How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker

It is an understatement to say that television made Texas Hold'em the most popular poker variation in America. Since it became the featured event at the World Series of Poker, its popularity has soared. What began in the early 1900's in Texas as simply Hold'em, has evolved, undergone a name change, attracted thousands to tournaments, and has had many books of strategy written about it.

There are four betting rounds in Texas Hold'em. This adds to the strategy of determining pot odds and real odds, of reading your opponent, of improving your hand, and of leading your opponents to fold in the face of a bluff, or drawing them in, thinking you're bluffing, when you hold the nut, an unbeatable hand.

Texas hold'em is a community card game where everyone shares 5 cards and has two down or hole cards. New players cannot imagine how rich the possibilities can be with such an arrangement.

Some of the terms used in Hold'em are familiar. The flop is the three-card play after the two hole cards are dealt and the first betting has finished. There is betting "on the flop", "on the turn", and "on the river".

There are two blinds. The small blind is the player to the dealer's left. The next player to the left is the big blind.

In most games the house deals the cards but one of the players is the "dealer". This is indicated by a "button", a disk with dealer on it. The button rotates from hand to hand, thus changing the players who make the blind bets.

Three variations of Hold'em are played online and in casinos. The most common is limit poker. The first two bets are at the low limit. The big blind is also at the low limit and the small blind is usually half that. The last two rounds of betting are at the high limit. Some houses offer pot limit. This means that the highest bet allowed is the size of the pot. Finally, we get to no-limit poker, made famous on television. Newer or less experienced players should play in limit games until they have gotten a lot of experience.

• The blinds place their bets. The Players to the left of the Dealer begin by posting the blind bets.
  
  
• Each player gets two face-down cards. (Once in a while, a down card is shown to the other players. The rules that dictate what is to be done in such cases vary from house to house)
  
  
• The first round of betting begins with the player to the left of the big blind.
  
  
• The blinds are actual bets, so all players have to call the blinds, at the very least. Raises are permitted in this round as well.
  
  
• Three community cards are played, called the flop.
  
  
• Betting now begins with the small blind or the player to the dealer's left.
  
  
• After round two of betting is finished, a single community card is played, called the turn.
  
  
• Round three of betting begins as in round two.
  
  
• The last community card is played, called the river.
  
  
• The last round of betting takes place.
  
  
• Players show their hands. In hold'em players can use any five of the seven cards to make their best hand.
  
  
• If there is a tie on the hand, the players split the pot. Before a split pot is declared, the players check their kickers, the cards that don't make their hand but are among the five they are playing. The highest kicker wins when the hands are equal.

The betting rules in Texas Hold'em are the same as in other poker games.

• The small blind is one-half the big blind.
  
  
• The big blind is the size of the minimum bet.
  
  
• If there is no minimum bet, the blinds are determined by the house or the players.
  
  
• A player must call the blinds, or raises if there are any, to stay in the game for the flop.
  
  
• Some tables will have a restriction on the number of raises per round.
  
  
• The highest allowed bet in pot limit games goes up all the time, as the pot increases.
  
  
• Players may call all-in only in no-limit games.
  
  
• The pre-flop round begins to the left of the big blind.
  
  
• All other rounds begin with the player to the left of the dealer.

• Five of the total Seven-Cards can be seen after the flop. At this point, you will have a good indication of how strong your hand will be in the final round. Consider your cards and bets carefully. Staying for the Turn and the River demands that you either have a strong hand, a draw to a potentially winning hand, or good reason to believe that betting on a future round may cause your opponents to fold



• As a general rule, don't continue beyond the flop without diverse possibilities - a strong pair and a decent side-card, a kicker, a straight, or flush draw. If you flop a draw, stick with it as long as the pot promises a greater payoff than the odds against making your hand



• Although Ace-King is a terrific starting combination, it generally needs to catch a flop with either an Ace or King in it to play aggressively



• When you must act before most of your opponents, play few hands. Acting last in Hold'em is like batting last in baseball. It's a big advantage. In fact, hands that you'd routinely fold from early position might be raising hands if you are last to act



• Carefully consider how the communal cards can interact with your two hidden pocket cards to create a winning hand



• Call it quits when necessary. You haven't lost much if you have a worthless hand and fold early in the game. It's good practice to err on the side of caution; it costs less



• Success at Texas Hold'em demands that you be patient, pay close attention to position, and take comfort in the knowledge that good hands are run down less often than the best seven-card stud hands