How To Play
Texas Holdem
Poker
Texas Holdem poker has fast become the most
popular poker game in the world. It is a
community poker game that features five cards
that are dealt face up in front of the dealer.
These cards are visible to all players, and all
players share the cards. Players can then use
their own cards and the community cards to form
a winning hand.
There are three different variations of Texas
Holdem and they are all defined by their betting
limits.
Limit Texas Holdem (there is a specified
betting limit in each game and on each round of
betting)
Pot Limit Texas Holdem (the maximum bet a
player can make is what is in the pot)
No Limit Texas Holdem (a player can bet all
of their chips at any time)
A Summary of Texas Holdem Poker
- Blind Bets
- Deal - each player is dealt 2 cards face
down
- First betting round
- The Flop - the first three community
cards are dealt face up
- Second betting round
- The Turn - the fourth community card is
dealt face up
- Third betting round
- The River - the final community card is
dealt face up
- Final betting round
- Showdown
The Dealer Button
Texas Holdem uses a small disc called the
"dealer button" to indicate the dealer of each
hand. Once a hand is completed, the dealer
button moves clockwise to the next player. This
ensures that each player has the chance of
playing early or late and that every player gets
a chance to post the "blind bets".
The Blind Bets
The player to the left of the dealer button
is required to place the small blind. The small
blind is usually equal to half the lower stake
and the next player to the left is required to
place the big blind. The big blind is equal to
the lower stake limit.
For example, in a $10/$20 game, the small
blind is $5 and the big blind is $10.
Once the blind bets have been made, each
player is dealt two cards face down.
The first round of betting begins with the
first player to the immediate left of the big
blind.
Both the small and the big blinds are
considered live bets and therefore the player
has the option of checking, calling, raising or
folding when the betting action comes back
around to their position. After the flop and
after each subsequent betting round, the first
active player left of the button is first to
act.
When you are playing online you will be
forced to place a bet equal to the big blind
when you first sit and play a hand.
The mandatory posting of the blind is in
place to ensure fairness to all players;
preventing players from constantly switching
seats to gain a positional advantage, or from
entering games in a late position and then
leaving before they are required to post the big
blind.
First Betting Round
Starting with the player to the left of the
big blind, they have the option to bet, raise or
fold. All remaining players can then call, raise
or fold. To call is to bet the same as the
previous player. If the first player folds, then
the next player will have the option to bet
while the remaining players can call.
The bets in the first betting round are set
at the lower limit of the stakes structure, so
in a $10/$20 game the value of a bet is $10
while the raise is $20 (a raise includes a call
of the previous bet plus an additional bet).
The Second Betting Round
After the flop (when the first 3 community
cards have been dealt), the second betting round
begins.
The first player to the left of the dealer
button is the first to act (bet, raise, check or
fold). Checking is to refrain from betting and
is only available if no bet has yet been made in
the betting round. Once a bet has been made,
remaining players will only have the option to
call, raise or fold. Like the first round, the
second also limits the bets and raises to the
lower limit of the stakes structure.
The Third Betting Round
The third betting round starts after the Turn
(when the fourth community card has been dealt).
Once again, the player to the left of the
dealer button begins the betting (bet, check or
fold). However, this time the bets and raises
are limited to the upper limit of the stakes
structure. Using our previous example of a
$10/$20 game, the bets must be $20. Each
subsequent player can then call, check, raise or
fold (a player can only check if no bet has been
made).
The Final Betting Round
The final betting round happens after the
River card (the final community card) has been
dealt.
The player to the left of the dealer button
can bet, check, raise or fold. Bets and raises
are limited to the upper limit of the stakes
structure. Using our previous example of a
$10/$20 game, the bets must be $20. Remaining
players can then call, check, raise or fold (a
player can only check if no bet has been made).
The Showdown
Any remaining players will now display their
two cards and the player who has the best hand
wins.
Players can use one or two of their hole
cards in combination with the community cards to
form their best possible five card poker hand.
If two or more players have the same hand
then the pot is split equally between them.
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