Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years it’s almost assured that you’ve heard of the poker game known as Texas Holdem. This game has grown widely popular due to the huge prizes it awards annually at the world series of pokers main event. I think the great appeal of the game is that anyone can play since the rules really aren’t all that confusing. Of course not everyone can be great but I think Texas Holdem is a great way to get together with friends and just have some fun and be competitive. If you get really good at it too it is a great way to make some money as well, but of course this takes practice.
The rules to Texas Holdem are very simple and I will try to explain them in as clear a manner as possible. The first thing to understand about Texas Holdem are the blinds. Before every match the player directly to the left of the dealer must place a small blind and the player that sits two to the left of the dealer must place the big blind, which is twice the amount of the big blind. The big blind is the minimum bet that every other player must bet if he wishes to see the flop. The blinds are a way to stimulate action from the players.
Once all the blinds have been posted the dealer will now give each player two cards face down. These cards are known as your “hole” cards and can only be seen by you. After everyone has a card the option is given to every player whether he would like to call, bet, or fold starting with the player to the immediate left of the big blind. After the flop, which we’ll get to, the betting will start with the first player remaining to the left of the dealer.
After this first round of betting the dealer will place three cards face up in the middle of the table. This is called a flop and these are community cards which may be used by everyone. Players then bet and another, single, card is flipped over which is known as the “river”. Players bet again and then the last card, “the turn,” is revealed. Players bet again and then reveal their cards to announce a winner.
The point of the game is to create the best possible five card poker hand. This is done by using any combination of cards in your hand or on the table. If it gives you the best hand, you can actually use only the cards on the board as your hand. This is the basic layout of the rules, so go out there and start having some fun.
