Texas Hold 'em - The Basics

 

Hold'em – A Quick Look
Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variation played around the world. If you're just starting out, this is the easiest game to learn. Play in Texas Hold'em goes through four rounds of betting: pre-flop, on the flop, the turn and the river. Each of these rounds is described below in a separate section and we focus on limit poker. No limit has unlimited number of raises per betting round and the amount of the raise is also unlimited.

To start the hand, the deck is shuffled, the blinds are posted and each player is dealt two cards face down, called hole cards.

When this first round of betting action is complete the dealer will place three cards face up on the table. These three cards are called the flop. All cards dealt face-up on the table are community cards. These cards “belong” to all players and may be used by any player in any combination with his hole cards to make his/her best possible poker hand.

The flop is followed by another round of betting. In limit games this second round of betting is the last round at the lower limit. After this round all bets and raises will be at the higher limit.

After this on the flop action is complete the dealer will place a fourth card, face up, on the table. This is the turn card and is another community card that any player may combine in any way with his hole cards. After the turn card is dealt there is a third round of betting. The third round of betting is at the higher limit in limit games. When the action on the turn is complete the last card, the river, is dealt face-up on the board. After the river card is dealt the fourth (last) round of betting begins. As with the other round, this round is limited to one bet and three raises. When the action is complete, the pot is awarded to the best 5 card hand.

The winner takes the pot, the dealer button is moved one position in a clockwise direction, the blinds are posted and another hand begins.

Pre-Flop
Seats at poker tables are numbered from the dealer box in a clockwise direction. In Texas Hold’em and in Omaha games players in late position have an advantage at the table. The advantage is that players in late position get to act after players in earlier positions and thus have information about the other players’ intentions. Because of this advantage the cards are dealt and action begins from a dealer button that rotates around the table in a clockwise direction. This rotation takes the blinds, early, middle and late position to all players equally. For each hand of Texas Hold’em, the cards are shuffled, the dealer button is placed, the blinds are posted and two cards are dealt face down to every active player at the table beginning with the first player in a clockwise (to the left) direction from the dealer button. These two cards are each player’s hole or private cards. After the cards are dealt, the pre-flop betting action begins. On this round and this round only, the betting begins with the first player to the left (clockwise) from the big blind. On all subsequent rounds the action begins with the first player to the left of the dealer button. In limit Hold’em the big blind is equal to a small bet. The small blind is usually 1/2 of the big blind but could be 1/3 or 2/3.

Pre-Flop Tip for Beginners:
The most common mistake in Hold’em is to play too many hands pre-flop. Be very selective in the hands you play before the flop. Good players throw away/fold far more hands than they play.

On the Flop
In Texas Hold’em, five community cards are placed on the board face-up. The first three of those cards are called the flop and are placed on the board as soon as the pre-flop betting is complete. Community cards are cards that each and every player at the table may combine with his hole cards to make his best possible 5-card poker hand. Sometimes just using the board cards and none of his hole cards makes a player’s best possible hand. Sometimes a player will elect to use 4 of the board cards and one from his two hole cards. Most often players use 3 cards from the board and both hole cards to make the best possible poker hand.

The Turn
Action on the Turn:
In limit games the stakes double on the turn. If the game is a $3/$6 game, all bets and raises on the turn and river will be for $6. As before action on the turn is limited to one bet and three raises. When the betting action on the turn is complete the river card, the final card, is placed on the board and the last round of betting begins.

A Turn Tip for Beginners:
On the turn, bets will have doubled and players need a very strong reason to continue in the hand. With only 1 more card to come, knowledge of pot-odds, implied-odds and what constitutes an overlay will help you know whether or not or how to continue in the hand.

The River
The last card, the river card, is dealt and the last round of betting begins. On the river as on all other rounds the action is limited to one bet and three raises. (Limit games only, no limit is exactly that.) Once the action on the river is complete, the pot is awarded to the player with the best 5 card poker hand. On the river, as on the turn, all bets and raises are for the larger limit.

A River Tip for Beginners:
With very big pots on the river, players often have the pot odds that can justify a value bet or call or even a pure bluff.

General Hold'em Tips for Beginners
- Take advantage of a wide range of available poker learning materials.

- Be very selective in the hands you play.

- Learn to estimate and use pot-odds, implied-odds and overlays.

- Tight and aggressive is the style that usually does the best.

- Top poker pros and most recreational players agree that good poker manners make good poker sense, make the game more enjoyable and can add to your poker bottom line. Professional players know that to anger or offend other players can sometimes cause an otherwise very loose player to play more conservatively, a bad player to play better and when the game flow is adversely affected he sees fewer hands/opportunities per hour.

Most poker variations including Hold'em are played according to one of 4 betting schemes or protocols. These four betting structures are; limit, pot-limit, no-limit and spread limit.