All About Texas Hold Em Poker
How To Play
Texas Hold Em Poker is undoubtedly the most popular online table game and it is the easiest to learn. So, if you're visiting this site and are new to Poker, our Poker tutorial will make it easy to buy into any tournament, satellite, or heads up game and start playing within no time.
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The object of Texas Hold Em is to beat out your opponents by getting the best possible Poker hand. There is a Dealer who issues the cards. There are a few rounds of betting that occur and Players try to use the betting rounds and their cards to their advantage to win the round. In the case of tournaments, Players are eliminated one by one until there is 1 Player left in the game - the winner.
That's about as simplistic as the game can be explained but there is so much more to the game of Texas Hold Em than that. Here's how the game works step by step:
- BUY-IN - The first thing you must do before playing any game of Texas Hold Em is buy into the game. The buy-in varies depending on the game being played but the minimum limit is generally 10x the lower bet limit of that game. So if you're playing on a $5/$10 table, the buy-in will be $50.
- THE GAME- There is a Dealer button that signals where the cards will be dealt. The 2 Players to the left of the Dealer button post the Small Blind and the Big Blind bets. Blinds mean that the Players must bet that amount before they can see their cards. Two cards are dealt face down to each Player. Then the pre-flop begins. The pre-flop is when the first Player to the left of the Players who posted the blinds makes a bet. The cards dealt in the pre-flop are known as Pocket cards.
The betting continues in a clock-wise position around the table and Players have the option of betting, checking, raising, or folding. The Big Blind plays last and can either check or raise. Once first betting round concludes, The Flop is dealt. The Flop are the 3 Community cards that are dealt in the centre of the table. A second round of betting begins starting with the Player to the left of the Dealer button. The Players determine whether the pre-flop and The Flop are good enough to make a winning hand and make their bets accordingly. After that betting round concludes, The Turn is dealt. This is the 4th Community card and is also dealt face up in the centre of the table. A 3rd round of betting commences and, once that is completed, The River is dealt. This is the 5th and final Community card and signals the last round of betting. - THE SHOWDOWN - Based on the 7 cards dealt, the Players must make a 5-card winning Poker hand from the Pocket cards and Community cards. If their hand is not a winning one, they can decide whether they want to strong>Bluff their way to a possible win. If they fold, they lose their previous bets and that round. Those Players who remain in the game turn over their Pocket cards, the best Poker hand is determined, and the winner receives the money in the pot. If multiple hands tie, the pot is split between these remaining Players.
- PLAY AGAIN - When the winner is determined from the previous hand, a new game begins. The Dealer button shifts 1 position to the left and the Player in this position is first up to play.
An essential part of playing the game of Texas Hold Em well is knowing the Rules of the game. Also learn your winning Poker hands. Go to the Important Poker Terms page.
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