Texas Holdem Poker
The purpose of Texas Holdem Poker is to make the best five-card hand with seven cards.
Before the cards are dealt
- Players buy-in for the amount posted
- Chosen players post the blinds
The Dealer Button
In Texas Holdem Poker the dealer starts dealing each poker game depending on which player has the BUTTON ( a graphical depiction (“D”) of the player who is the dealer) . Of course, in online poker it will our dealer who actually deals the cards for the Texas Hold’em Poker game but the player with the button plays as the dealer. The cards in online poker are dealt simulating a live poker game.
Blinds
Since there will be a ‘dealer’ there will also be players posting blinds in the online poker game Texas Hold’em Poker . Blinds are like antes- they put the money on the barrel, err into the pot, and that encourages other players to enter the poker hand.
The Small Blind or the ‘first blind’ of the poker game is generally half the minimum bet of the game though this fraction can vary- for $15-30 the small blind will be $7, and in $5-10, the small blind will be $2. Basically half of the minimum of the range rounded off to the lower denomination. Therefore in a $2-4 game the small blind is $1.
The second blind or the Big Blind in Texas Holdem Poker is the same as the minimum bet. So in a $15-30 game, the big blind is $15.
Here’s how the blinds move in Texas Hold’em Poker – the poker player immediately to the left of the ‘Dealer’ or the” Button” has the Small Blind. The player to his immediate left has the Big Blind.
The Opening Deal for Texas Holdem Poker
Once the Button, Small and Big blinds are sorted it is time to Deal for Texas Hold’em Poker . The dealer deals starting from the poker player to his immediate left moving clock-wise through the table. The poker game will be ‘deal-in’ for all the players. One card is dealt face-down and then one more, face-down. One round betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the big blind.
Betting on Opening Deal in Texas Holdem Poker
In Texas Holdem Poker the player to the immediate left of the big blind will always make the first move on the opening deal. This player cannot check, but can fold, call or raise the amount of the Big blind.
The poker game then advances to each player. The players, in turn, can fold, call or raise until the big blind is reached. The Big blind takes the action decision. In case no raise has been called yet the big blind can ‘check’ his own BLIND wager or he can raise. Now any poker player who had had his bet raised can re-raise. The betting continues in this vein until the players have contributed the same amount to the pot. This again depends on the type of poker game being played – if it is a no limit poker game then there is no upper limit – it is determined by whoever wants to bet the most.
The players finish the first round of wagering and then move on to the flop.
The Flop
The cards dealt next in Texas Hold’em Poker are the third, fourth and fifth cards. These are not dealt to the players but are put face-up in the middle of the table.
Before the ‘flop’ however, comes the ‘burn’. One card is dealt face-down into the pot. This is the burn card. After the burn, three cards are dealt face-up in the middle again- these are the Community cards. These are available to all players to use to make up their Texas Hold’em Poker hand. The middle of the table where these cards are dealt is the ‘board’.
Once the Flop is on the Board, all the poker players have five cards available to make up their hand. Two hole cards dealt in the opening round and three Community cards.
This is how playing the action follows in Texas Hold’em Poker.
The player to the immediate left of the Button will have initial for the entire game of Texas Hold’em Poker . If the poker player with the Button folds, the Button stays ‘in position’ even though the player is no longer in the game. This is to keep the sequence constant through the remainder of the game.
The poker player with the action can check or bet. Once a player opts for a bet the other players in the game cannot check any more. They can either fold, call or raise the appropriate amount for the round – the lower betting limit on the first round and on the flop and the upper limit on the turn and the river. The betting continues this way in Texas Hold’em Poker till all the players have chipped in the same amount to the pot within the maximum limit of three raises or four small bets.
The Turn
The turn is the fourth card dealt on the board and the sixth card available to players. It is also called Fourth Street but is more frequently called the ‘turn’. The poker dealer ‘burns’ a card and deals one card face-up on the board on the right of the last flop card.
The ‘look of the turn’ for example is ‘ 4 of hearts’.
Now, in Texas Hold’em Poker the four cards on the boards are available to the players plus their two hole cards. The poker player with the next action is always the one to the immediate left of the Button regardless of how many players are left in the game.
The bet on the turn will be at the upper level of the betting limit- so if it’s a $15-30 poker game, the bet will be at $30. All subsequent raises will be in jumps of $30 each with a limit of three raises.
The River
The river is the fifth and final card placed on the board by the dealer.
The flop card turns River
River look -
At this stage of Texas Hold’em Poker there are five cards on the board and two hole cards in the players’ hands. As usual the action starts with the player to the immediate left of the Button. All checks, raises, bets and folds are completed and then the Showdown begins.
Who Shows first?
The poker player who had the last action on the river shows first.
What happens if a player wins by default?
In the case that a player has a winning hand and his/her bet has not been called, the player does not have to Show his/her cards.
Must a player show his/her cards if they call a bet on the River?
A poker player is not obliged to show his/her cards only if they did not have the last action. In case a player has called a bet and finds that he/she cannot win , they may fold. However if other players want to know what the cards were they can be revealed after the fold in Texas Hold’em Poker.
So who wins Texas Hold’em Poker?
The cards speak as they do in all online poker rooms. In our online poker room the dealer finds the best five-card hand using the five Community cards and the two pocket or hole cards in the poker players’ hands. The Texas Hold’em Poker winner is decided according to the universal poker hand rankings.
