Victor Chandler Poker Shool
Texas Hold'em
How To Play
Without mincing words, Texas Hold'em is the daddy of all poker games.
And the good news is that you don't have to be brainier than Stephen
Hawking to play. If you're new to the game, just read through our
how to play guide below.
The aim of the game
OK,
let's start at the beginning. Texas Hold'em is a fast-paced 7-card
game that's the most popular, and most exciting, form of poker played
today. If you've ever watched poker on the TV, chances are that
you've seen Texas Hold'em.
The all important aim of the game
is to make the best 5 card hand that you can, using both the two
cards that you're dealt face down and the five community cards dealt
face up in the middle of the table. But more of that a little later.
The dealer button
Every hand, one player will get
the dealer button (a small disk marked with a D). The position of
the dealer is important, as the two players to the dealer's left
post the blinds. The dealer button moves to the left after each
hand, so everyone acts as the virtual dealer and everyone is required
to post blinds.
Blinds
The player to the immediate
left of the dealer posts the small blind, and the player to their
left posts the big blind. The blinds are placed in the pot to kickstart
the betting and give players an incentive to enter the hand. They
also mean that the winner of hand can never walk away completely
empty-handed.
The size of the blinds are dictated by the
stakes of the table that you're playing at. The small blind is typically
half the minimum bet of the game, while the big blind is typically
the same as the game's minimum bet. It's probably best illustrated
by an example: if you're playing at a $2/$4 table, the small blind
will be $1 and the big blind $2.
The opening deal
Once the blinds have been posted, it's time for some cards. Moving
clockwise round the table from the dealer, each player receives
two cards dealt face down that only they get to see. These are also
called pocket cards or hole cards. It's now time to start some betting.
That is why we're here after all.
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Betting following the opening deal
At
this stage, each player is betting on what hand they feel their
pocket cards could lead to. The betting starts with the player to
the immediate left of the big blind.
For this round of betting,
each player has three choices: to fold, raise, or call the big blind.
As the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the
betting, each player has to at least call this bet to stay in the
hand, so checking isn't an option at this stage.
The betting
goes round the table in a clockwise direction until each player
has either called, folded or raised. If no-one has raised by the
time the betting returns to the person who posted the big blind,
this player may check his own blind, fold or raise.
The first
round of betting is at the lower level of table stakes, so in a
$2/$4 game all raises are increments of $2. Once the betting is
completed it's time to see the flop. Just a quick note on betting
before you move on. The betting can't go on for ever, as we use
the standard bet and three raises model. That is, for any round
of betting there can be an opening bet and no more than three raises.
After the third raise betting is said to be capped.
The
flop
Right, now the first round of betting is out of the
way, it's time for the flop (things start to get really interesting
now). The flop is the set of three cards that are dealt face up
in the middle of the table, and each player can use these community
cards to build their hand. The middle of the table where these cards
are dealt is commonly known as the board.
Now it's time for
another round of betting, again at the lower levels of the table
stakes. This time, the betting starts with the player to the immediate
left of the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is still active
in the hand or not. The player to the left of the dealer will keep
the initial action for the rest of the hand. Apart from that, the
betting process is the same as pre-flop betting.
The turn
card
Once the round of betting has finished, it's time for
another card to be dealt face up on the board. This fourth card
is called the turn card, and again can be used by all players to
construct their hand.
The betting after the turn is now at the
higher level of the table stakes, so in a $2/$4 game all bets will
now be increments of $4.
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The river
Four down, one to go. It's now
time for the fifth and final community card to be dealt: the river.
Now that all the cards have been dealt, each player remaining in
the hand can now see what their best five card hand is. It's now
time for the final round of betting, again at the higher level of
the table stakes.
The showdown
Ta da! It's now
time to see who's the daddy and takes the pot: the showdown. Each
player who's remained in the hand shows their cards, starting with
the last person to bet and so on. The winner is decided using these
universal hand rankings.
If a player wins a pot by default,
that is every other player has folded, there is no showdown and
the winning player can decide whether to show their cards or not.
Most people don't, it's always nice to keep people guessing.
A final note...
If that all seems rather complicated
and likely to last an eternity, don't worry. It really is quite
simple, and despite a few stages in each hand it passes very quickly.
And if you're worried of getting stung while you're still learning
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