Poker School

How to play Texas Hold’em

Some people say Texas Hold’em is an easy to learn game, however it is taking lifetime to master. Indeed, Texas Hold’em’s rules shown bellow are very simple.

Texas Hold’em game is beeing played with 52 cards. Minimum of 2 people to maximum of 11 people may play Texas Hold’em around one table in one table game.
There are three standard forms for playing poker Texas Hold’em, depending on how many people are playing:

• For 2 players:called heads-up.
• For 3-6 players: it is called shorthanded
• For 7-10 players, or even rarely 9 to 11, called full ring.

Texas Hold’em round flow

A single round of Texas Hold’em game is divided to 4 phases, each phase is separated from its successor by betting round. Each round is finished with what we call “the showdown”, that is where active players are comparing the cards they hold. A player may win the round in 2 ways: by causing all the other opponents to give up, just before showdown or by showing the best hand at the showdown.
Texas Hold’em Preflop

2 of the players are must making blind bets, called “the blinds”. That is because they must be made just before all the players have collected their cards. There are 2 blinds: a small blind and the big blind, where the big blind is usually double then the small blind. Paying the blinds is rotating at a clockwise fashion each round. In that case, all players pays the two blinds exactly once. The blinds are paid by the two follow players to the left hand of the dealer.

Once the two blinds are set and paid, each player gets with two cards.

Once all players gets 2 cards, first betting round is begins, and now, both – money or chips, may be wagered.

Texas Hold’em Flop

After first bets round took place, the three “community cards” are dealt, faces open on the table. These are called the “flop cards” or “community cards” because all players can see and may use these cards with the cards they hold.

At this phase, second betting round is taking place.

Texas Hold’em Turn

The fourth community card, usually called “the turn”, is dealt just after the flop. that is the third round of bets.

Texas Hold’em River

“The River” is the fifth and last community card. After the river has been dealt, begins the fourth and last round for betting to take place.

Showdown is coming right after the forth bets have been placed, and all remaining players compares their hands. Player with the high hand wins.
Texas Hold’em flow of a betting round

Players can make wagers their cards during the betting rounds. That can force some other players out of the hand or, in other case, to increase their own possible winnings.

During the betting round, all players can do as follow:

• To Bet: By invest money, in case they believe they hold a good cards and chance of winning. The total aggregate bets from all the players around the table, are usually called “the pot”, and winner gets the pot at the round’s end. Player who asks to keep playing and betting, must at least, to match the others bets made by the other players.
• To Raise:In case other opponent already made a bet, that bet can be raised.
• Check: In case there are no other bets to be matched to, the action can be passed just to next player, with no need to make any new bet.
• Fold: Player decide to given up his hand and is out of that current round.
• All-In: Player may only bet as much money as he currently has on the table. In case a player pushes all the money or chips he has right into the pot, by both, matching a bet or making some raise of his own, that is called “all-in” or “pushing”. That means the player may no longer place any new bets cause he got no more money or chips to wager. In that case, player may also not to fold – since doing so will cause the player to lose everything.
• While player is all in, he will automatically takes part in the showdown.

Texas Hold’em best hand

The porpuse in poker game is to handle the best hand: a combination of five cards. All hands are combined from the both: cards handled to the individual players and all the community cards. Each player can use all, one or none from his cards and community cards.

Cards’ combinations are being divided into some different groups. These groups are weighted by the frequency of appearance, so rare cards combinations, such “royal flush” beats more commons hand like pairs.