How To Play Texas Hold'em Poker
What do we tell you about Texas Hold’em that you don't already know? If you've landed here, you've been intrigued by poker, and if that is true, you've probably stumbled across this game more times than once. Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular variant of all poker games. The rise of online poker tournaments has further elevated the status of the classic Hold’em with players finding comfort in its simple structure and fun-filled environment.
The rules are simple, and the format is such that it is ideal for poker novices to learn quickly and start playing the game with no delay. Poker strategies are based on four rounds of betting and the community cards that unfold: three in the flop, and one each during the turn and the river. Your goal here is to make the best five-card poker hand combination out of the two-hole cards dealt with you face-down, and the five community cards dealt face-up to win the pot ultimately.
Naturally, in order to make your way through the possible card combinations and to win the prize pool, you ought to fully understand poker hand rankings and base your game plan off of it. These poker tables comprise of some of the finest poker players you are bound to come across and so knowing the game in and out is in your best interest. Thankfully, learning to play Texas Hold’em is relatively easy and so without further ado, let's get right into it.
Texas Hold’em Poker Game Steps
To understand the format of Hold’em and how the game goes about, let us take it step by step. First, we will shed light on the different poker terminologies that you must know of in order to proceed with the game confidently. These include the poker actions of betting, calling, raising, checking, folding and going all in.
A point to bear in mind is that betting in Texas Hold’em occurs clockwise with the person sitting to the left of the big blind. By knowing when to make which action based on your cards and stack, you can either stand a good chance to win or cut your losses to the minimum. Apart from those, we will also talk about what exactly it means to go 'All-in' and what are 'Blinds' in poker. So, let's get started.
Betting
A bet in poker is placed by a player when there are no existing wagers in the betting round. Once you bet, the person to the right of you must follow the bet by either calling, raising or folding. This is the basis of all Hold’em actions.
Calling
A 'call' in poker is said to be when a player matches the betting amount in a round that already has a wager. Here, you must place the exact amount that your opponent has before you.
Raising
A raise in poker occurs when a player adds an additional amount to the existing bet during the round. This is an aggressive move which implies strength in one's cards because for the players at the table to still qualify for the pot; they must now either call the raised amount or re-raise.
Checking
A 'check' in poker is an option of convenience because you do not get involved in the betting round. You do not always have the chance to check, but when you do, it would mean that the action moves right past you.
Fold
A fold in poker is considered to be a way to safeguard your earnings when you know your hands will not make it to the end. If you fold, you discard yourself from the betting round because you aren't confident of the cards you hold.
All-in
Instead of folding, players could also choose to go all-in, a decision that must be taken after weighing-in your odds to win the pot even when you aren't very sure of the cards you hold. When your stack size has diminished greatly, you can put it all on the line. This creates an extra side pot. If you win the game after going all-in, you win the main pot, and the second-best hand wins the side pot. If a person who hasn't gone all-in wins the game, they get both the pots.
Blinds
Blinds are forced bets in Hold’em where the goal is to urge players to take their chances and add to the pot. The person to the right of the dealer position places the small blind and the one to his right places the big blind, which is generally twice in value of the small blind. As positions change over the course of the game, the blinds and their values change as well.
Playing Rounds in Texas Hold’em
You may have come across the different stages in which betting takes place in poker. We will now talk about each of those and also cover the final showdown.
Pre-flop
In the pre-flop, players are dealt with their initial two hole cards through which they can either raise or call the big blind. This round lasts until either all players have placed equal bets or have folded their hand.
Flop
Three community cards are placed face-first for the flop, which makes it easy for the players to understand which direction their poker hand is leading towards. The player to the right of the button bets first in the flop round and the actions permitted are the same as the ones we discussed before.
Turn
As soon as the flop is completed, we move to the turn. Here, another community card is revealed face-first to the table, and the game is fairly predictable at this stage, especially for the players who do not have the best hands on the board.
River
The final betting round is the river where the last community card is revealed to the players. The one to the right of the button proceeds with the betting and those who still remain at the table after this round move to the showdown.
Showdown
If there are two or more participants remaining in the game, we get to the showdown. Here, starting from the person to the right of the button, the players show their hand and the one with the best five-card poker hand ranking wins the game. In case of an exact tie, the pot is split. If not, a kicker is used to distinguish between two similar hands to award the overall supreme combination.
Texas Hold’em is one of the very first variants you are bound to learn while learning how to play poker. Most of the big money games and high rewarding tournaments in the world of poker are played in the Hold’em format. If you're new to the game, you can join Spartan Poker to learn everything that there is to learn about all the prevalent poker variations. Downloading our app gives you the ease of access to your favorite poker games and registering to our platform is safe and profitable with the many bonuses we offer. So, if you haven't yet, join Spartan Poker with no delay.
