The popularity of poker on television, and especially the World Series of Poker Main Event, has led to Texas Hold’em (usually simply called “Hold’em”) to become the world’s most popular form of poker, both in casinos and on poker sites.
Before you start playing hold’em, you need to learn the basic rules of the game.
In hold’em, each player is dealt two of their own cards (also called “hole” or “pocket”). The five community cards are dealt face up to form a board. Any player can use these cards together with their hole cards to make the best five-card hand. In hold’em, a player can use any five of the seven cards available to him to get the best possible five-card hand. To do this, he can use one, two, or not use his hole cards at all. You can find out more about poker hands on this page .
Texas Hold’em rules.
Blinds
Before the start of the hand, the player who is clockwise from the button (dealer) makes a mandatory bet called the “small blind”, and the player clockwise from the small blind puts another mandatory bet called the “big blind.” “(usually double the size of the small blind). In some cases, players must also post an “ante” (another type of mandatory bet, which is usually less than both blinds and is posted by all players).
After that, each player receives two hole cards.
Player actions
In hold’em, as in most other forms of poker, the player can “fold”, “bet”, “call” or “raise”. The availability of certain actions depends on the actions of the previous players. Any player always has the opportunity to fold, that is, fold his cards and refuse to fight for the pot. If no one has bet (bet) before you, then you can either check (refuse the bet, but not fold), or bet. If one of the players has made a bet, then the subsequent players can fold, call or raise. “Call” means adding to the pot the number of chips needed to call the previous player’s bet. “Raise” means adding more chips to the pot than the previous player had bet.
Pre-flop
After the players have received their hole cards, each of them can continue to play by calling or raising the big blind. The player to the left of the big blind goes first. He can fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind is $ 2, then calling implies adding $ 2 to the pot and raising at least $ 4. After that, the turn goes to the next player clockwise.
Note. In different types of poker, the trading structure may differ. More information on Betting Limit Hold’em, No Limit or Pot Limit Hold’em can be found below on this page.
Each round of betting continues until all active players (who have not folded) have made equal bets into the pot.
Flop
Three cards are now dealt face up on the board. These are called “flops”. In hold’em, the three flop cards are community cards available to all players continuing to play in that hand. Flop bets start with the active player clockwise from the button. Players have the same actions as on the pre-flop, however, if no one has bet before, the player can check, passing the next move clockwise to the player.
The Turn
After the flop is finished, the turn is dealt face up. The turn is the fourth community card in Hold’em (sometimes referred to as “fourth street”). Another round of betting occurs, starting with the active player clockwise from the button.
River
When the betting is over, the river or fifth street is dealt face up on the turn. The river is the fifth community card in Hold’em. The betting round starts again with the active player clockwise from the button, and the same betting rules apply as on the flop and turn.
Showdown
After the end of the last round of betting, if there are several players left in the game, the last player to bet reveals his cards. If there were no bets in the last round, then the player who is located clockwise from the button is the first to open his cards. The pot is taken by the player with the best five-card hand. If several players have collected equivalent combinations, then the bank is divided equally between them. In Hold’em, none of the suits have an advantage over the others.
After the pot is passed into the hands of the winning player, the next hand begins. The button moves to the next player clockwise, the blinds and antes are posted and new hole cards are dealt.
Texas Hold’em Fixed Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit.
The rules for Fixed Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit Hold’em are virtually the same, with a few exceptions:
Texas Hold’em Fixed Limit
Bet sizes in Limit Hold’em are predefined and structured. On pre-flop and flop all bets and raises are made in increments equal to the big blind. On the turn and river, all bets and raises are doubled. In Limit Hold’em, up to four bets are allowed in each betting round. That is, (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise and (4) cap (last raise) are allowed.
No Limit Texas Hold’em
The minimum bet in No Limit Texas Hold’em is equal to the big blind, but players can place any bet, including all chips.
Minimum raise. In No Limit Hold’em, the size of the raise must be no less than the previous bet or raise made in the same betting round. For example, if the first player bets $ 5, then the second player can raise at least $ 5 (that is, the total bet is $ 10).
Maximum raise. The entire stack of a player (that is, all the player’s chips on the table).
There is no limit to the number of raises in No Limit Hold’em.
Pot-Limit Texas Hold’em
The minimum bet in Pot-Limit Hold’em is equal to the big blind, but players can place any bets up to the size of the pot.
Minimum raise. The size of the raise must not be less than the previous bet or raise made in the same betting round. For example, if the first player bets $ 5, then the second player can raise at least $ 5 (that is, the total bet is $ 10).
Maximum raise. The maximum raise is equal to the pot size, which is defined as the amount of the active pot, the bets on the table, and the amount that the active player must first call before raising.
Example. If the pot size is $ 100, and there have been no bets in the current betting round, then the player can bet no more than $ 100. After the bet has been made, the move goes to the next player clockwise. The player can either fold or call (add $ 100 to the pot) or raise from the minimum (another $ 100) to the maximum raise. In this case, the maximum bet is $ 400 the player must first call $ 100, increasing the pot size to $ 300, and then raise another $ 300 for a total of $ 400.
In Pot Limit Hold’em, there is no limit on the number of raises.
