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How to play Texas Hold'Em
Texas hold'em is the most popular poker variant, most likely to have kept you glued to the television screen if you've
seen the game on TV. Start by getting the basics of the Rules of Texas Hold'Em straight and you'll soon be ready for the big league Texas Hold'Em:
'The Cadillac of Poker'
Let's start at the beginning. Texas hold'em is a fast-paced, high-octane community-card game and the most popular
form of poker played today. The aim is to make the best five-card hand from any combination of the two private 'hole'
cards that you are dealt face down, and the five 'community' cards dealt face up which everyone uses. We'll go
through the play of a hand shortly - as well as all four rounds of betting - but first you need to know about
the 'dealer button' and the 'blinds'.
The Dealer Button
Dealing cards and betting always go clockwise. Each hand, one player gets the dealer button - a small object that
looks like a hockey puck and, handily, has 'dealer' written on it. Under the rules of Texas Hold'Em the deal and the action start to the left of
who has the button, which moves round one player each hand to make everything equal overall. Of course, if you're
playing with your mates, there's a real dealer for each hand. Online or in a casino there isn't, and so we use the
button instead.
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Blinds
The position of the dealer is important, because it is the two players sitting to the dealer's left who post the
blinds. The blinds make the game more exciting and are compulsory bets, cunningly introduced to ensure there's
some money to fight for in every pot. Otherwise, the players would probably sit around discussing golf and sports
cars until one of them was dealt Aces, and where would be the fun be in that? If you're beginning to get the
hang of the language of poker and the rules of Texas Hold'Em, you'll have figured out that they're called blinds because you make these bets 'blind',
in other words without having seen your cards first. The player to the immediate left of the dealer posts the
small blind, and the player to their left posts the big blind (which is usually double the small blind). The size of
the blinds are dictated by the stakes of the table or, if you're in a tournament, how advanced the game is. But more
about that later.
The Opening Deal
This is how a hand starts. Once the blinds have been posted, it's time for some cards. Moving clockwise round the
poker table from the dealer, each player receives two cards dealt face down that only they get to see. These are
also called pocket cards or 'hole' cards, and are not revealed to other players. Then it's time for some betting.
First Round of Betting
Because the blinds are in play, the rules of Texas Hold Em say that betting starts with the player after those who have already placed the small and big
blinds. In other words, it's the third player to the left of the dealer. At this stage, each player is betting on
what hands they feel their pocket cards have the potential of creating. For this round of betting, each player has
three choices: to fold (and throw in their hole cards), raise, or call (in other words, match) the last-biggest
bet. Because the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting, the others in the game have
to at least call this bet to stay in the hand on this round. This means that 'checking' - a term used when
there's no bet to match and you want to stay in the game but don't want to place a bet - isn't an option. The
betting goes round the table in a clockwise direction until each player has called, folded or raised. If no-one
has raised by the time the betting returns to the person who posted the big blind, this player may check his
own blind, fold or raise. If there has been a raise, the betting is re-opened (players after the raiser can
again choose whether to fold, call or raise) and continues until everyone has folded, put equal amounts in to
call or gone 'all-in' by betting all the chips they have on the table. In many games, there is a limit to the
number of raises, or the players would be there all day and night without getting any further. The hand is over
either when only one player is left with hole cards because all the others have folded, or when more than one
player reaches the showdown. In which case, it's time for the next stage.
The Flop
When the first round of betting is out of the way, it's time for the flop. This is where things begin to get
interesting. Within the rules of Texas Hold'Em the flop is a set of three cards dealt face up in the middle of the table all at once, and each
player uses these community cards to build a five-card hand. Then it's time for another round of betting. But things
change a bit this time, because some players will have dropped out, and there are no blinds after the first round.
Betting starts with the first player still in the hand sitting on the immediate left of the dealer, regardless of
whether the dealer is still active in the hand. And, because there are no blinds for the players to match, that
player is free to check - as are all the others, unless someone bets. Then betting becomes similar to that
before the flop and takes place among all players still in the hand. If everyone checks, or when you've all
put equal amounts in, it's time to move on to...
