Texas Hold'Em poker

What is Texas Hold Em Poker?

• A game of Texas Hold Em Poker is one of the traditional games available at a casino.
• It is played with 2-6 players on a table with a dealer. The game is played against all other players on the table.
• There are two compulsory bets, to begin with after which the main objective is to make the highest combination in a five-card poker hand with the two cards dealt individually to all the players and the five community cards dealt on the table common to all the players.
• There are also various other stages to place your bets in a game of Texas Hold Em Poker.

How to Play?

• The game begins when the Small Blind player and the Big Blind player have placed their initial bets on the table using poker chips. It is compulsory for the two blind players to place a bet for the game to begin.
• After this, the dealer deals each player 2 cards face down. The players can then see the cards and take a call on whether to continue or fold.
• The person sitting next to the Big Blind begins the first round of betting. This player can either call, raise or fold. This is common to all other non-blind players for the round.
• After all players on the table have made their bets, the chips move to the center of the table and the next round begins.
• In this round, the dealer begins by adding three cards to the table as community cards, and face-ups, for all players to see.
• All players have three betting options in this round which include check, bet and fold with the small blind player the first to act.
• When all players have made their decisions either to fold, call or raise, and the bets match, the third betting round commences.
• The dealer deals another card face-up, common to the table and then the players have the option to check, bet, raise or fold once again. This round is quite similar to the second betting round.
• Then the last round begins in the same manner as the third round when the dealer places the fifth community card face up on the poker table.
• You now have seven cards to make the highest ranking 5-card combination using the five community cards and the 2 cards in hand.
• The players in this round also have the same betting options as the third round, namely, the option to check, bet, raise or fold.
• After all, bets are placed, each player reveals their private cards, simultaneously.
• To win you must have the highest-ranking five-card combination among everyone at the table otherwise you will lose.

Rules to Know

• In Texas Hold Em Poker begins with two compulsory bets from the Small Blind first followed by the Big Blind. These roles change every round with a new player assuming the role of Small Blind and Big Blind. The others commence the game for free.
• There are four betting rounds in a standard game of Texas Hold Em Poker. These include Preflop, Flop, Turn, and the River rounds.
• In the Preflop round, the player sitting next to the Big Blind starts the betting. All the other non-blind players in this case have three betting options which include Call, Raise and Fold.
• Call is matching the bet amount of the big blind.
• Fold is when you check your hands and don’t want to continue that game. In essence, you quit that round of poker.
• After all, players have made their bets, the second round called the Flop round begins. In this Flop round, three community cards common to every player on the table are dealt face up.
• The Flop round begins with the bet from the small blind player. There are three betting options that the player can choose from including check, bet and fold.
• Check is when you don’t want to add any more bet money and yet want to continue to play the round.
• Bet is when you add some betting amount to the table. This bet amount has to be matched by all other players on the table.
• In this round, all players also have the option to raise the initial bet made by the small blind. Upon doing so, all other players on the table must match this bet amount before the round can begin.
• The next round is known as the Turn round. It begins when the dealer deals one more community card face-up for the table. The rules in this round are the same as the rules of the Flop round with each player having the option to check, bet, raise or fold. This round also lasts as long as all players have placed matching bet amounts on the table.
• You can use any of the five community cards on the table and the two cards individually dealt to the player to form the highest ranking poker combination to win.
• The rules in this round are the same as the rules of the Flop round with each player having the option to check, bet, raise or fold. This round also lasts as long as all players have placed matching bet amounts on the table.
• After this comes what in poker terms is called a Showdown. This is when all the remaining players on the table reveal their hands for the table to see, in an attempt to win with the highest ranking poker combination.
• Texas Hold Em Poker is a winner takes all game. This means that there is only one winning hand every round while all the other players on the table lose.
• The descending order in which the poker card combinations are ranked is Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, One Pair, and High Card.

Showdown

1. Royal Flush

Royal Flush is when the player has the five cards Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 in the same suit. This is the highest-ranked five-card combination in a game of Texas Hold Em Poker.

2. Straight Flush

Straight Flush is when the player has five cards of the same suit in a sequence. For instance, if the player has five Hearts in the sequence 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or if a player has King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, all in Diamonds, and so on.

3. Four of a Kind

Four of a Kind is when the player has four cards of the same value or rank and one other card.

4. Full House

Full House is when the player has three of a kind with a pair among the seven cards dealt.

5. Flush

Flush is when the player has five cards of the same suit but not in any given sequence.

6. Straight

Straight is when the player has five cards in a sequence but they are not of the same suit.

7. Three of a Kind

Three of Kind is when the player has three cards of the same rank with two cards different.

8. Two Pair

Two Pairs are when the player has two pairs of cards in the same rank, and one card different.

9. One Pair

One Pair is when the player has two cards of the same rank or value and the other three cards are in no given sequence.

10. High Card

High Card is when the player has no cards in sequence and the cards are not forming any combination with the same suit. This is when the highest ranking individual card is taken into consideration. This is the weakest hand in a game of Texas Hold Em poker.

• If two players have the same ranking five-card combination, the player with the higher value High Card, wins the round.
• The ranking of individual cards in a game of Texas Hold Em Poker in descending order is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.
• The payout in poker depends on the sum total of all the bets made by all the players at a table.