Texas Hold 'em: Learn It, Play It, Love It

Check. Raise. Fold. River. Terms of a very popular poker card game, Texas Hold 'em. I'm not a big gambler and have never been to Vegas, but sitting down with a group of friends to play Texas Hold 'em can be lots of fun. If you've never played Texas Hold 'em, read on to learn the basics of this card game. If you play your cards right, you might can even pocket a few extra dollars; otherwise, your friends might end up a little richer!

1. Basic rules: Texas Hold 'em is played with a regular deck of cards (do not use the jokers). Texas Hold 'em is best played with at least 4 or 5 players to increase the challenge and fun. Some poker chips or other item (beans, buttons, etc) are needed for betting purposes. The person to the left of the dealer in Texas Hold 'em is the small blind; the next person to the left is the big blind. Each player is dealt 2 cards to look at making sure no one else sees them but the player to whom they are dealt. Betting begins at this point; I'll discuss betting later.

After all bets are placed, the dealer "burns" the top card on the remaining deck by laying it off to the side face down. The dealer then turns over the next 3 cards for all players to see, called the "flop." Once again, players bet based on the cards in their hand and what cards have been shown on the flop. The dealer then "burns" another card and turns over 1 more card for all to see, called the "turn" card. Another round of betting takes place. The dealer "burns and turns" one final card, the "river" card and opens it up for the last round of betting.

This whole time, each player is attempting to construct the best poker hand using all seven cards - the 2 cards he/she has no one else can see and the 5 "community" cards all are viewing. Using those 7 cards, he/she chooses 5 cards to make his/her poker hand. After all bets are called, the person with the best 5 card poker hand wins the pot.

2. Betting: Prior to the cards being dealt, the small blind must place a half bet and the big blind must place a full bet. These blinds are predetermined in Texas Hold 'em, usually starting small and gradually increasing as the game progresses (time limits usually 20 to 30 minutes determine the increase of blinds.) The other players, in turn, then choose to stay in the game based on the 2 cards dealt to them by betting the big blind or "raising" the bet. If they feel their cards are not worth playing, they "fold" and are not allowed to play in that particular hand.

In this game of Texas Hold 'em, when this first round of betting reaches the small blind, if he chooses to stay in the game, he meets the big blind bet, the raise if a raise was introduced in the betting, or folds. If he folds, he loses the amount of the small blind he previously bet. As the round of betting reaches the big blind, if no one raises, he simply "checks" unless he chooses to "raise" the bet. "Checking" allows him to stay in the game without betting any more chips.

The flop, turn, and river: Once the 3 cards, the "flop" are turned over, the betting begins again in the same manner. Players are allowed to "check" in Texas Hold 'em as long as no one bets. At this point, the minimum bet is whatever the current amount of the "big blind". After all bets are called, the "turn" card is bet upon in the same fashion and then the "river" card is turned over for the final betting round.

3. Texas Hold 'em Poker hands: The order of Texas Hold 'em hands are as follows starting from the least to the best:

- High card

- One pair

- Two pair

- Three of a kind

- Straight (five cards in sequence without suits taken into consideration)

- Flush (five cards all the same suit without taking sequence into consideration)

- Full house (three of a kind and a pair)

- Four of a kind

- Straight flush (five cards all the same suit in sequence)

- Royal flush (five highest cards all in same suit - 10, jack, queen, king, and ace all in same suit)

4. Bluffing: Texas Hold 'em offers players the opportunity to "bluff"; the player attempts to convince the other players that he has a better hand even if he really doesn't. This can be accomplished by placing a higher bet and hoping the rest of the players are not willing to take the chance of matching that bet, taking the chance that their cards are not as good and loosing the hand.

Word of caution on bluffing: sometimes it backfires on you. You can easily give away you are bluffing in Texas Hold 'em by body posture, fidgeting, or facial expressions (poker face or lack of).

Texas Hold 'em is a card game of strategy, skill and luck. For a more in depth discussion of how to play Texas Hold 'em, I recommend you go here. Invite a few friends over and tell them to bring a little money (or a lot!), sit down with a deck of cards and a drink of your choice and play Texas Hold 'em. And when you take their money, don't forget to thank them on their way out!

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