How to Play Texas Hold'Em

There is an old saying that Texas Hold 'Em takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. The game is famous for the simplicity of its rules, which makes it fun and easy for most people to play.

Texas Hold 'em is the most popular poker game in the world. It is featured constantly on television, and it has become the game of choice for most poker players.

The rules are simple: Try to make the best five card hand out of your two “hole cards” and five “community cards.”

Here’s how it works:
Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called hole cards. They are the player’s cards and can not be used by anyone else. There is a round of betting. Then, three community cards are dealt. This is called the flop. The community cards are played by all players. For instance, if you two aces as your hole cards, and the flop is A-K-5, you now have three of a kind (three aces). After the flop comes another round of betting. Then another community card is dealt. This is called the turn. Now there are four community cards and your two hole cards. There is another round of betting.

Finally, the last community card – called the river – is dealt, and there is one more round of betting.

The best five-card hand wins. In Texas Hold ‘Em, there are generally no wild cards or jokers. As with most forms of poker, winning hand rankings are as follows: Straight flush (five consecutive cards of the same suit), four of a kind, full house (three of a kind and a pair), flush (five non-consecutive cards of the same suit), straight (five consecutive unsuited cards), three of a kind, two pair, and pair and high card.

The most popular form of Texas Hold ‘Em is no limit.!This means there is essentially no limit on the amount you can bet – if you wish to bet all of your chips, you can do so, hence the term, “all in.”

No limit hold ‘em is the type of poker played in the World Series of Poker’s main event. It features lots of drama and is entertaining to watch and play.

Hold ‘em is a simple game to learn, but as the saying goes, mastering it can take time. It is a combination of probabilities and odds as well as instinct and skill.

When first starting out, it is important to learn the best starting hands. Hands like AA, KK, AK, QQ, JJ, AQ, etc. have a much higher probability of success than hands like 7-2.

Let’s say you have AdAc (s-spades, c-clubs, d-diamonds, h-hearts) as your starting hand, and the flop comes As-Ks-5s. You have three of a kind. But let’s say your opponent has 6s-7s. Even though your aces were ahead before the flop, he now has a flush (five spades) and you are behind.

However, let’s say the turn is the 5c. Now you have made a full house (three aces, two fives) and you have the winning hand regardless of the river.

In Texas Hold ‘em, usually two players are forced to wager by posting “blinds.” There are two blinds – a small blind and a big blind. A small blind is generally half the big blind. If you have a poor starting hand and do not have money invested in the blinds, you can easily fold.

When you have a strong starting hand, it is advisable to raise before the flop to get players to fold weaker hands and put more money in the pot. A standard raise is 3-3 ½ times the big blind.

Now you’ve learned how to play. Time to go out and master Texas Hold ‘em!