Learn the basics of Texas Hold'em Poker
You can
learn to play poker in 10 minutes, however, the old time Vegas
pros will say they're still learning. On the surface, once you know the rules,
it's very simple, but underneath it's the ultimate game of strategy
and deception.
In Texas Hold'Em there are 4 possible rounds of betting
in one single hand.
- PRE FLOP: At the start of a hand you will receive two
cards face down; these are called your whole cards -
a round of betting
will now take place. Remember - your whole cards should
be protected and not shown to the other players. At the
end of this round
of betting, everyone has to have contributed equally
to the pot if they want to remain in the hand. When it
is a player's
turn to play, they may choose from the following actions:
Check - if there is not a bet already on the table,
the player may, in essence, bet 0, and pass the action on to
the next player. (On the first round of betting only, the big
blind can have this option - please see below for explanation
of this term.)
Call - if there is a bet on the table, the player
may choose to match the bet.
Bet or Raise - if there were no bets on the table,
the player places one by betting. If there was a bet on the
table, the player may increase the bet by raising the sum.
Fold - the player does not choose to match the bet
on the table and they forfeit any chance at winning the pot.
They also surrender their cards.
The betting round ends when all players have contributed to
the pot equally. From here the next round takes place.
- THE FLOP: 3 cards are now placed face up in the middle
of the table. This is called the flop. These cards can be used
in conjunction with your whole cards to make your best 5 card
poker hand. Another round of betting now follows. (Your best
hand is shown in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.)
- THE TURN: Another card is dealt face
up on the table for everybody to use. Another round of betting
now follows.
- THE RIVER CARD: This is the final card
you can use to help your hand. The last round of betting
will now take place and
after it is complete all players still in the hands (game)
should turn their cards over to find the winner.
One hand of Texas Hold-Em has now been completed.
Position and Blinds
It is very important to remember your position. The button,
which is a white disc that moves around the table after each
hand, shows who will act when, in each of the hands. At the
beginning of a hand, the player to the left of the button must
place a compulsory bet called the SMALL BLIND. The player to
the left of the small blind must also place a bet known as the
BIG BLIND. The big blind is always the minimum bet allowed at
that level in the game. The player to act first in the hand
PRE FLOP is to the left of the big blind. Action then flows
clockwise around the table to the big blind. If the pot is raised
at any point the action will finish on the right of the player
who made the last bet, ie all players still in the hand must
have placed the same amount of chips in the pot to move onto
the next round. For the last 3 betting rounds, play starts from
the left of the button.
Starting Hands and Poker Hands
Your starting hand is the two cards that get dealt to you
face down. The best starting hand to get is two Aces, however,
all hands are beatable - it all depends on the community cards.
Good starting hands would be the high and middle pairs (eg
2 Kings, 2 Tens) and high cards, preferably of the same suit,
with Ace King in the same suit being the best unpaired hands.
Your poker hand is your best 5 card hand which you can make
out of the community cards in the middle of the table and your
two whole cards. (For a list of hand rankings please refer to
the Poker Hands sheet.)
Best of luck at the tables.