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Texas Hold’em is, by far, currently the most popular form of poker. The number of Texas Hold’em games you find at a live casino or an online cardroom far outweigh all other types of poker combined. Whenever you see poker being played on TV, it is almost always some type of Texas Hold’em tournament. For
cash games , or regular poker games, both Limit and No-limit Hold’em are both popular. For
poker tournaments, however, No-limit Hold’em is the most popular. In fact, Doyle Brunson, one of the most famous poker players of all time, once coined No-limit Texas Hold’em as the “Cadillac of Poker”.
Starting Play
Play begins with the normal 52 card deck at a table of 2 to 10 players. High cards are drawn for the
dealer button, meaning the player that will act as the dealer, and this player is given a round plastic chip to mark his position. From this person, cards will be dealt to their immediate left and continue clockwise around the table. To begin, everyone is dealt two cards face down, which become their
hole cards
There is a round of betting preflop, and then three cards are dealt as part of the
flop . After another round of betting, the single
turn card is dealt. There is another round of betting before a single
river is shown. Finally, after a last round of betting all remaining players will show all their cards in what is called the
showdown. These five cards are placed in the middle of the table, and are known as
community cards that anyone can use. Combined with your own two hole cards, you will have seven cards to use to make up your final hand.
The object of the game is to make the best five card hand using these seven cards. Your goal is either to take the pot by betting and try to make everyone else fold, or to have the best hand at showdown.
The Blinds
Most poker players are familiar paying the
ante before each hand, but Texas Hold’em uses a completely different structure. Instead of having each player pay the ante, the two players to the left of the dealer must pay the small and big blind, respectively. After each hand the dealer button is passed clockwise around the table, and the next two players pay the blinds.
The Small Blind : The
small blind is paid by the player immediately left of the dealer. The amount of the small blind is usually one-forth the amount of the
big bet , but this varies by limit and game type. For example, a $2/4 Hold’em game usually requires a small blind of $1.
The Big Blind : The
big blind is paid by the player to the immediate left of the small blind. The amount of the big blind is usually one-half of the amount of the big bet. For example, a $2/4 Hold’em game would usually require a big blind of $2.
Before the flop, the blinds get dealt cards first but are last to act. In order for another player to enter the hand, they must at least call the big blind. After the flop is dealt, the small blind is always first to act.
Game Types
There are three primary types of Texas Hold’em games: limit, pot-limit, and no-limit. Limit Hold’em has a set betting structure, where one bets the size of the big blind preflop and after the flop, while betting twice the amount of the big blind after the turn and river. In Pot-limit Hold’em one can, at any time, place a bet up to the size of the pot. In No-limit Hold’em, one can bet as much as they have in front of them at any given time.
Preflop
As mentioned before, each player is dealt two facedown cards before the flop. The person to the immediate left of the big blind acts first, and can either call the big blind, raise the big blind, or fold. In a Limit Hold’em game, you can only raise double the amount of the big blind, while in other forms of Hold’em you can raise various amounts. After each player acts, play is continued in a clockwise motion around the table. Preflop, the blinds are last to act
The Flop
After preflop action is completed, the dealer will discard the top card on the deck, otherwise called the burn card, and turn the next three cards face up in the middle of the table. Every player still in the hand can use these three cards. Play starts with the person in the small blind position, and continues clockwise until the dealer is last to act.
If no one yet has bet or raised, a player is given the right to check, or pass the option to the next player. If players check around the table, the next card is dealt. If someone bets, a player must call the size of the bet, raise at least double the bet, or fold their hand.
Again, in a limit game the amount of betting and raising is limited to the amount of the big blind. In a pot-limit game, betting is limited to the size of the pot, while in a no-limit game players can bet up the amount of their chip stack. This concept remains true throughout the rest of postflop play.
The Turn
The turn, otherwise known as forth street, is the forth card dealt on the table. Before this card is dealt, the top card of the deck is burned, or discarded, to prevent cheating. After the card is dealt, action is repeated in a similar structure to the flop, but with the small blind acting first.
The biggest difference between the flop and the turn is the amount being bet in a Limit Hold’em game; the size of the bet, which equaled the big blind preflop and after the flop, is now doubled. For example, in a $2/4 game, the size of the bets and raises on the turn are now $4. The concept holds true for the river.
The River
The river, otherwise known as fifth street, is the fifth card dealt on the table. As with the turn, a card is burned before this fifth card is dealt. After play is completed, action moves to the showdown.
The Showdown
After action on the river is completed, those players still in the hand will move on to the showdown. In the showdown, the remaining players will show their hole cards and, using the five community cards in the middle of the table, will make the best possible five card hand. The player who bet last on the river will show first, and the other players have the option of showing their own hand or
mucking their cards, which means they fold their hand facedown. If action is checked through on the river, the player to the left of the dealer will show first and action will continue around the table. Again, people can either show their hand, or muck their cards.
Other Ways to Win
In Hold’em, the only other way to win is if you bet and everyone folds. In this case, you will be awarded the pot without ever needing to show your hand.
In Case of a Tie
If play gets to showdown and two or more players show the same exact hand, the pot will be split evenly amongst these players.
