Poker School

Texas Hold'em

Overview

Introduction

Texas Hold'em is a relatively new member of the poker family. But it is the variation that has been the most popular around the world in the last years. The unofficial world championship of poker is contested in no limit Texas Hold'em – a game sometimes called the Cadillac of poker.

The Game

In Texas Hold'em you get two hole cards, cards that the other players cannot see. Then five cards are dealt face up on the board, successively. They are community cards that all players can use to put together a five card poker hand.

To form the best possible hand, you can use either both your hole cards together with three of the community cards on the board, or one hole card with four community cards, or simply all five community cards.

The player who can put together the highest poker hand wins the pot.

Blinds

Texas Hold'em is played with blinds. Before the cards are dealt, the first two players to the left of the dealer post a small and a big blind respectively to create a starting pot.

The deal

When the blinds have been posted, each player is dealt two cards face down, the hole cards.

Then the first betting round takes place, starting with the player to the left of the big blind.

The flop

When the first betting round is finished, three cards are dealt face up on the table. They are called "the flop".

Then the second betting round takes place, starting with the first player to the left of the dealer who is still in the hand.

The turn (fourth street)

After the second betting round, the fourth community card is dealt. It is called the turn.

The third betting round takes place, starting with the first player to the left of the dealer who is still in the hand.

The river (fifth street)

The fifth and last community card is called the river. Now the hand is concluded by the fourth and last betting round, again starting with the first player to the left of the dealer who is still in the hand.

If more than one player remains in the hand after the betting, there is a showdown.

Game Advice For Texas Hold'em

Play good starting hands

Do not enter the betting with any two cards! With ten players around the table, someone will have a better starting hand most of the time. When you enter the game with the second best hand, your opponent is a favorite to win the pot.

The importance of position

In Texas Hold'em, your position remains the same throughout the entire hand. A player that acts after you will act after you all the way to the river. This is a great disadvantage for you. As a rule, play only very strong hands in early position. On the other hand, when you are in a late position, the advantage is yours to exploit.

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