Official Texas Hold Em Poker Rules
Texas Hold 'Em originated in the early 1900's, but only started gaining popularity in Las Vegas casinos in the 1960's. Forty years later, it is the world's most popular poker game, and it's fun to play and easy to learn. Best of all, poker, unlike every other game in the casino, is not a game of chance, but a game of skill. This means that with a little practice and good strategy, a player can win consistently.
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Texas Hold 'Em is played with one deck of 52 cards. Each player is dealt two cards facedown; these are your “hole cards,” and it's where the expression “an Ace in the hole” comes from. After you see your cards, you decide whether to bet or fold. This is one of the great things about Texas Hold 'Em – if you don't have good cards, you don't usually have to bet anything. If you like what you have, you make a small opening bet. Then three more upcards are dealt in the middle of the table; these are called “the flop” and they are community cards which anyone can use in combination with their hole cards. A round of betting follows the flop, and then the dealer lays a fourth card face-up on the table – this is another community card called the “turn” card. Another round of betting commences, after which the deal shows the final community card: the “river.” After the last round of betting, if there are two or more players still vying for the pot, everyone turns over their hole cards in a showdown to determine who has the best 5-card poker hand.
Most games in a casino or cardroom will have what is called “structured betting.”
For example, if you are in a “$3-$6 Texas Hold 'Em” game, the first two betting rounds will be $3 bets, and after that the bet will go up to $6. Usually a bet and three raises are allowed in each round, to ensure that people don't get too crazy at the table.
If I bet $3 in the first round, you raise me $3, another player re-raises $3, and I re-raise $3 again, the dealer will then declare that we are “capped” at $12. The exception to this rule is if there are only two players left; then, they can raise the pot as high as they want.
One note on winning hands; for a single pair, a “kicker” is your highest single card, and may be the only thing that lets you win. Say you have the following hand: Q-Q-A-4-7 and another player shows this hand: K-6-Q-Q-9 – both of you have a pair of Queens , but your Ace kicker will beat his King for the win.
Kicker's work on identical two-pair hands also; and for all other hands, just remember that a flush with high cards (like J-9-2-4-7 of spades) will beat a flush with low cards; (3-4-8-9-2 of spades.) Same applies for straights and full houses. A full house of 5-5-5-2-2 beats a full house of 2-2-5-5-5.
That should be a good reminder of what we're looking for, let's take a look at how the game is played.
Rules of the Game
Let's sit down at an imaginary Texas Hold 'Em game and learn the rules as we play a hand. First we need to buy some chips. The buy-in for most Texas Hold 'Em games is 10 times the minimum bet. We're looking at a $3-$6 table, so we give the dealer $30 and they give us 30 one-dollar chips.
A yellow button marked “D” sits in front of one of the players. Each hand, the button is moved around the table to the left; this is done because there is an advantage to playing from “dealers” position – because you are the last person to act, you get to see what everyone before you has done; checked, bet, or raised – before deciding how you are going to play. For this reason, the dealer position moves every hand and is indicated by this yellow button.
Whether in online or live casino play, remember that all the cards are dealt by a house dealer, who isn't playing the game. This button just show's where the action ends.
Every game begins with the “posting of the blinds” – these are mandatory bets made by the two players sitting to the left of the dealer button. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button is the “small blind” – usually ½ the value of the minimum bet. So, on a $3/$6 table, this would be a $1.50 bet. The player to their left is the “big blind” – a bet equal to the minimum table bet, in this case $3. These bets are in effect so that there will always be an incentive for someone to play the hand.
The real betting starts after each player has been dealt their 2 hole cards. Starting with the small blind, each player is given the choice to ante up, raise or fold their cards. The small blind only has to put in another $1.50 to play – since they've already had to bet $1.50. The big blind doesn't have to put in anything – they can play because their $3 is already in the pot. All other players either have to ante up $3, raise or fold. If they have excellent hole cards, they can choose to raise the pot an additional $3, which means everyone else now has to decide whether to kick in an extra $3, or fold.
At this point, the dealer will collect “the rake” – usually about 3-6 dollars which goes into a lockbox for the house. This is how the casino makes money to pay for the dealers, free drinks, space in the casino, etc.
