How to Play Texas Hold'em

Online Poker Articles

 

Texas Holdem is a 7-card game easy to understand and offers excitement for beginner and expert poker players. Texas Holdem is famous as being the game of choice for the top professionals, and played at the WSOP in Las Vegas, Texas Holdem has become the most played form of poker across the world.

 

The objective of the game is to make the best 5-card hand possible with any of the 7 cards dealt.

 

How Texas Holdem is Played

 

Pocket Cards -  You will receive two pocket cards to start with – also called “hole cards” – which are dealt face down on the table. At this stage you have 3 options: 

 

1. You can Fold – if your cards aren’t good enough.

 

2. You can Call – match the big blind stake and stay in the betting.

 

3. You can Raise – up the stakes, meaning your opponents will have to match your amount or

fold. If you have staked the big blind you can “check”, i.e. you remain in the hand for free. But if another player bets, you will have to match his stake to stay in. The stakes can only be raised three times during each round of betting. This (and the next) round of betting is set at the lower level of table stakes.

 

Dealing the Flop

 

Three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are communal cards, i.e. every player can use them to try and make the best hand possible.

 

Dealing the Turn

A fourth communal card is dealt face up in the middle of the table, which is called the ‘Turn’ card. This card can be used by every player to improve their hand.

 

Dealing the River

 

Now it’s time for the last card of the round, the River card. This is the fifth community card is dealt face up in the middle of the table

 

You now have seven cards from which to choose:

 

2 Pocket Cards (closed), 3 Flop Cards (open), 1 Turn Card (open), 1 River Card (open)

 

You must now select the best possible five-card hand from the above.

 

The player with the best five cards is the winner of the round and takes the pot. If there are multiple winners with the same hand, the pot is split between these players.