How To Play Texas Hold em Poker

Texas Hold em Poker is great for Beginners

Over the last few years Texas Hold em has become one of the most popular games of poker. Texas Hold em poker is one of the easiest games of poker to play and so it is a great game to start off with if you are new to poker. Just with anything if you want to be good you have to practice and so even though Texas Holdem poker can be learnt in minutes play as often as you can to build your skills.

How To Play Texas Hold em Poker

Begin the Game – A game of Texas Holdem Poker usually has around nine to 10 players. The beginning of the game can start in a few different ways, sometimes antes are used (predetermined amount to play the game so there is money in the pot for example $5 each) or sometimes blind bets are used where the two players to the left of the dealer place the big and small blinds. The big blind is the table’s minimum to play and the small blind is half the big blind. Some games require you to play both antes and blinds.

Next the Cards – The dealer shuffles up the pack (52 cards) and deals each player two cards face down, these are called pocket or hole cards.

Place your Bets – the player left to the player who placed the big blind starts and has a choice of whether to call, raise or fold. Call means to place a bet that is equal to the big blind (the previous players bet). Raise means to place a bet higher than the big blind, and fold means to back down from the game. Betting continues around the table in a clockwise direction. The amount the player can bet depends on the type of game you are playing.

The Board – after everyone has placed their bets, three cards are dealt face up in the centre of the table, this is called the board. These cards are community cards which means everyone will use them in their hands along with their pocket / hole cards. There is another round of betting which starts from the left of he dealer, each player can call, raise or fold. Another community card is placed in the centre of the board (4th card) which can be used to make up your poker hand. Then each player has another round of betting. A fifth card is drawn and placed into the middle known as the river or street card. A final round of betting occurs.

The Finale – each player that is left in the game shows their pocket cards and the player who has the best hand (the pocket cards combined with a selection of the board cards) wins the game and the pot.

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