Texas Hold’em has vastly become the most popular of poker games. This game lends itself well to learn, as it is the most publicized games to be seen on television all over the world. At entry level, Texas Hold’em is played for fixed limits and low stakes which helps to get experience and confidence without losing a fortune.
Players are dealt only 2 cards in this game, these are called “hole cards” or “pocket cards”. The full hand of 5 cards has to be made up with the community cards. After receiving the hole cards, a round of betting starts. After the first round of betting, the dealer will reveal 3 community cards. This is called the “flop”. Another betting round starts which is followed by 1 more community card called the “turn”. More betting follows and before the final round of betting starts, the dealer will show the final fifth card the “river”.
The aim is to make the best hand of 5 cards using the 2 hole cards and 3 community cards. The starting hand (value of the hole cards) determines how to play the round. There are 169 different 2 card combinations. If the combination is not strong enough, a player can “fold” their cards at any time to leave the round of betting.
Three players in this game have a fixed role. One is the “dealer”, one is the “big blind” and one is the “small blind”. the sequence of their position at the table is from right to left. The positions move clockwise around the table in the next round of play, i.e. the player who is the “big blind” will be the “dealer” in the next game, the player who is the “small blind” in one game will be the “big blind” in the next. This way everybody around the table will get to be one of the roles provided they stay in the game. The roles mean the following: the dealer deals the cards, the blind are mandatory bets, one full bet and one half bet. The bet size is determined before the game.
The game finishes after the final betting round with the player making the strongest hand winning the pot (all the bets that have been placed).
As many as 20 people could play a game of Texas Hold’em together, because each player only receives 2 cards.
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