Playing Texas Hold 'em

Learning Poker!

When playing any form of poker, it is important to know all the rules and in most cases, the strength of possible card combinations. Here is a basic guide to playing Texas Hold 'em. First, when entering a game one must know whether or not it is "no-limit" or "fixed-limit" game. In "no-limit", there is no maximum bet one can place. Any player may wager all of his or her chips during any turn. "Fixed-limit" games limit the player's amount to bet, thus significantly changing the game. After that comes the basic rules of the game.

Hold 'em is normally played using small and big blind bets, forced bets by two players. Antes (forced contributions by all players) may be used in addition to blinds, particularly in later stages of tournament play. A dealer button is used to represent the player in the dealer position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the position of the dealer and blinds. The small blind is posted by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player to the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses. After the first round of betting three community cards are dealt on the table called "the flop". Another round of betting occurs followed by one more card, the turn. Another round of betting takes place and then the final card comes, the river, and the last round of betting happens. The player with the best five card hand wins the pot-money accumulated through betting. When only two players remain, special 'head-to-head' or 'heads up' rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind. The dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last for the remainder of the hand.