How To Play Texas
Holdem
Texas Holdem, the
most popular poker variant in the world to date,
is not nearly as complicated as one who’s never
played the game might think. If you have ever
played any variation of poker, from 5 Card Draw
to 7 Card Stud, you already have a good idea of
how to play. In Texas Holdem, each player has 7
cards with which to develop the best possible
5-card poker hand. However, 5 of those 7 cards
are used by everyone at the table, not just you.
These 5 cards are known as Community Cards. The
remaining 2 cards are yours and yours alone,
seen by no other player, called Hole Cards.
Texas Holdem is
played with a standard 52-card deck, allowing
anywhere from 2 to 10 participants in a single
hand.
Object of Texas
Holdem
In Texas Holdem, each player is combining their
2 Hole Cards with the 5 Community Cards face-up
on the table to create the best possible 5-card
poker hand. The player with the highest ranking
poker hand at the end of the hand is awarded the
pot.
Betting Structure
of Texas Holdem
Texas Holdem is played in all limits – Fixed
Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit – with a Blind
betting structure (Small Blind and Big Blind).
For this guide to how to play Texas Holdem,
we’ll be using a Fixed Limit betting structure,
but you’ll find a brief description of each
below, along with all betting options and
blinds.
Fixed Limit:
Players must place bets/raises in the amount of
the low- and high-end stakes. For example,
stakes of $2/$4 would force all bets and raises
in the first two betting rounds to equal the
low-end stakes of $2. For the last three betting
rounds, all bets and raises must match the
high-end stakes of $4.
No Limit: Like
Fixed Limit, the stakes determine the lowest
bets that can be made in a betting round, but
there is no maximum bet amount. A player bet as
high as he wishes at any time, up to the amount
of chips he has.
Pot Limit: The
stakes also determine the lowest bet amounts,
like in Fixed Limit, but the highest bet/raise
allowed is maxed at the size of the pot. For
example, in a $2/$4 Pot Limit game, the minimum
bet is $2 or $4 (depending on the round). If the
pot has $10 in it, the maximum bet is $10.
Should a player bet that maximum of $10, the pot
now holds $20, raising the max bet to $20.
Texas Holdem Blind
Bets
Small Blind: The Small Blind is a forced bet
equal to 50% of the low-end stakes. The player
left of the dealer must place the Small Blind
bet before any cards are dealt.
Big Blind: The Big
Blind is a forced bet equal to the low-end
stakes. The player left of the Small Blind
Bettor (two seats left of the dealer) must place
the Big Blind bet before any cards are dealt.
Check: A player
may Check if no player has Bet before him in the
current round of betting. A Check is to place no
chips in the pot, but stay active in the hand.
Bet: To place
chips into the pot.
Call: To place
chips into the pot equal to the previous bet
(i.e. to Call a Bet)
Raise: To place
more chips into the pot than the previous bet.
Fold: To throw in
your cards, surrendering the hand and all chips
in the pot.
All-In: To bet all
of the chips you have left. All-In bets are
placed in a separate pot because the bettor may
not win more chips from any player than the
amount of his own All-In bet.
General Game Play
of Texas Hold'em
Note: For the following example Texas Hold'em
hand, we’ll be using a Fixed Limit betting
structure with $2/$4 stakes.
The hand begins
with the placement of the Small Blind and Big
Blind bets. Each player is then dealt 2
face-down Hole Cards. The first round of betting
begins with the player left of the Big Blind
bettor, who must Call the Big Blind bet, Raise
or Fold. Remember that all bets/raises must be
made equal to the low-end stakes of $2. Betting
continues around the table until the Small Blind
bettors turn. The Small Blind bettor can call
the current bet by adding enough chips to his
Small Blind to match the bet, Raise, or Fold.
The Big Blind may then Check (if no player has
Raised), Raise or Fold.
The Flop: The
first three Community Cards are dealt face up in
the center of the table. (Community Cards are
used by all players, in combination with their
own Hole Cards, to develop a hand.) Another
round of betting begins, same as the last,
except that this time the player who originally
placed the Small Blind bet at the start of the
hand will take the first action.
The Turn: The
fourth Community Card is dealt. Another betting
round commences, this time increasing the
bet/raise amount to the high-end stakes of $4.
All bets/raises must equal the high-end stakes
for the rest of the hand.
The River: The
fifth and final Community Card is dealt. Each
player now has 7 cards to work with. The final
betting round starts, same as the last.
The Showdown: A
Showdown will only occur if two or more players
remain in the hand (i.e. if everyone hasn’t
Folded). All remaining player reveal their
cards. The player who can develop the highest
ranking 5-card poker hand wins the entire pot.
In the event of a
tie, the winners split the pot, (example: two
players develop a Queen-High Straight.)
Poker Hand Ranks
(highest to lowest)
Royal Flush (Ace-high straight suited)
Straight Flush (straight suited)
4 of a Kind (4 cards of the same value)
Full House (3 of a Kind + 1 Pair)
Flush (all cards suited)
Straight (all cards in sequence)
3 of a Kind (3 cards of the same value)
2 Pair (1 Pair + 1 Pair)
1 Pair (2 cards of the same value)
High Card (none of the combinations above) |
