How to play Texas Holdem

Texas Holdem (or Hold'em) is by far the most popular poker game in the world. After some of the main poker events got televised, more and more people learned how to play texas holdem. And if this was not enough, the expansion of online poker brought more and more players to this amazing game, making it one of the most popular games in the world.

Texas Hold'em is a very simple game. It is played with a normal deck of 52 cards, and can be played in 2 to 10 players. The game is about betting and winning money (or poker chips). Each player is dealt two cards and the first betting round begins. If there are still players left in the hand after the first betting round (sometimes all players may fold to a bet and the hand is finished) the dealer will place three cards face up on the table (the flop). Another betting round begins.

If the betting round finishes and there are still players in the pot, the dealer places another card face-up on the table (the turn). Another betting round comes and if there are still players the dealer will [place the last card on the table (the river).

Now it comes the final betting CrownCasino-Sydney.com round. The hand will end after this betting round. If all opponents folded to the bets, the betting player takes the pot (just like in any other betting round). If the bettor is called by one or more players, the players will show their pocket cards and the player with the best poker hand will win the pot. The best poker hand is determined by the best combination from the two pocket cards help by the players and the five community cards.

During a betting round, the players have the following options:

Check - If nobody has placed a bet before you, you can check and let the next players act
Bet - If nobody bet before you, you can open the pot by placing a bet.
Raise - After a bet was placed, you can raise the pot with an amount equal or higher than the bet.
Call - You can call the bet / raise made by your opponent and he will not be able to raise you again in the same round
Fold - You can fold your hand and leave the pot to the remaining players

When each hand starts, the first two players will post the blind bets (blinds). The small blind equals half the minimum bet amount, while the big blind equals the minimum bet amount. This way there will be a stake during all hands, no matter if all players fold. After a hand finishes, the blinds will advance to the next players, so that all players pay the blinds the same amount of times.

The poker hands are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:

Royal flush - Five consecutive cards from 10 to Ace of the same type (eg: 10, J, Q, K, A of spades)
Straight flush - Five consecutive cards of the same type (eg: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of clubs)
Four of a kind - Four cards of the same number (eg: 4, 4, 4, 4, J)
Full house - Three cards of the same number and two of a different number (eg: 7, 7, 7, J, J)
Flush - Five cards of the same type (eg: 4, 8, 9, J, K of spades)
Straight - Five consecutive cards, no matter their type (eg: 8, 9, 10, J, Q)
Three of a kind - Three cards of the same value (eg: 8, 8, 8, J, K)
Two pairs - Two pairs of cards with the same value (eg: 4, 4, Q, Q, 7)
One pair - One pair of two cards of the same value (eg: 10, 10, 4, 9, A)
No hand - Nothing of the above combinations (eg: 2, 5, 8, 10, K with different types)