Texas Holdem involves four different rounds of betting. In each round, you normally have 3 options: you can fold, raise, or call. If you raise, you increase the bet by at least the big blind. In no limit poker, the most common type for casinos and home games, you can bet up to all of your chips. If you bet all of your chips, that’s called going all-in. In limit poker, you can only raise by a predetermined maximum amount (normally twice the big blind), and there’s only a certain number of raises allowed per betting round (usually 4-5 bets per round). If you fold, you’re giving up your hand instead of betting additional chips. When you fold, you put your cards face down in the center of the table. Never show your cards to anybody else, even when you fold. If you call, you’re matching the last bet. If somebody bets $2 and the next person raises to $8, you have to bet $8 to call. Additionally, if nobody has bet in a round, you can â€Å"check.† If you check (just say â€Å"check† or knock on the table), you’re keeping your hand and going to the next person without placing a bet. Typically, people check if they have a weak hand or they want the other players to think they have a weak hand (they’re trying to get other players to bet). You can also check if you’re the big blind and nobody has raised the big blind by the time betting action reaches you. Betting Round 1: The Pre-Flop The pre-flop betting round happens after each player receives his 2 cards and before any community cards are turned. Cards are dealt to the left (clockwise), one at a time, starting with the small blind. Betting action starts to the left of the big blind. That player has the option of calling the big blind, raising, or folding. After each person has had a turn and all remaining players have bet the same amount, the betting round is over. If somebody raises, the next person has to call the raise, raise again, or fold. If nobody raises the big blind, the big blind, who is the last person to act, can check and the betting round will be completed. But the big blind still has the option to raise. If he raises, then the remaining players will have to call, raise again, or fold. Players bet by placing their chips in front of them. At the end of the round, all the chips that have been bet go into the center of table and are referred to as â€Å"the pot.† At any point during any of the betting rounds, if all players fold, then the last remaining player wins the pot and the hand is completed. You start a new hand instead of continuing with one player. Betting Round 2: The Flop Three community cards are flipped. Every time community cards are flipped, the dealer should use a â€Å"burn card.† The burn card is the very top card on the deck. The burn card will be placed face down, and then the next three cards will be placed face up in the center of the table and will be the flop. The flop is the first three community cards. After the flop is dealt, there’s another betting round. Action will start with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer button. The same betting rules apply: players can bet, fold, or call. If nobody has placed a bet, a player can check. Again, once each player has had a turn and everyone has bet the same amount, the betting round is completed. If you have the final 7, this is a very lucky flop! (auddess/Flickr) Betting Round 3: The Turn The dealer burns a card and then flips the top card next to the flop. The turn is the fourth community card. Then, there’s another round of betting. All the same betting rules apply. Again, action starts with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer button. Betting Round 4: The River After burning a card, the dealer flips the top card next to the turn. The river is the last of the five community cards. Then, there’s one final betting round. All the same rules from the previous betting rounds are used. If there’s more than one hand remaining at the end of the round, there’s a showdown. The Showdown In a showdown, the remaining players show their hole cards, and the best hand wins the pot. The best hand is determined by comparing each player’s best 5-card hand from their 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards. If their hands are ranked the same, the player with the highest card within the hand wins. If the players have identical 5-card hands, then the players will split the pot. Also, if you don’t want to show your cards, you can â€Å"muck† your cards (place them face down in the center of the table) and automatically lose. You can do this if another player shows a better hand and you don’t want the other players to know how bad or good your hand was. In the showdown, you put all your cards on the table. Literally. (Big Daddy Brent/Flickr) How to Play Texas Holdem: Summary In Holdem, every player gets two cards, called â€Å"hole cards,† and the rest of the cards are â€Å"community cards,† which means they’re used by each player to produce the best possible five card hand. After the blinds are posted, each player is dealt two cards face down. Cards are dealt one at a time, clockwise, starting with the small blind. After everyone looks at their hole cards (never show your cards to anyone else), there’s a round of betting followed by â€Å"the flop.† For the flop, three cards are flipped from the top of the deck in the center of the table. After the flop, there’s another round of betting. Then, there’s â€Å"the turn.† For â€Å"the turn,† one additional card is flipped and placed next to the last card of the flop. Then, there’s another round of betting. Finally, there’s â€Å"the river.