Texas Holdem

Texas Holdem is the world's most popular poker game and it is being played by millions of people every day, live as online. Texas Holdem poker surged in popularity when it got televised in year 2000 and is also the poker variation for the world's largest tournament - World Series of Poker. You can play Texas Holdem as a cash game, sit and go, tournament, for play money or real money with no limit, limit, pot limit and also as a mixed game.

Buy-In

Every player has to make a buy-in of a minimum amount of chips when sitting down at a table.

The minimum limit for no-limit and pot-limit games of $0.25/$0.50 or lower is equal to twenty times the lower bet limit of the game. For example on a $0.25/$0.50 table the minimum buy-in is $10.

The minimum limit for all fixed limit and higher no-limit and pot-limit games is equal to ten times the lower bet limit of the game. For example on a $3/$6 table the minimum buy-in is $30, on a $10/$20 table the minimum buy-in is $100.

The Game

In Texas Holdem there is a button called a Dealer Button to point to where the cards are to be dealt. The two players to the left of the button place live bets called the Small Blinds and Big Blinds. It is called a Blind because players must pay this amount before seeing their cards. It is a live bet because it counts as part of any further bets in the first betting round.

Every round in Texas Holdem begins with two cards dealt facedown to each player. Action starts with a Betting round, first out is the player to the left of the blind and continuing clockwise around the table. Players may bet, check, raise or fold in turn. The big blind has the privilege of last action and may check, call a raise or raise the bet.

Three community cards, called The Flop, are then dealt up in the center of the table and another betting round takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer button. Another card is then dealt face up, called The Turn, and is followed by a round of betting.

The fifth and last card, called The River is dealt face up and a final round of betting takes place. Players remaining in the hand will then show their cards and the winning Poker hand will be awarded the pot. Any combination of pocket cards and community cards may be used to make the best five-card Poker hand.

Sit Down

From 2 up to 10 players are seated around a table. There are different types of tables, Heads Up is for 2 players, and then there are 4, 6, 8 and 10 seated tables. This might also vary from poker room to poker room.

Dealer Button

In front of one of the players is a round button, called the Dealer Button. This button determines the order of betting (posting the blinds) and moves to the left one player at a time, after each hand.

Post Blinds

Before the cards are dealt at the start of each hand, the two players directly to the left of the dealer button must post blinds. To post a blind is to place a bet before getting cards.

In fixed limit Holdem player posts the Small Blind, equal to half of the minimum bet (e.g. $5 for a $10/$20 game). The player to the left of the small blind posts the Big Blind, equal to the amount of the minimum bet (e.g. $10 for a $10/$20 game).

In other variations the blinds are the same as the table limits.

Pocket Cards

Once the blinds have been posted, the first round of cards is dealt. These consist of two cards face down to each player and are called the Pocket Cards. Each player can only see his or her own pocket cards.

Betting

Bet amounts are fixed by the table stakes. For example, in fixed limit on a $3/$6 table, bets are $3 in the first two rounds and $6 in the last two. The bet amount can climb a maximum of 3 times in each round of betting. In other words, there can be one bet and three raises in each round until the River card is dealt. There will be no limit to the amount of raises possible if just two players are left. If there are three or more players in the pot when the River card is dealt, as before one bet and three raises are allowed.

In no limit players do not have any limitations on the amount that they can bet, the amount that the player is sat down with at the start of the hand is the amount he can bet at any point in the hand.

In Pot limit players are able to raise the amount that is in the pot. An example of this is a player playing $1/$2 with $10 currently in the pot. He is then able to bet from a minimum of $2 up to a maximum of $10. If we take the example that he raised $10, then the next player is able to raise to $30.

The Flop Cards

The Flop Cards is three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. All three cards are Community Cards and can be used by all the players at the table to make up their best possible hand.

After the Flop a second round of betting takes place. Again the player to the left of the dealer button starts.

The Turn Card

Following the flop, a fourth community card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This card is called the Turn card and can also be used by all players. It is followed by a third round of betting.

The River Card

The fifth and final community card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. It is called the River card and is followed by a fourth and final round of betting.

Showdown

Once all betting is complete, players verify the best five-card hand that they can make. The player with the best five-card Poker hand wins the pot. Should multiple hands tie, the pot is split with any odd amount going to the player immediately to the left of the dealer.

Start Again

After a hand is completed and the pot taken by the winner, the dealer button is moved one player to the left and the next hand begins.