Texas Holdem Poker

Not unlike the game of poker itself, the actual origins of Texas Holdem poker are occasionally subject to debate.  Although discussing myths and legends while seated around a poker tables certainly has its own charm, it is Texas Holdem’s current level of popularity that is of mythical proportions. Scour the country far and wide and you will certainly be hard pressed to find a more popular poker game anywhere.  Texas Holdem is easily Texas’s most popular export and its reach covers the entire globe.  Texans are so proud of the origins of this awesome game that, as an act of pride, the Texas State Legislature took the liberty to officially recognize the birthplace of Texas Holdem. 

Texas Holdem is no longer merely a game, but it has taken on the status of a full-on sport. Texas Holdem television coverage runs rampant at most hours of the day.  Fans and casual viewers can watch celebrities and consummate poker players compete in televised Texas Holdem games—and they watch in droves.  When matches aren’t televised, avid poker players can satisfy their fix playing online poker.

No other casino game is referred to as a sport--not blackjack, not roulette, not keno, not craps and definitely not slot machines. While other sports wither in popularity, Texas Holdem reigns supreme. Unlike other casino games, Texas Holdem is a game of skill rather than a game of pure chance.  Players use their knowledge, expertise, and even artistry to make the best of the hands they have been dealt.

Texas Holdem Poker Tips

Play Texas Holdem Poker is easy. Players receive two cards down, known as hole cards, then 5 cards are dealt face up (community cards) and then try to make their best 5 card poker hand out of the 7 cards. This might seem very trivial, but there are some other things you need to know.

In addition to designations of minimum bet and maximum bet, in Holdem Poker (with the exception of Home Holdem), designation will need to be made for the "small blind bet" and the "big blind bet".

Instead of starting the pot off with players' antes, Texas Holdem poker games start off the pot with two blind bets (bets made by players before they even see their cards). The small blind should be slightly less or equal to the minimum bet. The big blind should be twice as much as the small blind.

Before looking at their cards, the player to the left of the dealer throws their small blind bet into the pot and the player to the left of the small blind throws their big blind bet into the pot.

The player to the left of the big blind is the first player who can actually look at his or her hand before deciding whether or not to see the blinds and call, see the blinds and raise, or fold. The rest of the betting round proceeds as a regular poker betting round, bearing in mind that the two blinds have already invested money into this betting round and only need to see the bumps that were made after them.

This applies only to the first betting round. All other betting rounds proceed as per regular poker betting rounds, following the flipping of the community cards. The standard number of community cards in a Holdem game is five. Three cards are flipped after the first betting round ("The Flop"), a fourth after the second betting round ("The Turn") and a fifth after the third betting round ("The River").

Texas Holdem Basics

Texas Hold’em is easy to learn. Unlike more complicated poker variations, you can easily get the hang of Texas Hold’em after a single game. 

The Texas Hold’em game begins by specifying a minimum bet and a maximum bet. Next, one player is designated the dealer. The player seated to the dealer’s left is designated “the blind”. The player seated to the left of  “the blind” is referred to as “the double blind”. The dealer rotates clockwise with each hand, as do “the blind” and “the double blind.”

In Texas Hold’em, players attempt to assemble the best possible hand using 5 of the 7 available cards.  Each Texas Hold’em player receives two face-down cards, known as the hole cards. Before looking at these cards, “the blind” is required to place a bet typically equal to the specified minimum bet. The “double blind” is required to place a bet equal to twice the amount of “the blind’s” bet. The remaining players are allowed to look at their own cards before deciding whether to bet. Players can choose to call (match the previous players’ contributions to the pot), raise (add money to the pot), or fold (quit).

Next, three community cards, known as the flop, are dealt to the center of the table. Players try to create the best possible hand using their personal hole cards and the flop, while speculating on what other possible combinations they might be able to create when the remaining cards are dealt. Texas Hold’em players do not reveal their hands until the showdown. Don’t forget, there are still two more card to be dealt in Texas Hold’em.

Another round of betting takes place before the fourth communal card, known as the turn, is dealt. Players once again try to create the best possible hand using 5 of the 6 available cards, knowing that there is still one more card to be dealt.

An additional round of betting takes place before the fifth and final communal card, known as the river, is dealt. Before revealing their cards players can once again call, raise, or fold in succession. In the final Texas Hold’em showdown, all the remaining players reveal their cards. In Texas Hold’em the best hand wins the pot!

Texas Holdem Rules

Only two cards are actually held by the player as pocket cards. The other five are open, dealt to the middle of the table and shared by all players.

