How To Play Texas Holdem Poker
Texas Hold em Poker is the most popular form of poker around and attracts thousands of poker players on popular online poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker each day.
In Texas Holdem each player will receive two cards and there will be five community cards that will be dealt face up on the table (commonly referred to as the board). The community cards are the cards all players can use to make up their best possible hand.
To win each player who is left in the hand must make the best possible five card hand from the seven cards (two in the players hand and the five community cards). You can view the poker hand rankings here. If the best hand is showing on the board and it does not include any of the two cards you are holding, then they are the five cards you will use. Of course everyone else still left in the hand can also use the five community cards as their best hand and in this situation the hand would be tied and the money split between all winning players.
Of course not all hands will reach the showdown and another way of winning the pot is to bet in any of the betting stages mentioned below and force all other players involved in that hand to fold their cards. Any chips in the pot are awarded to that player and the next hand starts.
The Dealer Button
The dealer button is a marker that goes around the table in a clockwise rotation, moving along one position on the table with each hand. This marks out where the first cards will be dealt at the start of every hand and the order of play in which each player will act. At the end of each hand the dealer button moves along to the next player ready for the next hand to start.
The Blinds
At the start of every hand the two players immediately to the left of the dealer button must put the blinds (short for blind bet as the bet is committed into the pot before the cards are dealt) into the pot. This ensures that there are chips to be won on every hand. The player to the left of the dealer button puts in what’s called the “small blind” and the player to his left must put in the “big blind“. The big blind is always double the amount of chips than the small blind and as the dealer button goes around the table with each hand, every one sat at the table will take a turn in putting forward the blinds.
Hole Cards and the First Round of Betting
Once the blinds are put into the pot each player will receive two cards face down that only they will see. In poker terms these are called the “hole cards”. Once everyone has their hole cards the first round of betting will commence. The player to the left of the big blind will always be the first player to act. That player has three option and they will base this decision on the two cards they have just received which only they can see.
The first option is to fold and throw your cards into the muck and that player will be out of play until the next hand is dealt. The second option is to call and all this means is that they are matching the current bet by putting the same amount of chips into the pot as the big blind or the same amount of chips if some one acting before them has raised. The third option is to raise, this means you are putting more chips in than the big blind or some one who has raised before you. Anyone wishing to continue in the hand must match the amount of the raise or alternatively they can raise themselves again. A raise cannot be less than the big blind amount, it must be at least double the big blind or more to be valid.
Each player will take their turn in deciding how they wish to act until everybody left in the hand has put forward the same amount of chips. If nobody has raised and they have only called the big blind amount, the player who is in the big blind position will have the option to raise or they can check.
The Flop
Once the first round of betting has been completed the first three community cards are dealt face up on the table for all to see. These first three cards are called “The Flop”.
The next round of betting will then start and from now on until the end of the hand, the player to the left of the dealer button will always start first and not the player to the left of the big blind as is the case in the first round of betting.
Each player will have the option to either check or bet. If some one has bet then the options are then to either fold, call (match) the bet or raise. This continues until all players has put forward the same amount in chips.
A player can only check when he does not have to put more chips into the pot to continue in the hand. When a player checks the action is moved onto the next player. If all players left in the hand checks, then nobody has to put any more chips into the pot and the action then moves onto the next stage.
The Turn Card
The fourth community card is then dealt face up and this card is called the “Turn” card. Another round of betting will start in exactly the same was as the last round of betting.
The River
The “River” card is the fifth and final community card that is dealt face up. Once this card comes down each player will know what their best five card hand is based on the seven cards they have to choose from. A final round of betting starts as soon as this card is dealt.
The Showdown
If two or more players have put in exactly the same amount of chips after the final round of betting then the “showdown” takes place. All players remaining must reveal both hole cards at this point to determine who has won the pot. In the event of a tie, the pot is split between all winning players equally. After the showdown the dealer button is moved onto the next player and the next hand is ready to start.
All In - Side Pots
When a player has put all his remaining chips into one pot during a hand he is considered “all in“. This can happen in any of the above betting rounds.
A player who is all in will take no further part in any betting rounds. If there are two or more players left in the hand with more chips in front of them then the hand continues and the betting rounds will be between these players only. Any further chips put in will go to a “side pot” that the all in player cannot win. If a player is all in and there is only one other player left with chips in the hand, then there can be no further betting and the hole cards are revealed and the final community cards are dealt to determine the winner.
Where to Play Texas Holdem
Texas Holdem is the most popular form of poker online and most online poker sites will offer Texas Hold em games. We recommend Full Tilt Poker which is one of the largest and most reputable online poker operators and there are always thousands of Texas Holdem Poker tables available to play at during all hours of the day.
