A Guide to the Game Texas Hold Em

Texas hold em is a form of poker that is played at both social and competitive levels. Like other forms of poker the best five card hand wins. This can range from a single high card, although unlikely in Texas hold em, to a Royal Flush. For an easy to use illustrated guide to poker hand rankings see: http://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-hand-ranking

The basic style of the game is two cards dealt to each player face down and then five cards are dealt to the middle of the table face up. The object is to make the best five card hand possible with the two cards the player holds and the five visible cards on the table. The cards dealt to each player are commonly called hole cards. This is followed by a round of betting. Commonly known as the Flop, the first three of the community cards are dealt face up. The flop is followed by a round of betting and then the fourth card or turn card is dealt. The turn card is then followed by another round of betting and the final, or river card is dealt. Players remaining in the game, those that have not folded out, will make the final round of betting. For a quick introduction, including a tutorial see: http://www.pokkercards.com/texasholdem.html

A dealer button is used to identify the dealer in each round. This button, and dealer responsibility, moves clockwise around the table. The first person to the dealers left is in the small blind position: The second person from the dealers left is in the big blind position. The small and big blind positions move in the same way as the dealer button in each round.

In Texas hold em a traditional ante system is not used before the first cards are dealt. For ease of explanation I will refer to the small blind as 50 cents and the big blind as one dollar. The person in the small blind position will place their 50 cents into the pot and then the person in big blind position places one dollar in the pot. These mandatory bets count towards the first round of betting. If the bet is not raised at this time the first player, in the small blind position, only needs to bet another 50 cents to call on the next betting round. It may be confusing at first but after a few rounds it will make sense, see: http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/blinds_antes for a better understanding.

Depending on the type of game being played, social or competitive, the blinds and betting amounts can be pre-set, limited or unlimited. An in-depth description of this is available at: http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/limits One of the things that makes playing, or even watching, a game of Texas hold em fun is figuring out the best possible hands that can be made from cards showing on the table and what the players may be holding unseen. Bluffing is done just as frequently in Texas hold em as in any other poker game. Put on your best poker face and give it a try!