Texas
Holdem: An Overview
The granddaddy
of them all, Texas holdem is quickly becoming the game of choice
in card rooms around the world. It’s an easy game to learn,
but a very complex game to master. Players receive two cards
down, known as hole cards, then 5 cards are dealt face up (community
cards) and then try to make their best 5 card poker hand out
of the 7 cards.
The
60 second overview of texas holdem:
-
Two
cards are dealt face down to each player, a round of betting
ensues.
-
Three
cards are dealt up in the middle of the table for each player
to use in their hand, another round of betting takes place.
-
A
forth card is dealt face up in the middle of the table,
more betting.
-
A
fifth and final card is dealt face up, and the last round
of betting occurs.
-
The
player with the best 5 card poker hand (out of the 7 cards
in total) wins the pot.
In
depth overview:
Texas hold’em begins with the “dealer button”
a small flat disk that indicates who is to deal the cards. The
two players to the immediate left of the dealer button are the
blind positions, first to the left is the small
blind, and second to the left is the big
blind. The dealer then deals two cards face down to each
player, known as hole cards or pocket cards, and the first round
of betting ensues. Any other player wishing to enter the hand
must at least call the big blind (there is an option to raise
on top of the big blind if you wish) in order to stay in the
game, otherwise they must fold.
Once the
first round of betting is complete the dealer burns one card
and places three cards up in the middle of the table for all
players to use, known as the flop. Once these community cards
are laid down a second round of betting ensues beginning with
the first player to the left of the dealer that is still in
the game. Players may bet,
check,
raise
or fold.
Following
this second round of betting another card is laid face up, known
as fourth
street or the turn
card. Another round of betting takes place.
Finally
the last card is placed face up on the table (for a total of
5 face up), this card is called the river
card. A final round of betting takes place and the person
with the best 5 card poker hand between any of the community
cards and the two face down wins the pot. Occasionally two players
will have hands of equal strength (see rank
of hands for more information); in this case the pot is
split equally between the two.
Betting structure:
There are three types of betting structure in Texas hold’em
poker, pot limit hold’em, limit hold’em, and the
Cadillac of hold’em, no limit hold’em:
-
Limit
Hold’em – In limit hold’em the
amount that a player wishes to bet or raise with is “limited”
to predefined amounts. For example, say you’re playing
a $2/$4 limit hold’em game, the big blind pays $2 and
the small blind would pay $1. For the first two rounds (pre-flop
and post flop) of betting all bets and raises are in $2 increments.
Betting after the turn and the river requires $4 increments.
One
variety of limit hold’em is known as “spread limit”
hold’em. This game is played the same as limit hold’em
except for one small difference; any raising is done based
on a pre-determined spread. For example in a $2/$4 game a
casino may set the spreads as $1-$4 for the first 3 rounds
of betting, so if you raised a $2 bet it would be the called
amount ($2) + $1, $2, $3, or $4. The final round of betting
would have spread limits of $1-$8, meaning bets and raises
can be anywhere in that range.
-
Pot
Limit Holdem
- In this type of texas holdem game the maximum bet cannot
exceed the amount that has been accumulated in the pot at
that point. The game starts out the same as no limit and limit
games where the blinds and minimum betting amounts are predefined.
Bets usually start out relatively small, but the more bets
placed results in a larger pot, which means that betting can
escalate very quickly if players are betting aggressively.
-
No
Limit Holdem - In no limit holdem, as the name suggests,
means that any player can bet or raise any amount of their
chips at any given time. No limit holdem is usually more difficult
than limit holdem because the amount a player bets isn't limited,
and may or may not be indicative of their hand strength.
The minimum bet in a NL Holdem game is usually equal to the
big blind for the first two rounds of betting and then twice
the big blind for the final three rounds of betting.
When you hear a player going "All In" this is usually
in the context of a no limit hold’em game, the player
pushes all their chips into the center of the table, or into
the pot as their bet. The advantage of this is you can't be
bluffed, and you're automatically are in the showdown, unless
all other players fold. If you win the showdown from going
“all in” you usually at least double up. The disadvantage
of going “all in” is that if you lose to an opponent
with more chips than you, you’re out.
