Texas Holdem Poker
Texas Hold'em Poker Here's how to play Texas Hold'em
If you are new to the game of poker, No Limit Texas Hold'em is a good place to start, after all, the Main Event of the World Series of Poker has always been a No Limit Hold'em event since the very beginning. It is by far the most widely played poker variant, and the rules are easy to understand. In Texas Hold'em, it revolves around two hole cards (hand cards) that are only for the player himself, and then five community cards dealt to the table by the Dealer during the hand.
Each time new cards are added to the game, players must decide whether to check, bet, raise or fold. The goal is to win the pot. You do this by forming the most valuable hand of five cards, or by making sure that all your opponents fold. Visit our Learning Poker page for more information on the ins and outs of poker. Once you've mastered the basics, try a game of online poker at GGPoker.
Texas Holdem game play
- One player is the "Dealer," or the "Button. The Button's position moves clockwise after each hand to the next active player. The two players to the left of the Button are called the Small Blind and the Big Blind.
- The Small Blind and the Big Blind are required to place a bet before the hand begins. The Small Blind's bet is usually half of the Big Blind's bet. Next, all players are dealt two closed cards, "hole cards.
- After the hole cards are dealt, the first round begins with the player sitting to the left of the Big Blind. This player may "fold," "call," or "raise.
- Betting continues clockwise. Players can choose to fold, call, or raise at the highest bet at the time. To stay in the hand and see the next card, all players who have not folded must contribute the same number of chips to the pot
- After the first round of betting comes the Flop. Here, three cards are dealt on the table for all players to use to form a hand.
- A new round of betting follows. The remaining players, starting with the first active player to the left of the Dealer button, choose to check, bet, raise, call, or fold.
- When the remaining players have put an equal number of chips into the pot, the fourth common card is dealt face up on the table; The Turn.
- Another round of betting follows. This one works the same way as Preflop, and on the flop.
- When this betting round is over, then the last common card is revealed, the River. This is followed by a final round of betting for the remaining players.
- If two or more players have not folded after the close of this betting round, a showdown follows. This involves revealing the players' hole cards to see who has made the best combination of possible poker hands.
The Blinds
In Texas Holdem, the blinds are determined by the position of the dealer button. The player directly to the left of the button becomes the Small Blind. This is the first mandatory bet before the start of a poker hand. The player to the left of the Small Blind is called the Big Blind. The bet for the Big Blind is usually twice the size of the bet for the Small Blind.
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Depending on the betting structure of the game, blinds may vary:
- Limit games: The Big Blind here is equal to the Small Bet. The Small Blind is usually half of the Big Blind. Depending on the stakes being played.
- Pot Limit and No Limit games: The most common game form is No Limit Hold'em. The name of the game form is determined by the height of the blinds. For example, if you play No Limit Hold'em with a Big Blind of 50 cents, this game form is also called 50NL.
Depending on the game, players may also have to pay an "Ante. An additional mandatory bet that is usually smaller than both blinds. Once these bets are paid by everyone, play can continue.
The above rules apply to No Limit Texas Hold'em. Rules may vary from game to game. To learn how the betting structures of different games differ from each other you can read our guide to Omaha Poker, or 6+ Short Deck.
Deployment Actions
Each poker hand is a collection of betting rounds. The number of betting rounds depends on the variant being played.
In Texas Holdem, there are four rounds of betting. Each player must decide per round whether to fold, check, call, bet, or raise when it is their turn to take action in the hand
Fold
When you fold your hand, you give your two cards back to the dealer, and you stop participating in the hand. Folding simply means that you are out of the hand and no longer claim the pot.
Check
With a check, the player remains active in the hand, but does not bet anything. You pass your turn with a check to the player next in line. You can only check if no bets were made before you during the betting round.
Call
Call is the term used for matching a bet placed by another player in the form of a bet or raise. If no one calls a bet, the hand ends, and the player who placed the bet wins the pot.
Bet
A bet is a bet a player can make to try to A) get more money into the pot with a strong hand, or B) get other players to fold with a weak combination. In No Limit Texas Holdem, a bet must be at least a value of 1 Big Blind.
Raise
A player places a raise when he wants to increase an already placed bet. After a raise is placed, the other active players decide whether to fold, call or reraise. A reraise involves raising an already raised hand one more time. In No Limit Texas Holdem there is no limit to the amount of the raise.
If all active players have folded or called on the last raise, then the betting round is over and the bets placed are added to the pot. If there is only one active player left at the end of a betting round, that player wins the pot.
On our page about poker rules you can read more about the different possible bets and other poker rules.
The course of a poker hand
Preflop
The second phase of a Texas Hold'em hand (after placing the blinds and antes) is also called the preflop phase. Each player is dealt two cards calledhole cards. Only the player himself may see these cards. When it is a player's turn, they must decide whether to fold, call, or raise based on their hole cards.
Flop
The round following the preflop phase is called the 'Flop'. After all players have either folded, or contributed an equal amount to the pot, a card is 'burnt' and three community cards are turned face up which may be used by the remaining players to form a hand; The Flop.
Both the preflop phase and the flop phase are crucial because during this phase most of the cards are shown that can contribute to the final Texas Hold em Hands made by the players; and after all, the best poker hand wins!
Turn
On the flop, a second round of betting takes place, then another card is "burnt" and one new common card is placed face-up on the table; the "turn". Thus, all remaining players in the hand now have 6 cards at their disposal to form the best possible poker combination of 5 cards.
River
After the turn, there is another round of betting. At the end of this third round of betting, one last burn card is discarded from the top of the deck, and one last community card is dealt face-up on the table; the "River.
This means that all remaining players can now use seven cards (two hole cards and five common cards) to make their best possible combination of five cards. To determine the best hand of five cards, players may use both, one, or none of their two hole cards, in combination with three, four, or all five common cards on the board.
After the river, a final round of betting takes place. When a player bets, or raises and no one calls, the hand ends, and the player wins without revealing his cards. There is then no showdown.
Showdown
In Texas Hold'em, a showdown occurs when more than one player remains after the close of the last round of betting. During the showdown, the player who made the last aggressive action (a Bet or Raise) must reveal the cards first. If no new bets were made during the last round of betting, the first player to the left of the dealer button must reveal the cards first.
The game concludes with determining the winning hand. The hand that ranks highest according to the poker rules order wins the pot. If there are players who have made the same combination, the pot is divided equally. Each player who participated in the hand has the right to see the cards during a showdown, even if they are mucked.
Summary
A hand of Texas Holdem begins with the betting of the blinds and any antes. Next, all players are dealt two hole cards that are just for them; the Deal. After the Deal, a series of betting rounds follow. After each round of betting, new community cards are dealt on the table for all players to use. The goal in a poker hand is to form the best combination of five cards from the seven cards available. Based on the strength of your hand, you can bet, raise, call, check or fold. The game ends when there is one player left in the hand, or when the cards of the remaining players are revealed.
House Rules for GGPoker
At GGPoker, you can play Texas Holdem Poker online at multiple tables simultaneously. In a cash game, you can choose to wait to play until you have the big blind position, or you can pay a fee to play the next hand immediately. Check out our page with House Rules for an overview of all applicable rules for playing poker online at GGPoker.