Holdem can be played with only two players or theoretically, with as many as twenty-three players (this exhausts the number of cards in the deck). In practice however, it is rarely played with more than twelve players due to the size of the table, with eight to eleven players considered the optimum range.

In Texas Holdem games, the dealer is marked by a disk called the button. For each hand the button rotates to the left. Players are identified by their seat position. The dealer is seat one, the player to the dealer's left is seat two and so on, clockwise around the table to the player on the dealer's right which is typically seat nine.Betting position significantly affects a player's opportunities so the button's position in not simply symbolic.

Holdem comes in many low-limit/high-limit forms. Beginner games are typically $1-$2 or $2-$5, but the high end can be as much as $300-$600, $500-$1000 or more. Regardless of the limits, Hold'Em is designed to be a money game. Instead of a small ante in 7-Stud, Holdem uses two forced bets, the blinds, to get Bets on the table right from the beginning of the game.

The Open

The first player to the dealer's left -- seat two -- is the small blind and must kick in half the lower limit ($5 in a $10-$20 game). Seat three is the big blind and must kick in the full value of the lower limit ($10 in a $10-$20) game.

The deal rotates clockwise around the table beginning with the player to the big blind's left. Each player is dealt their first pocket card in turn, then their second.

Since the blinds opened with their forced bets, seat four, the player to the big blind's left, bets first. They Call by matching the big blind ($10, the lower limit) and may also Raise by kicking in the big limit, $20 in our $10-$20 example game. In this round Checking is not permitted. If the player doesn't want to Call, they may Fold.

The blinds in Holdem are live in that they can Call (Check to seat three), Raise, or Fold when the betting has returned to them.

The Flop

Once the first betting round has completed, the dealer lays out the first three community cards in the center of the table. This is called the flop.

This betting round begins with the blinds, or the first remaining seat on the dealer's left. Checking is permitted now and for the rest of the hand. Bets are placed at the lower limit ($10 in our example).

The Turn

A fourth community card it dealt onto the table.

Betting begins with the blinds, as before. Now, and for the rest of this game, Bets and Raises are at the high limit ($20). As such, the turn is the first expensive street.

The River

The fifth and final community card is dealt.

This is also an expensive street: Bets and Raises are all at the high limit ($20).

The Showdown

As in 7-Stud, the best 5 card hand wins. Players may form their final hands from any combination of the table cards and their own pocket cards, even ignoring the pocket cards and using only the table cards if they wish. Identical five-card hands split the pot; the sixth and seventh cards are not used to break ties.

Texas Holdem Betting at the river

One thing you will notice if you have gotten this far with your hand (and many many times you won't) is that you have a lot of company. This is also where you will suffer through a seemingly endless series of bad beats.

You should plan on playing much more timidly here, especially if any scare card has fallen. Your pair of kings with an Ace kicker was good on the flop but if you did not improve beyond that then do not be surprised to be beaten by some of the strangest two pair (and beyond) that you've ever seen.

Also current behavior will be to raise you if your opponent did make 2 pair on the river. A check will show weakness and someone with a king and a worse kicker will often bet for you and you will save yourself calling an extra bet by the two pair river chasers.

Try to see all the possible straights, flushes, etc. on the board. Consciously do that because when you are focused on your hand it is sometimes very easy to miss a straight or flush that just appeared. Especially if you are focused on your opponent having a similar (but smaller) hand than your own. Be especially careful if you make a straight and a third flush card has also fallen even if that third flush card was a backdoor flush.

The bottom line is that it is often worth checking and calling on the river if you have a good but not great hand. Save the aggression for when you have the nuts or near the nuts.

If you've followed the advice here you'll be getting to the river with at least fairly strong hands (and many times with the absolute highest hands [the nuts!]). You should almost always call a single bet on the river if you have any reasonable hand at all.

It can be a huge mathematical mistake to fold on the river if you are up against one or two opponents. Most of your folding should be before the flop, on the flop and on the turn. If you paid for the turn you should call with any reasonably strong hand.

The exception to this is where there are multiple callers to a bet on the flop. Your odds of winning with an average hand go down exponentially the more callers there are. Calling a bet after more than one person has already called is called "overcalling" and you need more strength to call each overcall--and if you have enough strength to be the fourth overcaller you should consider raising.

Don't get too upset if you lose a made hand (AA, top two pair, etc.) on the river. If you got your money in during the hand with the best of it that's all that really matters. In the long run you make money by making good decisions and in the short run you are largely at the mercy of luck. Keep making the right decisions! The rest will take care of itself.