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Texas Hold’em

Texas Holdem has been called the Cadillac of poker games due to the ease at which one can learn the basic rules. In addition, Holdem is the most beautifully complex of the poker games. It is certainly the most popular and is arguably the hardest to play. Many players use the adage, "takes a moment to learn, and a lifetime to master".

How To Play Texas Hold'em Poker

Here are the basics for playing Texas Holdem poker. One person is designated as the dealer and given the "button", a small marker showing the table who is the dealer. This marker is usually a white disc with a "D" on the top. Players who deal are sometimes said to be "on the button", since the marker usually looks like a button they could push. Below Player 1 is the dealer. Player 2 is the small blind and player 3 is the big blind. What are blinds?

Forced Bets

Well, before any cards are dealt in Texas Hold em there is usually forced bets for players to make. These are often two "blind" bets, ideally called blinds, and are forced onto the players immediately to the left of the dealer. There is a small blind and a big blind, with the small usually being half of the big. For example, at the table above the blinds are "10 and 20" or $10 for the small blind and $20 for the big blind. Player 2 is the small blind, so he puts out one white chip worth $10. Player 3 is the big blind, so he must put in two whites totalling $20. Those two bets make up the starting pot. There is no way for a player to retrieve those bets, unless of course they win the pot at the end of the hand.

There is also a form of bet called an "ante". You have probably heard the phrase "ante up". An ante is a forced bet, just like a blind. However, ante bets are made by all players at the table. Generally the purpose is the same as blind bets. They start the action of the game by creating a pot before the hand even starts.

Once the blind bets have been placed, the dealer will deal out two cards to each player face down so that no other player can see any others cards. The cards you were just dealt are called your "hole cards", or "starting hand". These are the cards you will have to use to try and complete your poker hand. Play starts with the person to the left of the big blind, who is referred to as "under the gun" since they are the first to have to make a decision to continue playing their hand. Play rotates clockwise from this player. Each player has three options when their turn arrives: fold, call or raise. These are the main three actions you must know in the game of Texas Holdem poker.

Folding

Folding is when you turn your hand in to the dealer and forfeit your cards, along with any money you might have placed into the pot. You have decided not to continue playing the current hand. It does not mean you quit the game, but only the current hand. Even if you look at your hole cards and see you have a terrible starting hand, you must wait until it is your turn to fold your cards. Folding before your turn is considered bad poker etiquette.

Calling

Calling means you want to continue playing your hand, so you match the current bet on the table. The big blind is the initial bet at the start of the round of play. So to call you would put out the same amount of chips as the big blind when it was your turn.

Raising

Raising means you are challenging the other players that you have the best hand and you think you are likely to win, so you are putting more money into the pot. There are different variations of Holdem poker with different limits on how you can raise the pot, but we'll get into that in another article. For now, know that when you raise you must put in at least double the current big bet. So if the bet is currently $20, as in our example above where the big blind is $20, a raising player must double that to $40 when they raise the bet. All remaining players in the hand acting after the raising player then have another chance to decide if they wish to continue as well.

These players are again then once again faced with the same choices: fold, call or raise. Play rotates clockwise and each player is given an opportunity to wager, match an existing wager or fold until all bets have been called or until all hands have been folded but one. If all hands are folded but one then that last person remaining wins the collective pot.

The Flop

After the first round of betting is completed, the dealer takes the first card from the deck and puts it away in a discard pile called "the muck". They then deal out three cards face up in the middle of the table. This action is called "the flop". These three cards are "community cards". All players can use these cards plus their hole cards to try and make the best poker hand. The ranking of poker hands is described on the hand rankings page.

Now, just as before, play rotates clockwise around the table. But this time play begins immediately to the left of the dealer with the small blind. Each player now must take one of only two actions: check or bet. This is because there is no forced bet as there was at the beginning of the hand.

Checking

A player does not have to bet if there is no bet yet on the table. If no bet has been made, a player can pass their turn if they are not willing to make a bet at that time. This is called "checking" their hand. Play then passes on to the next player. However, once a bet is made by a player you are no longer allowed to check. Once a bet is made your options go back to our three main options from before: fold, call the bet or raise the bet.

Betting After The Flop

Once a player decides to bet after the flop, their bet must be at least equal to the big blind. If, as in our example, the big blind was $20 at the start of the hand, the player must bet at least that much. There are different variations of poker that place varying limits on how much a player may bet, but for now just keep this minimum bet in mind, as it is the same for all variations.

Again, play continues until either all bets are called or all hands are folded but one. If all hands are folded, the last remaining player wins the pot. If a bet has been called then remaining players move on to the next round, called the turn.

The Turn

The dealer again takes the first card and without anyone seeing it, places it into the discard pile. They then deal one more card face up in the middle of the table. This becomes our fourth "community card" and is again shared by all players remaining in the hand. This is sometimes called "second street", sometimes "third street" (depending on the player), but everyone should know it as "the turn" card.

Again, we have another round of betting which again starts with the first active player immediately to the left of the dealer. This might not be the small blind, as they may have folded their hand. It would be the first person to the left of the dealer that still holds active cards. Players again must either check, bet, raise or fold until we have either all bets called or all hands folded but one. If players remain, we move on to the last remaining round of betting: the river.

The River

This is the final round of the hand. The dealer again takes one card and without showing it places it into the muck. They then take the next card and place it face up in the middle of the table to become our fifth community card. This is sometimes called "third street", sometimes "fourth street", but is most always called "the river" card. It is the last community card players will get. They must now make a five card poker hand using either the five community cards or a combination of the community and their hole cards.

Another round of betting then takes place, again starting with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer. Players again must either check, bet, raise or fold until we have either all bets called or all hands folded but one. If all bets are called then this is called the "showdown". Players then turn their hands over to see who has the best ranking poker hand. The winner takes all the chips in the pot.

Simple Isn't It?

It might seem complicated, and we've taken a lot of space here to explain it in detail, but Texas Holdem really is a pretty simple game. But in case you are feeling overwhelmed it's easier when you see these things taking place. Here is a video on how to play from eHow.com: