Texas Holdem is the most popular poker game for its combination of skill and strategy. It is one of the simplest poker variants to learn and can be played anywhere, including online.
The number of possible situations and combinations add to its popularity.
Objective
There is plenty of in-depth information on How to play Holdem poker, but knowing the game’s objective and procedures is the first step for beginners to develop their game strategy and playing style.
Texas Holdem poker is all about winning the most chips with the best five-card poker hand: a combination of the two private or “hole” cards and the five face-up “community” cards in the center of the table.
A winner is determined using hand rankings.
Texas Holdem poker
The game opens with players dealt two private “hole” cards face down. In the center of the table, “community” cards are dealt in three stages, face up, over four betting rounds (“streets”).
Each Texas Holdem street has a name and a procedure, with the betting and dealing determined by the position of “blinds” and a “dealer button”, respectively. The accumulated bets are called a pot which the winning player collects at the game’s conclusion.
Dealers and blinds
As its name implies, the dealer button identifies who deals in a round. The button moves one place to the left around the table after every round.
The two players sitting to the dealer’s left are the round’s blinds. To the immediate left of the dealer sits a small blind and beside them a big blind. These blinds open the betting in every round to induce the other players to participate, with the big blind placing the largest of the two.
The button also determines the dealing pattern, with the small blind receiving the first hole card. The cards are then dealt clockwise around the table until all the players have two cards.
The betting streets
Betting begins in the game’s opening preflop after the players receive and view their two cards. There are no community cards on the table. The player to the left of the big blind opens the play in every round by declaring either call (matching a bet), raise (increasing the bet) or fold (forfeiting their cards). This continues clockwise around the table until everyone has bet or forfeited.
In the next round, the flop, three of the five community cards are introduced face up, and the betting continues with the players who did not forfeit in the preflop. Players now have an option to check: passing on the action but remaining in the game.
A fourth community card is introduced in the turn street, and betting continues around the table.
In the fifth and final round, the river, the last community card appears on the table. The remaining players have the option to either call, raise, fold or call.
A showdown follows when the players left in the game reveal their two hole cards to the table. The winner of the pot is the player with the best five-card hand.
Hand rankings
In descending order, these standard poker hand rankings determine the game’s winner:
- Royal Flush: five cards – ten, jack, queen, king, ace – in the same suit.
- Straight Flush: five consecutive cards of the same suit (4,5,6,7 and 8, for example).
- Four of a Kind: four cards of the same rank, but different suits, and one card of another.
- Full House: three cards of the same rank and the other two of the same rank.
- Flush: five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
- Straight: five cards in sequence, but not of the same suit.
- Three of a Kind: three of the same rank, but different suits.
- Two Pair: two cards of one rank and two of another.
- One Pair: two cards of one rank in the hand of five.
- High Card: the highest card in the hand of five when there is no same suit or rank.
For beginners and enthusiasts, the simplicity of Texas Holdem poker continues to make it extremely popular. For the more advanced or adventurous player, the buzz of poker tournaments offers a mix of competition, psychology and big-money wins.
Always remember to gamble responsibly.