Most of you will probably know the basics of playing Texas Hold’em, but just in the case we are going to explain the rules of the game, because maybe you don’t know. Some special rules apply in different casinos, but here we will explain how to play Hold’em online poker which is the most popular version of the game and is the one played on televised games and WSOP (World Series of Poker) the most important poker tournament in the world.
First, there are three variations of the game, No Limit (NL), Fixed Limit (FL) and Pot Limit (PL). The variation consists in the amount of money the players are allowed to bet. No limit Hold’em allows players to bet any amount while they got enough chips, Fixed Limit allows only a fixed limit to bet or raise, no more and no less and Pot limit has a limit of the money currently into the pot, this is you can not bet more money than the money into the pot when you are placing your bet.
Every player is dealt 2 cards down that are to be used by him alone, this is called the pocket, and then the dealer places five cades face up in the table which are called community cards, players have to combine their cards into the pocket with the cards on the table making the best possible hand with 5 cards. So, the player has to choose 5 cards among the two in his pocket and the 5 in the community, but has no limit in the community cards to be used, for example a player can pick the 5 community cards if they are better than the 2 of his pocket.
First thing, the game is played clockwise and the next players to the dealer must place money in the table, this is called “blinds”, the player two positions next to the dealer has to place the “Big blinds” which is the set money and the next player to the dealer must put the “Small blinds” which usually is half the Big Blinds. Once the money is on the table two cards are dealt to each player.
Then the first betting round starts with player next to the big blinds being the first to talk. This player is commonly named “Under the gun” player or “UTG”. Play proceeds and the rest of players can call, fold or raise the money posted in the Big blinds.
After that, three cards are dealt face up on the table, this is called the “flop” and after it, the player closer to the dealer is first to act in the betting round. This player will be the first to act from now on in each subsequent betting round.
After the flop, another card is dealt face up on the table, called the “turnW and another round follows it. When this betting round is over the last community card is dealt on the table called the “river” and the last betting round begins.
Obviously, the player with the best hand after that wins the pot.
I wish that I had something like this to help me out when I started playing hold em. Would have made the game much easier for me to understand back then. Thanks for an informative article.
A very nice simple, easy to use and understand guide on the basics of the game of poker, very helpful for anyone who has spent ages searching various sites on the internet in the attempt to find some non-techinical help for their game. I don’t consider myself a poker “Dummy” but I do know a fair few people who are, many people make the mistake of thinking that hold em poker is the same as regular poker, now I can prove to them just how wrong they are.