How to Play Texas Holdem Poker
Texas Holdem Poker is
the most popular poker game. It is an easy game to learn. It is also
a difficult game to master. Maybe that is what really draws so many
new players to the game. Before we get started on the specifics of
how to play Texas Holdem Poker we will review a couple of important
points.
You will need to know
and understand the language of betting. There is a good chance that
you already know it.
The Language of
Betting:
-
Fold
-
Call – matching
the bet that is in front of you
-
Check – pass the
action to the next player without betting
-
Bet
-
Raise
There are three
variations or betting structures of Texas Holdem Poker. A good
portion of the strategy from Limit Holdem can be carried over to Pot
Limit and No Limit but they are all very different games and do
require different tactics.
A Limit Texas Hold Em
Poker game means that the size of the bet is fixed on each street.
An example of this would be, in a $1/$2 Texas Holdem poker game, the
bets are made in increments of $1 before and after the flop. On the
turn and the river the bets increase to $2. If you are new to the
game I highly recommend that you play in a structured limit game.
A Pot Limit Texas
Hold Em Poker game is a combination of structured limit/ No limit,
in which you can make a maximum bet at any time up to the amount of
money that is in the pot.
In a No Limit Texas
Hold Em Poker game there is no limit to the amount that you can bet.
But there is usually a minimum for each bet.
How
to Play Texas Holdem Poker
The Shuffle, The Deal
and The Blinds
The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck. When playing in a
casino, the dealer does not play. If you are playing with a group of
friends then the dealer can and usually is a player.
A round disc -- known
as a "dealer button" -- moves clockwise from player to player with
each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the
deal were advanced from player to player as the game went along.
The two players to
the left of the dealer start by putting a predetermined amount of
money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there's
something to play for on every hand. This is called "posting the
blinds."
Most often, the
"small blind" -- the player to the left of the dealer -- puts up
half the minimum bet, and the "big blind" puts up the full minimum
bet. For example, in a $4/$8 game the "small blind" would be $2 and
the "big blind" would be $4.
Each player is then
dealt two cards, face down. These first two cards are "hole cards."
A round of betting
then takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two
who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's
their turn to bet.
The Flop
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of
the deck. This is called burning the card. This 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 (the button). During this and all future
rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's
their turn to bet.
Fourth Street
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 (the button)
begins the third round of betting.
The River
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
(the button). 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 hand wins.
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