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NOTE: THE INFORMATION CONTAINED AT THIS SITE IS FOR NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT
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LOCAL LAWS IS PROHIBITED.
The Basics of Texas Hold'em
1. Texas
Hold'em can be played with as few as two players, but is usually played with
eight to ten players at a single table.
2. Texas Hold'em is played with one full deck of 52 playing cards.
3. Using the best five-card combination of their two hole cards and the five
community cards, players try to form the best five card poker hand.
4. The two players, sitting to the left of the dealer, place a forced initial
bet. This forced bet is called
“posting the blinds”.
5. The person left of the dealer posts a bet called the
“Small Blind”,
which is usually equal to half the minimum bet.
6. The person to the left of the “Small Blind” posts the
“Big Blind”,
which is equal to the full minimum bet.
7. First (Initial) Deal
- Each player is dealt two cards face down, which are known as “Hole Cards” or
“Pocket Cards”.
8. First round of
betting
(“Pre-Flop” betting) – Starting with the player to the left of the big blind,
each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The big blind has the
“option” to raise, call, check or fold.
9. “The Flop”
– The dealer burns a card, (discards the top card of the deck to prevent
cheating) and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards
are referred to as “The Flop”
10. Second round of
betting
– Starting with the player to the
left of the dealer, each player can check or bet. Once a bet has been made, each
player can raise, call, or fold
11. “The Turn”
– After the betting concludes the dealer burns another card, (discards the top
card of the deck to prevent cheating) and then adds a fourth card face-up to the
community cards. This fourth card is known as “The Turn” or "Fourth
Street".
12. Third round of
betting
– The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. This
round follows the same format as the second round.
13. “The River”
– After the betting concludes the dealer burns another card, (discards the top
card of the deck to prevent cheating) and then adds a fifth and final card to
the community cards. This fifth card is known as “The River” or
"Fifth Street". Players can now
use any of the five community cards on the table with the two cards in their
pocket (or hole cards) to form their best five card poker hand.
14. Final round of
betting
– There is now a final round of betting starting with the player to the left of
the dealer. It follows the same format as the second and third betting rounds.
15. “The Showdown”
– After the final round of betting, using the best five-card combination of
their hole cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their
hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand
wins the pot. If two or more players have the same hand, the next highest card
in the player's hand is used to break a tie. This is called the “Kicker”. If
there is no “Kicker” card and the tied players have used both hole cards, or
have the exact same hand, then the pot is split between the tied players.
16. The deal is then passed clockwise to the next player and another round of
play begins.
Additional Definitions:
Blind
A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players before any cards are
dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by players immediately to the left of the
dealer.
Check
(1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round.
Equivalent to betting zero dollars.
Hand Rankings in Texas Holdem:
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Royal Flush:
An Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten in the same suit.
-
Straight Flush:
Five cards in sequence, of the same suit.
-
Four of a Kind:
Four cards of the same rank, and one side card.
-
Full House:
Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.
-
Flush:
Five cards of the same suit.
-
Straight:
Five cards in sequence.
-
Three of a kind:
Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.
-
Two pair:
Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching
rank, and one side card.
-
One pair:
Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.
-
High card:
Any hand that does not qualify under a category listed above.
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