Texas Hold ‘Em Poker (Part 2)

Written by Nigel

Now let’s take a look at the details in a game of Texas Hold ‘em Poker. Everything begins with the deal. So you have the dealer who shuffles a deck of cards. For home games, the dealer is usually one of the players around the table. The dealer button is rotated around the table so that each player has a turn at being the dealer. At the casino, the dealer usually does not join the game.

Most games require two players to the left of the dealer to put in predetermined amounts of money. They are called the blinds. So at the beginning of each round, we have what is called “posting the blinds.” Once the blinds are posted, the dealer gives each player the hole cards – these are the two initial cards that each player is dealt.

After the hole cards are dealt, the first round of betting begins. Each player can then call, raise, or fold. We talked about these terms in another post. Once all of the players have made their move, the dealer burns a card – this means he discards the top card on the deck. This is done to prevent cheating.

He then deals the flop. The flop is basically three cards that are placed in the middle of the table for everyone to see and use. These are also called community cards. Another round of betting then takes place. Then comes the turn – which is the fourth community card. Another round of betting and the river is dealt – the last card. Final betting takes place and someone will emerge as the winner.

That was very simplified but I hope it gave you an idea how Texas Hold ‘Em is played.

Texas Hold ‘em Poker (Part 1)

Written by Nigel

In this series of poker variations, I decided to begin with what many would consider the most popular form of poker today – Texas Hold ‘em Poker.  First things first, does this poker variant really originate from Texas?  It is perhaps a silly and irrelevant question but I just had to ask it.  The answer is yes – at least to a large number of people.  Yet the truth is, there is no evidence of it real origin.  In any case, that is not important now, as Texas Hold ‘em is played all over the world.

What is your goal when playing Texas Hold ‘em Poker?  Much like other poker variants, your ultimate aim is to win the pot.  That is, the pile of money in the middle of the table, which is comprised of the bets of all the players.  How does one win the pot?  By forming the best hand out of the community cards and the cards in one’s hand.  There are 5 community cards, which we will discuss more later.

Normally, Texas Hold ‘em is played with big and small blinds.  A dealer button is also used to indicate the dealer.  This is passed around the table in a clockwise fashion after each hand is played.  The position of the blinds rotate along with the dealer.

This poker variant has its own three sub-variants – limit, no limit, and pot-limit.  The most popular of the three is limit hold ‘em, which we can usually play in casinos.  TV shows and the WSOP feature no limit hold ‘em.

(more next time)

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