Texas hold’em is the most popular poker variant played in casinos due to its simplicity and exposure across all media, eventually leading to the creation of its own World Series.
The match happens on a table that can allow from two (2) to Nine (9) players. When there are only two (2) players the game is called “heads-up”.
The main objective of Texas Hold’em is to make the best five-card combination possible with the cards the player has in their hand and the cards dealt at the table. The best hand will win and take the pot home!
I. First Dealer
Once the players are seated on the table, it’s time to determine who begins the game. To decide this, a single card is dealt face up to each player. The player with the highest card will become the “dealer”, a position indicated by a white chip commonly known as the “dealer button”.
After each round or “hand”, the dealer button rotates to the left clockwise ensuring that every player gets to play this position.
II. Blinds
Before the cards are dealt, there are forced bets called the “Big Blind (BB)” and “Small Blind (SB)”. The Small Blind position will always be to the left of the dealer while the Big Blind is the seat to the left of the Small Blind. The amounts of the blinds are predetermined by the table characteristics, the Small Blind value usually being the half of the Big Blind.
The blinds will also rotate to the left clockwise along with the dealer button.
III. The Pot
The pot is the sum of money or poker chips that players contribute to during each round. After each betting round, all the bets go into the pot until the “Showdown”. The winner/s on the Showdown win the pot.
LET THE GAME BEGIN!
I. Pre-Flop – 1st Betting Round
Once the blinds are assigned, each player is given two (2) cards facing down. These cards are called “Hole Cards” or “Pocket Cards” and can only be seen by the individual player who has them and no one else. Once the cards are dealt, the first betting round starts. This round is called “Pre-Flop”.
During Pre-Flop, players can decide which action to take depending on the cards dealt to them. These actions are:
Call: Match the Big Blind or Bet value to continue to the next round.
Raise: The player increases the betting value from the Big Blind or Bet before the next round.
Fold: The player discards their cards and forfeit the current pot.
Check: If the player is in the Big Blind and no one has raised the player has the option to check which means they see the next round without contributing further to the pot.
The player assigned with the Small Blind will have to call the value of the Big Blind or match the betting value in order to take part in the round. If a player decides to raise the bet, all players must call the new bet to continue playing the round. Pre-Flop ends when all the players have either folded their cards or called the last bet or raise, with the chips going to the table’s pot.
II. The Flop – 2nd Betting Round
Three (3) cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. This action is called the “Flop” and the cards dealt are known as the “Community Cards”. These are the first three (3) of five (5) cards that all players can use, along with their pocket cards to make the best possible poker hand.
The first player to act after the Flop and on every betting round afterwards is the Small Blind or the player on the left of the small blind (continuing clockwise) if the Small Blind has folded which can either choose to:
Check: Pass to the next player without betting any chips.
Bet: Minimum bet is the Big Blind, players can bet this or more and is only limited to the table restrictions.
Fold: Discard their cards and forfeit the pot. If there has been no bets players can also Check.
Once a bet has been made players can:
Call: Match the bet value to be allowed to enter the next round.
Raise: The player increases the betting value to before the next round.
Fold: Discard their cards and forfeit the pot.
The round ends when all the players have either folded their cards, checked or called the last raise.
III. The Turn – 3rd Betting Round
Once the Flop betting round is over, the fourth (4) community card is dealt face up. This action is called the “Turn”. Just like the Flop, a new betting round starts and the first player to act is the Small Blind or the first active player on the left of the Small Blind. The round will finish once all the players have either folded their cards, checked or called the last bet/raise.
IV. The River – 4th Betting Round
After the Turn is over, a fifth (5) and final community card is dealt face up. This round is called the “River” and it’s the final round of betting in the game.
Just like previous rounds, players have to decide which action to take.
During any of the betting rounds, if all but one player folds, the last player who didn’t fold wins the pot. In this circumstance, the winning player may “Muck” their winning hand, which means to discard the hand without revealing it to the rest of the players.
V. Showdown!
All the money bet by each player goes into the main pot. If more than one player remains after the River, the remaining players show and compare their hands to determine the winner (or winners) of the game. This stage is called the “Showdown”.
All active players will show their hands and the player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.
Tie
There are scenarios where more than one player can have the winning hand. In these cases, the outcome is a tie, which means the final pot will be split evenly among the players.
When the five highest cards are community cards and provide the best hand overall, the pot will also be split amongst all active player.
Side Pot
If a player is all-in and called by more than one player with less than chips than the other players the pot is Split and play will continue for the remaining players. The player who is all-in has the opportunity to win the Main pot but not the side pot because they have not contributed further after going all-in.
Only when you have contributed to a pot can you win the pot.
Example:
Three (3) players sit on the table.
Player 2 goes all-in on The Turn. Both Player 1 and Player 3 call the bet, creating a main pot of $70.11. All 3 players can win this pot.
Player 1 goes all-in on The River and it’s called by Player 3. This creates a side pot for $189.13. This side pot can only be won by either Player 1 or Player 3, since Player 2 didn’t contribute towards it.
The Showdown happens and the table is resolved as follows:
o Player 2 has the best hand of them all and wins the main pot for $70.11.
o Player 1 has a better hand than Player 3 and wins the side pot for $189.13.
Texas Hold’em can be played with different table limits such as Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit.
Limit games mean you can only bet up to a predetermined amount.
Pot Limit games means players can only raise up to the current amount in the pot.
No limit games have no boundaries and players can bet anything they desire.