† For the river, one last community card is flipped and placed next to the turn. The flop, turn, and river are the five community cards. Players use their hole cards and the community cards to determine their best 5-card hand. After the river, there’s one final round of betting. If there’s more than one player remaining after the final round of betting, players show their hole cards, and the best 5-card hand wins the the pot. If all players fold before the end of the last betting round, the last remaining player wins the pot. Texas Holdem Rules Video Tutorials Here are a few video tutorials so you can see the Texas Holdem rules we just discussed in action. This first video quickly goes through the Holdem rules in under four minutes: This video is slightly longer and provides more explanation of how to play Texas Holdem: Finally, this video takes you through a complete hand of Holdem, discusses some basic strategy, and shows how you can lose with a seemingly great hand: 4 Very Basic Texas Holdem Strategies Now that you've got the basic Texas Holdem rules down, it's time to start thinking about strategy. As you become a better player, you can vary your play and develop an individual style, depending on what works best for you. However, following these strategies as a beginning player will normally give you your best odds of winning or minimizing your losses. Remember that these are just general guidelines for beginners to simplify the game. Play Tight (Especially Pre-Flop) You should only place a bet pre-flop if you have a good starting hand. Generally, good starting hands are pairs, at least one Ace, or two face cards. If you’re in the small blind, if there isn’t a raise, it’s typically in your best interest to call the big blind and see the flop. After the flop, don’t bet or call unless you have at least a pair. One notable exception is if you have at least 4 of the same suit or 4 in a sequence. Then, you have a decent possibility to make a flush or a straight. But if there’s a big bet or raise ahead of you, you may not want to call just to chase a flush or a straight. If it’s a small bet, it’s probably worth it to call. Play Aggressively When You Have a Good Hand This means that if you have a good hand, you should raise or bet. If you have a good hand pre-flop, raise 2-3 times the big blind. If you have a good hand post-flop, raise at least half of the pot. A good hand post-flop is at least top pair, meaning that one of your hole cards pairs with the highest ranked community card. If you have a good hand post-flop, don’t just check or call. You should bet or raise. You can try to get fancy and check raise, meaning that you check, and then after a player bets, you raise his bet. But normally only more advanced players use this move. If You’re the Dealer, Use Your Position to Your Advantage If you’re on the button (the dealer) or close to it, you can decide what to do based on the other players’ decisions. If everyone in front of you checks, it’s possible that nobody has a good hand and you can try to take the pot by betting. The assumption being that if you bet, everyone else will fold. If multiple people in front of you bet or raise, you can assume that somebody has a strong hand, and you should only call or raise if you have a very strong hand. Don’t Let the Outcome of Previous Hands Determine How You Play Your Current Hand In poker, even if you make the right play, it’s possible for bad things to happen. For example, if you fold a 5-7 pre-flop and three 7’s come out on the flop, that doesn’t mean that you made the wrong decision, especially if there was a raise before you folded. The odds of three 7’s coming out on the flop were incredibly low. Similarly, if you bet a good hand on the turn, then a weaker hand calls and ends up beating you by getting a lucky card on the river, you didn't make the wrong decision when you bet after the turn. It's important not to let unlucky or lucky outcomes in previous hands influence your decisions. Focus on making the right play in that situation, and you'll give yourself the best chance to win.

Duke Ellington Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Duke Ellington - Essay Example Ellington never restricted his career goals and continuously tried to invent new platforms to demonstrate his skills and abilities. Undoubtedly, the aspiration to achieve more and more heights greatly aided him to be a great person while changing the musical notions of the American society. Ellington’s never ending desire for success has greatly inspired me. 2. Ellington has influenced other musicians and non-musicians around the world. Scholars suggest that many people have been influenced by Ellington directly whereas he also inspired many others indirectly. His works like ‘Jack the Bear’, ‘Cotton Tail’ and ‘Ko-ko’ has had profound influence on jazz composition and performance practices (‘About Duke Ellington’). Ellington has a great influence over musicians in these modern days too. Charlie Barnet, Dave Brubeck, Lacy Gibson, Sammy Price, Goree Carter, and Jimmy Rushing are well known artists influenced by Duke Ellington. His contributions to jazz and American music are just beyond words. He wrote over thousands of songs among which more than hundred became great success. Inspired by Ellington’s enormous contribution to American music, many people entered this field and played a significant role in promoting jazz music. It was also identified that he could motivate many Black people who were considered socially less valuable during his time. 3.Two things that happened at the Cotton Club in New York City while Ellington was appearing there enhanced his musical growth and popularity. First, Ellington got an unexpected opportunity to perform in the Cotton Club for a major occasion. In 1927, the famous musician King Oliver refused a regular booking for jazz performance at the Cotton Club. As a result, the band organizers invited Ellington. The radio broadcast of this performance tremendously increased the popularity of Ellington and helped him achieve the appreciation of

Fast Talking Dame Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fast Talking Dame - Movie Review Example At present, the theory of Fast Talking Dames has been restricted to some of TV shows only, in which women use verbal means of communication more than action scenes. Now a days the role of women in films is on the concept that she can do anything that a man can do. As in Salt, Angellina Jolie performed as leading character of the movie, which went after a traitor who charged her of working as a Russian spy. Similarly, in Colambiana, Zoe Saldana, who after watching the assassination of her parents, grew up as cold assassin. In both of the movies quoted as example, the role played by female actresses is more masculine in nature. The concept of Fast Talking Dames has almost diminished in today’s cinema. It can only be seen in some of the TV shows or in the movies of 1930s, 40s era. Moreover, the audience too, like to see the female actresses in action scenes rather than spending time in dialogues and lighter comic