When all bets have been equalized, the dealer lays 3 cards face-up on the table. These are the first 3 community cards, and they're called “the flop.”
Another round of betting commences, again starting with the small blind. Players can choose to check (if there are no other bets) by tapping the table and saying “Check” – however, if someone else decides to bet, they are forced to match that money or fold.
Again, all bets being equal, the dealer will lay another card down. This is called the “turn” card. Betting proceeds as before, and the dealer shows the final community card: the “river.”
This starts the last round of betting, after which, any players still in the game will show their hole cards in the “showdown” and the dealer will identify who has the highest poker hand, and give the pot to them.
The game may end before the showdown if all players except one fold; this player wins the pot (and isn't required to show their hole cards) but in any case, once the pot has been awards, that hand is done.
Now the dealer button is moved, new blinds are put out, and the next hand begins.
Ready to play a hand? Let's join 3 other players at this table. The dealer gives us each two cards - We look at our hole cards and see K-K. These are good cards so we will definitely bet on them. Before each deal, notice that the dealer takes one card off the top of the deck and discards it – this is called “burning” a card and is an old rule to designed to prevent cheating.
Player #1 has put in the small blind, $1.50, and Player #2 has put in the big blind, $3, making a pot of $4.50. Player #3 folds right away. So we add $3 to the pot; now we are in this hand. Player #1 adds $1.50 to stay, and all bets are equal.
Now the dealer collects the rake, burns a card, and deals 3 cards face-up on the table. This is the flop, and all the community cards are referred to as “the board.”
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Our Cards
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Player #1
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Player #2
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The Board
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Player #1 had the small blind, so she starts, and bets $3. Player #2 calls $3, and since we have 3 Kings, we're confident enough to raise $3. Both players call our raise, and we continue.
The dealer burns and deals the turn card:
Our Cards – K-K
Player #1 – ?-?
Player #2 – ?-?
The Board – A-K-9-T
Player #1 goes first again, and she can either bet or check. Checking means she “passes” but if someone else bets, she's going to have to call their bet, or fold. Now, you might wonder why someone would check when they raised last time. Wait and see…
Player #2 checks also, and we bet for $6. Now the action is back to Player #1, who checked earlier. She must either bet or fold, or she can raise $6, which is exactly what she does.
This is called a “check-raise” and people who have strong cards will do this to try and make their pot even bigger. Just think, if she had raised in the first place, everyone else would have just called, and she would only have gotten $18 in bets. But by checking, letting someone else raise, and then re-raising, she built the pot by $36.
After everyone calls this bet, the dealer will deal the last card on the board, the river.
Our Cards – K-K
Player #1 – ?-?
Player #2 – ?-?
The Board – A-K-9-T-2
Player #1 bets $6 this time, since she probably knows people won't be suckered in to another check-raise. Player #2 looks a little concerned, but calls the bet. Since we have 3-of-a-kind, which is a pretty strong hand, we want to raise, but before we do, let's consider what the best possible hands the other players might have are. Player #2 probably has a hidden Ace, since she bet strongly from the beginning - giving her at least a pair of Aces, which our 3-of-a-kind would beat. There's a slim chance she has two Aces in the hole, which would beat us. Player #2 is a bigger threat because he might have a straight, if he had Q-J. But he didn't raise when the Ten showed up, and seemed reluctant even to call the last bet, so we should be safe raising. Let's raise $6, for a total bet of $12.
Now it's time for the showdown.
Everyone turns over all their cards. Here's what is shown.
Our Cards – K-K
Player #1 – A-K
Player #2 – J-2
The Board – A-K-9-T-2
Player #1 had top 2 pair early on, but her hand never improved after the flop. Player #2 had a long shot at a straight but never caught a Queen. We win with our three Kings, collecting a pot of $99.00.
The game may end before the showdown if all players except one fold; this player wins the pot (and isn't required to show their hole cards) but in any case, once the pot has been awarded, that hand is done.
Summary
Well, now you know the basics of Texas Hold 'Em poker, and you have the key to the winning strategy – always read the board, watch how your opponents are betting, and don't hesitate to fold as soon as you determine that you don't have the best hand in the game. Now, it's time to rustle up a bankroll, put on your poker face, and make a fortune. Good luck, partner!
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