The Easy Way to Understand The Rules of Texas Hold’Em

Texas Hold’Em is the most widely played and most popular variation of the game of poker. As with any popular game, Texas Hold’Em takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master. In this article, we will take that minute to learn the rules of the game.

The aim of the game is simple, to end up with a better five card hand than your opponents, and to win money from those opponents in the process. To get the action started, the two players to the left of the dealer must post ‘blinds’, which are small sums of money used to create a small pot of money for the players to fight for.

There are two types of blinds: The small blind, who sits directly to the left of the dealer, and the big blind, who sits directly to the left of the small blind. Generally, a big blind is twice the value of the small blind. The players responsible for posting the blinds moves as the dealer button is passed around the table clockwise after each hand.

Preflop

A Texas Hold’Em hand begins with the dealer dealing two cards, face down, to each player in the game; these cards are called hole cards. After each player has been dealt their hole cards, there is a round of betting, where each player can choose from three actions, they can fold their hand, call the amount of the big blind, or raise the big blind.

This action begins with the player seated to the left of the big blind, and moves clockwise until the action is back on the big blind. This round of betting is called the preflop round.

Flop

After the preflop betting round is complete, the dealer deals three more cards, face up, in the middle of the table. These are community cards that all players use in conjunction with their hole cards in order to make the best five card hand. These three cards are referred to as the flop, and are the first of five total community cards to be dealt.

After the flop has been dealt, there is another round of betting between the players that didn’t fold in the preflop betting round, where they can either check or raise.

Turn, River, and Showdown

Once the round of betting on the flop has been completed, the dealer then deals another community card, which is called the turn. This is followed by another round of betting. After this, the dealer deals the final community card, called the river. This is followed by the final round of betting between the remaining players.

If all players check their hand, or one player raises and another calls their raise, the hand reaches showdown. If the hand reached showdown, both players turn their hole cards face up, and the player with the best five card hand wins all the money that has accumulated in the pot during the hand.

Summary

◾Aim of the game: Make a better five card hand than your opponent, and make him pay for it.

◾Each player gets two hole cards and five community cards

◾Round of betting preflop, on the flop, on the turn, and on the river

◾You win the hand by making your opponents fold or having the best hand at showdown.