The Turn Card
Once the round of betting has finished, it's time for a fourth card to be dealt face up on the board. This is the
turn card and again can be used by all players to construct their best hand, after which betting follows the same
pattern as it did on the flop.
The River
Four cards down, one to go. When betting on the turn is complete the rules of Texas HoldEm say it is now time for the fifth and final community
card to be dealt: the card known as the river. Now that all the cards have been dealt, each player can decide what
their best five-card hand is. However, if the community cards (known as 'the board') display a royal flush,
no-one can use their hole cards and everyone 'plays the board' and splits the pot. Assuming that's not the case, it's
time for the final round of betting. If more than one player is still in the hand after this round, they move on
to the showdown.
The Showdown
It's now time to see who takes the pot. Each player who's still in declares their hand, starting with the last person
to bet, and so on, unless they choose to 'muck' them, which is the same as folding. This is useful if, for example,
your bluff on the river got called. The winner is decided using universal hand rankings. If a player wins the pot by
forcing everyone else to fold on the river through betting (obviously a smart guy), there's no showdown and the
winner can decide whether to show their cards or not. Most players don't, as it's always nice to keep people
guessing. But it's also nice to have the opportunity to show off when you make a massive bluff and win.
All-in
You might already have heard the immortal words, 'I go all-in'. Since we're not barbarians, poker games are generally
played with 'table stakes'. This means that you can't be bet out of a hand if you don't have enough money. Instead,
you can simply go 'all-in', whereby you bet all the chips you have on the table. You are entitled to see all the
community cards and take part in the showdown, at which stage, if you have the winning hand, you can win up to the
amount you went all-in for from each player.
Still confused?
Don't panic if the rules of Texas Hold'Em is all still a bit hazy. As with so many things in life, the secret is in the doing. Spend some
time getting used to it and allow the strategy for winning to become clear. Before you take a tilt at a World
Series bracelet, however, it's worth playing for free on one of the many poker websites offering practice games
until you have mastered the basics. Then it's good to move on to low-stakes games and play towards raising your
standard.
Sit and Go Strategy
A sit and go is like a tournament in miniature. Just like a large
multi-table tournament, you have an early stage in which players are feeling each
other out, a middle stage in which players jockey for position and a late
stage in which blinds are high and players may have to make moves to survive. In
a sit and go, all these things just happen much faster. Regardless, sit and go
tournaments are the most popular form of texas
holdem online today.
As an early sit and go strategy in the early rounds of a sit and go, you don’t want to push things. The blinds are small and there are no antes, which means you are risking a lot to win a little every
time you enter a pot. This does not mean you should not be aggressive.
If you are the first to come into a pot, you should come in raising. If
you have a monster, you should bet it with authority. However, chasing and
making fancy moves at this stage is not necessary.
Early Turbo Strategy
In a turbo tournament, the blinds go up faster, usually every five
minutes. This gives you much less time to play slow and feel out your opponents.
After the first round or two, you already have to start thinking about making
moves.
That said, you still have that round or two. In many cases, especially
at low buy-ins, turbo players are looking for the first opportunity to move
all-in. If you hang back for the first round or two, you may find yourself up
against a significantly reduced field.
Deep Stack Strategy
If the tournament is deep stacked, it may mean you are playing a high
buy in, which means possibly tough opposition. In a low stakes deep stack tournament, players may not appreciate the value of their chips because they have so many. They will make bets and raises out of proportion with the blinds. Play extra tight and let these players put too many chips at risk when you have a monster.
Play Poker.
Texas Hold 'Em Poker explained.
Texas Hold 'Em Rules.
Texas Hold 'Em Tips.
7 Card Stud.
5 Card Draw.
Omaha Hi Lo.
Guide to Poker Words and Phrases.
The Rules of Poker.
Poker Flop.
Online Poker Information.
Online Poker Tells.
Spotting Poker Tells.
Big Poker Game Advice.
Sit and Go Tournaments.
Heads Up Poker.
Calculating Poker Odds.
For more Poker tips, hints and articles, expert analysis on the all big events, classic gaming techniques, practical
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