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Texas
Hold'em has fast become the most popular poker game in the world. It
is a type of community poker, which features a number of cards that
are dealt face up in front of the dealer. These cards are visible to
all players, and all players share the cards. Players can then use
their own cards and the community cards to form a winning hand.
There
are three variations of Texas Hold'em available (defined by their
betting limits):
Limit Texas Hold'em (there is a specified betting limit in
each game and on each round of betting)
Pot Limit Texas Hold'em (a player can bet what is in the pot)
No Limit Texas Hold'em (a player can bet all of their chips
at any time)
Basic
Play
1.
Blind Bets
2. Deal - each player is dealt 2 cards
3. First betting round
4. The Flop - the first three community cards are dealt
5. Second betting round
6. The Turn - the fourth community card is dealt
7. Third betting round
8. The River - the final community card is dealt
9. Final betting round
10. Showdown
The
Dealer Button
Texas
Hold'em uses a small disc called the "dealer button" to
indicate the dealer of each hand. Once a hand is completed, the
dealer button moves clockwise to the next player. This ensures that
each player has the chance of playing early or late and that every
player gets a chance to post the "blind bets".
Note:
During Single Table Tournaments the first player to get the dealer
button is determined through a high card draw (each player is dealt
one card; the player with the highest value card goes first. If two
or more players have the same value card then they are ranked
according to suit - high to low - spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs).
The
Blind Bets
The
player to the left of the dealer button is required to place the
"small blind" (usually equal to half the lower stake) and
the next player to the left is required to place the "big
blind" (equal to the lower stake limit). Once the blind bets
have been made, the cards are dealt and the next player to the left
starts the first betting round.
Both
the small and the big blinds are considered live bets and therefore
the player has the option of checking, calling, raising or folding
when the betting action comes back around to their position. After
the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active
player left of the button is first to act.
When
a player sits down at an active table, they will be required to post
the equivalent of the big blind. Also, to prevent "blinds"
abuse, players are required to post the small blind and the big
blind upon re-entry (returning from sitting out) to the game if both
blinds are missed (only the big blind amount is posted as a live bet
and the remainder is added directly to the pot). All players have
the option of sitting out and waiting for the button to rotate to
their position before starting to play.
The
mandatory posting of the blind is in place to ensure fairness to all
players; preventing players from constantly switching seats to gain
a positional advantage, or from entering games in a late position
and then leaving before they are required to post the big blind.
First
Betting Round
Starting
with the player to the left of the "big blind", they have
the option to bet, raise or fold. All remaining players can then
call, raise or fold. To "call" is to bet the same as the
previous player. If the first player folds, then the next player
will have the option to bet while the remaining players can call.
The
bets in the first betting round are set at the lower limit of the
stakes structure, so in a $10/$20 game the value of a bet is $10
while the raise is $20 (a raise includes a call of the previous bet
plus an additional bet).
The
Second Betting Round
After
the flop (when the first 3 community cards have been dealt), the
second betting round begins.
The
first player to the left of the dealer button is the first to act
(bet, raise, check or fold). Checking is to refrain from betting and
is only available if no bet has yet been made in the betting round.
Once a bet has been made, remaining players will only have the
option to call, raise or fold. Like the first round, the second also
limits the bets and raises to the lower limit of the stakes
structure.
The
Third Betting Round
The
third betting round starts after the Turn (when the fourth community
card has been dealt).
Once
again, the player to the left of the dealer button begins the
betting (bet, check or fold). However, this time the bets and raises
are limited to the upper limit of the stakes structure. Each
subsequent player can then call, check, raise or fold (a player can
only check if no bet has been made).
The
Final Betting Round
The
final betting round happens after the River card (the final
community card) has been dealt.
The
player to the left of the dealer button can bet, check, raise or
fold. Bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stakes
structure. Remaining players can then call, check, raise or fold (a
player can only check if no bet has been made).
The
Showdown
Any
remaining players will now display their two cards and the player
who has the best hand wins.
Players
can use a combination of their own cards and the community cards (2
player cards + 3 community cards or 1 player card + 4 community
cards) or all 5 community cards (called playing the board).
If
two or more players have the same hand then the pot is split equally
between them.
Betting
Exceptions
In
Limit Texas Hold'em a maximum of four bets are allowed per player in
a betting round - (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise and (4) cap. In
No Limit and Pot Limit Texas Hold'em the number of times a player
can raise is not limited. However, a player can not raise themselves
(if a player raises and then all the remaining players call or fold,
then the player who raised would not get an option to raise because
they were the last to raise).
A
player is declared All-In if they do not have enough chips to call.
This player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of
their final bet.
All
further bets by other players go to a "side pot" which any
All-In players are excluded from.
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