Overview

No – limit Texas Hold’ em is played by 2 to 10 players with a standard 52-card poker deck.

Before each hand, forced bets called ‘the blinds’, must be posted by the two players to the left of the dealer. the first player posts the ’small blind’ which amounts to half a bet, and the second posts the ‘big blind’ of a full bet.

The dealer position moves clockwise around the table between hands.

Each player is dealt two cards called their ‘hole cards’ facedown in-turn. This is followed by a round of betting then the revelation of three community cards dealt face up in the center of the table. This is called the ‘flop’ and is followed by another round of betting. Another community card called the ‘turn’ is then dealt, followed by a round of betting. The last community card called the ‘river’ is then dealt and a final round of betting takes place. Normally after each round the top card on the deck is discarded, or ‘burned’, a tradition originally aimed at preventing cheating. If more than one player remains in the hand when the final round of betting has concluded, a ’showdown’, occurs.

The winner of the hand is the last player remaining or the one who can make the strongest 5-card poker hand given any combination of their 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards.

Betting

A round of betting in hold’em begins with the first active player to the dealer’s left. In the first round of betting (‘preflop’), the first two players have already taken forced action by posting the blinds, so betting begins with the player in position 3. On their turn players can bet to wager some of their chips on the hand. Once a bet is placed, players can call the bet to match the amount, raise to wager additional chips or fold to relinquish their hand and chances to win any chips already wagered. If it costs players nothing to remain active, they may check to remain in the hand without wagering additional chips. In no – limit Hold’ em players may wager any amount from the minimum to their current chip count.

Called going All – in. All – in players are only eligible to win the amount of their stack from each player who elects to call their bet. If larger stacks remain in the hand after a player is all – in, betting may continue into a side pot which only the larger stacks will be eligible to win.

Showdowns

If more than one player remains in the hand when the final round of betting has concluded, a ‘showdown‘ occurs. The player who bet or raised most recently begins the showdown by revealing their cards. Clockwise around the table, each remaining active player may reveal their cards, or discard them facedown (called ‘mucking’) if they have lost to any previously revealed hand. Only the first player (the most recent aggressor) is actually required to play either of their hole cards if the 5 community cards together form the strongest possible hand (this is called ‘playing the board’). The winner collects the wagers from the pot. A tie occurs if two or more players make hands of identical rank, in which case the pot is divided evenly among them.

The dealer

In no – limit Hold’ em the position of the dealer at the table is marked by a white puck called the ‘button‘. Between hands, the button and dealer responsibilities move one place clockwise around the table. The position of the dealer determines who will post the blinds and receive the first hole card, and where betting begins during each round.

The goal

The goal of Hold’ em is to win hands. In tournaments, players begin with a set amount of chips and play until their chip counts reach zero. The goal here is to be the last remaining player after all others have been eliminated. In cash games, players may bring any amount to the table they wish up to a set maximum based on the blinds. If a player runs out of chips, he may elect to purchase more and continue to play at the same table. The goal here is simply to accumulate additional funds

Good luck playing Texas Hold’ em!