The rules - first rule - don't talk about Folding Donkey - second rule...ah no wait that's something else. They say that poker takes a day to learn and a lifetime to master. Well, that's not quite the case - it's easier than some people will lead you to believe...
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Texas Holdem Rules
Texas Holdem is a variation on poker that is becoming more and more popular (mainly with the explosion of random poker games on TV these days). It's a great sport - either playing online or in casinos for a bit of cash or with your mates for a laugh.
Here's the basic outline of the game...
1. Hole cards - these are the 2 cards that are dealt face down to each player at the beginning of the hand.
2. The flop - the first 3 community cards dealt.
3. The turn - the 4th community card.
4. The river - the 5th and final community card.
The objective of Texas Holdem is to make the best 5 card hand you can from the 7 cards available (your own 2 hold cards and the 5 community cards).
At each stage of dealing, a round of betting takes place. The rules differ depending on what type of Texas Holdem you are playing (no limit holdem where you can bet anything, pot limit holdem where you are limited to betting what's in the pot or limit holdem where the bets are predefined).
In addition to the betting, players are also required to post blinds. These are required bets (to ensure that there is money in the pot at all times). The small blind is the player to the left of the dealer, and the big blind is the person to the left of the small blind (the dealer is rotated to the left each hand so everyone takes a turn on the blinds).
The blinds are determined before the game starts and double up at a predetermined time to get the game moving faster. The big blind is usually double the small blind although this can vary from game to game.
Let's consider a 4 person game to explain how betting works in Texas Holdem...
Player 1 is the dealer. This makes Player 2 (to the dealer's left) the small blind and first to bet when the cards are dealt. Player 3 is then the big blind. Let's assume the blinds are 10 and 20 (10 = small, 20 = big), so...
1. Player 1 deals (all players receive 2 cards face down).
2. Player 2 posts small blind (10).
3. Player 3 posts small blind (20).
4. Player 4 is technically the first person to bet (P1 hasn't bet yet, and P2 / P3 both had to bet blind - they had no choice). P4 can now choose to call (match the current bet which in this case is 20 - the big blind), raise (increase the amount bet) or fold (throw his cards away and sit out this hand).
5. Betting is now back at P1 (the dealer who is always last to play) who can call, raise or fold.
6. P2 (small blind) now has to call to play (but just has to pay 10 as he has already put in 10 for the blind) or raise / fold.
7. P3 as the big blind = last person to play, now has the option to check (do nothing and the game can move onto the next stage) or can raise. If someone else has raised, P3 most call or raise the bet to continue in the hand (or fold).
8. The dealer will deal 3 community cards (the flop) - these are placed in the middle of the table, face up. Betting starts again at P2 (the small blind = the person to the left of the dealer). Betting continues as before - the key concept here is that for players to stay in they must at least match the bet from the current betting round. So if P2 bets 50, the rest must at least bet 50 to see the next round of cards.
9. The dealer will deal 1 community card (the turn) and a round of betting takes place.
10. The dealer will deal 1 final community card (the river) and a final round of betting takes place. If more than one player is left in, then all players will turn their cards at the end of the betting round.
11. The winner is determined by the person with the best hand at the end.
Note: more often than not a hand will be won without reaching the final stage - ie, when everyone else folds, the final player doesn't need to show his hand and he will win automatically.
Read on for details on winning poker hands...
