Basics Of Playing Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold’em is the single most popular poker variant today and has been for years for newcomers as well as professionals. The greatest feature of the game is that it is easy to learn because of its simple rules. From here on though, it really begins to shine even brighter because of the complicated, labyrinthine strategies that can take decades to master, if even then. Following are some rules central to the game meant to be an introduction for the beginner and a chance to sharpen the skills of the more advanced player.

Nuts and Bolts of Texas Hold’em Play

A maximum of ten players can play the game and it begins by all of them drawing for the deal where the high card wins. There are many games, though, where the house specifies dealer, so this dealer draw is not always present. In any case, the dealer is known as the “button” and is last in the betting round to act. First up is the “small blind” who is the one next to the button and he starts by anteing half of the limit amount. Next comes the big blind followed by the other players. The button or last position is coveted because he has a clear observation of all the players raises and re-raises which gives him valuable information about his opponents’ hands.

In limit poker, the players can call, fold or raise on the ante bet up to the house limit while in no-limit they can do the same depending on how much they want to invest in their hand. Even in no-limit though, it is not rare to encounter a house limit of three raises per betting round. Also with the no-limit format, a player can go all in raising the bet to the extent of his current stack and pot-limit allows players to raise to the extent of the value of the cash in the pot.

The beginning player will usually find comfort in the limit games, only moving on to the no-limit and pot-limit games when they feel comfortable in doing so. To digress a bit, a player who remains in the game after all others have folded “wins blind,” otherwise the player with the best five-card hand at showdown wins. The winning hand is created from the players hole cards and the community cards. The hand ranking goes as follows, with the best first: Royal straight flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, pair and lastly a pair and a high card.

Texas Hold’em Play Recap

To start the game, there is a round of betting. Note that this betting takes place before the flop reveals the community cards, so at this point, the players are only betting with their two hole cards. Players have the option to fold, call or raise before the next round. The supreme starting hand consists of two aces, while the loser is an unsuited 2-7.

The following round of betting comes after the flop so the community cards are shown to the table. As stated above, the small blind leads the way. The fourth community card (“turn”) is dealt followed by the final, fifth card (“river”). The best hand at showdown wins the pot, unless of course all but one have folded, then the survivors hand, whatever it is wins.

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