Rules of Texas Hold’em Poker

Among the various types of poker games offered for players to enjoy, Texas Hold`Em stands out as a crowd favorite. However before you decide to sit in at one of these games and try your luck at a Texas Hold`Em table, it is essential for every player to know the rules of the game.

Texas Hold`Em should first be understood as a basic community card game that is made up of two types of cards, namely the

• Hole cards: cards that are placed face down on the table
• Community cards: these are placed face up on the table for everyone to see

Each player is dealt only two hole cards. The objective of the game is for the player to try and secure a winning hand out of these cards and the community cards available on the board to create a final hand of five cards.

There are various rules involved in the game that have to be closely followed along with specific gaming concepts unique to poker such as the blinds, the deal, betting concepts like the turn and the river and so on which must be understood to ensure a good game of Texas Hold`Em.

Blinds

Many card games require players to use an ante. However this is not the case with Texas Hold`Em, rather the game is played using what is known as a blind where two players put forth one forced bet each. This happens before the cards are dealt and two players of the game will place a pre-fixed amount of money into the table pot

Texas Hold`Em is usually not played with an ante, instead two players post one forced bet each, called blinds. Before the cards are dealt the two players directly to the left of the dealer button put a predetermined amount of money into the pot, the small blind and the big blind. A blind is of two types, namely the

• Small blind: this is a bet where an amount that is usually half of the minimum bet is wagered
• Big blind: this bet wagers the full minimum bet.

Deals

Every player is dealt two cards that are placed face down –hole cards. There will also be five cards that will be placed for all to see. It is the goal of the player to combine these 2 hole cards with the 5 community cards to make the best possible hand. Some of the best winning hands are the straight flush, royal flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, three of a kind and so on as the following examples suggests.

Royal flush: A straight flush from 10 to Ace.

Straight Flush: This contains five consecutive cards of similar suit like so.

Four of a Kind: Contains any four cards of the same ranking.

Full House: Contains three cards of similar ranking and two of another.

Flush: Any five cards of the same suit.

Straight: Five consecutive cards make this.

Three of a Kind: Three cards of similar rank.

Two Pair: Contains two sets of pairs of equal rank.

Pair: Has two cards of similar rank.

Betting

There are usually four rounds of betting in Texas Hold`Em and each round is followed by different types of play, namely the Flop, the Turn, the River and the Showdown. A typical Texas hold’em table will look like this

First Round

- Fold: Throws the card and his hand is considered dead.

- Call: Places a wager equal to the big blind.

- Raise: The player increases the amount of money wagered.

These options continue to exist for every round of betting that follows, except the raise which becomes the Re-raise since the amount has already been raised once.

The Flop

Second Round

The Turn

Here, a fourth community card is dealt.

Third Round

This works similar to the second round.

The River

Here the fifth and final community card is dealt.

Fourth Round

This is the last round of betting.

Showdown

Here, for example the player with 3 kings wins the game at this Texas Hold’em Table.