How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker

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These days, almost everyone who plays poker is playing Texas Hold’em.  Everywhere you look, the game is being shown on TV or discussed on the Internet.  Tournaments have become commonplace and Hold’em has even made it to the silver screen several times, most famous of which was as an important part of Casino Royale, a 2009 James Bond movie.

Texas Hold’em is an exhilarating combination of skill and daring, with players putting a great deal of effort into reading the cards and their opponents, while at the same time trying to avoid being read themselves.  Counting cards, calculating percentages and computing outs can all give way to staring an opponent in the face and trying figure out if he has you beat or just pushed in on a naked bluff.  So is the expertise and suspense of Texas Hold’em Poker.

Starting a hand of Hold’em depends on knowing who the dealer is.  The first person to the left of the dealer puts out the small blind and the second person puts out the big blind.  Two hole cards are dealt face-down to each player, and then each player can either call, raise or fold.  The pre-flop betting continues until the big blind has a chance to bet, or until all raises are met.

Once the betting is complete, the “flop” is made; the dealer discards (or “burns”) one card, then deals three community cards face-up.  Another round of betting takes place at the point.  Once the bets are placed, another card is burned, and then the fourth card, or “turn”, is dealt, with betting taking place again.  Finally, one more card is burned and then the fifth card, or “river”, is dealt.  Betting takes place and if more than one player remains, player can show or discard (also called muck) their cards so a winner can be declared.

The order of hands is the same as most other types of poker, starting with Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and finally, High Card.  If two identical hands exist, the pot is split.

There are three different types of Texas Hold’em, and each relates to the type of betting allowed.  In Limit Hold’em, a $10/$20 game has small blinds of $5 and big blinds of $10.  The first two rounds of betting are in increments of $10. The last two rounds of betting are in increments of $20. There is a maximum of three re-raises per betting round.

In Pot Limit Hold’em, raises make the stakes go up much quicker.  In our previous example, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $20.  The first player after the blinds can call the big blind, or raise to any amount up to the size of the pot.  A raise must either equal or exceed the previous bet or raise; in a $10/$20 game, a pot-sized raise would be $50 ($10 small blind + $20 big blind + $20 call), meaning that, in total, player three can bet up $50.

No Limit Hold’em is the easiest, and most risky of the three.  The blinds are the same, but players can bet any amount up to the amount they hold.  In a $10/$20 game, a player can bet $20 or $10,000, if they can cover the bet.  No Limit is the most famous of the three and it requires players to be careful, since a large bet can get swallowed up anytime by an all-in.

Regardless of the type, Texas Hold’em is an exciting game.  Millions of players go to the felt every day, whether in a casino or in one of the hundreds of online poker rooms.  Players can get as deep as they want in learning the nuances and strategies involved.  Whether a player is an average Joe or James Bond, learning Texas Hold’em Poker is something they are sure to enjoy.