Texas Hold Em is without a doubt the most famous, and wide spread played Poker game around the world today. Television tournaments, the invention of online poker, and many more casinos offering tournaments and cash games has helped fuel the popularity of this game. Texas Hold Em is so appealing to players because it’s so easy to learn and master. In short, the object of the game is to make the best hand possible, out of traditional Poker hands, using your two ‘hole cards’ and the 5 community cards available.
How Texas Hold’em is dealt
Using your two hole cards, and five community cards, you must play through five rounds of betting which finishes with a showdown – a point where all players compare their cards to see who has the best hand. An example hand dealt face down to a player could be:
(Ace of spades and Five of Spades)
The Betting Process
Texas Hold Em is usually player with six to nine players, although you can play with any number of players from two upwards. The game uses blinds, small and large. The player sitting on the left of the dealer must post the small blind, whilst the player on the left of him or her must post the big blind. This is to ensure there is always a pot, and sort of kick-starts the game off.
As soon as the big and small blinds have been put down, the dealer will deal each player two cards face down. These are the player’s hole cards, and are not visible to other players. Once all players have received their cards, the player to the left of the big blind will have the option to either call the bet, fold their hand or raise the bet. This continues round the table until betting has finished and everyone is ready to move on.
The Community Cards
The community cards are now dealt, otherwise known as the flop. The flop takes the form of three cards being dealt face up in the middle of the table.
The Flop:
(Queen of Spades, Two of Spades, Eight of Hearts)
Players are allowed to use these three cards alongside with their own two to make up the best five card Poker hand possible. Once again, the betting takes place going round the table, starting with the player on the left of the dealer. He or she once again has the option to check, fold or raise.
The Turn
(Queen of Spades, Two of Spades, Eight of Hearts, Four of Diamonds)
As soon as betting has finished on the flop, a fourth community card known as the turn is dealt face up in the middle of the table. Once again, betting starts from the player on the left of the dealer. Another betting round is initiated, and continues clockwise around the table.
The River
(Queen of Spades, Two of Spades, Eight of Hearts, Four of Diamonds, Nine of Spades)
The fifth and last community card to be dealt is known as the River. Once again, a round of betting starts from the player on the left of the dealer, and continues around the table until all players have either folded or called the relevant amount to keep playing. This is the last chance players will have to bet before showing their cards in the showdown.
Showdown
Once all betting has finished, the showdown determines who has the winning hand. Usually the player who made the last bet must show their hand first, continuing around the table clockwise. The player with the winning hand takes the pot. In case of a tie, the pot is split equally between any players holding the tie.
In Texas Hold em, if two players hold the same hands, e.g. player one holds a flush, 3,6,8,9,J and player two holds a flush with 2,3,4,5,A, player two would win the hand as he or she holds the high flush with the Ace. Similarly, if two players both hold straights, the player with the highest straight takes the pot. For example, straight 6 – 10 would be beaten with a player holding a straight 7 – J. If two players hold identical flushes, straights or full houses, it is a dead tie and a kicker cannot be used. This is because you can only choose 5 cards to play with, the other two are irrelevant. A kicker can however be used to determine the winner of a pair, two pair of three of a kind. For instance is two players both had A,A,A , and one player had a K whilst the other held a Q, the player with the King would win.
For more information on wining poker hands, check out the Poker hand rankings page.
