How to Play Texas Hold 'Em

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  • How to Play Texas Hold 'Em contains tips, tricks and advice on how to play Texas Hold 'Em poker.

  • Introduction

    • Thanks to Celebrity Poker Showdown and the World Series of Poker, Texas Hold 'Em is the most popular type of poker game that is played in the United States. Unlike draw or stub games, Texas Hold 'Em is a community game in which the player's hands are made up of a shared set of community cards as well as two "hole cards," which only the player is able to see.

  • What You'll Need

    • All you need to stage a poker game is a deck of cards and a convincing poker face. There are, however, a few other accessories you might consider to make your home game more like the ones you see on TV or at the casino:

    1. One Deck of Playing Cards: They don't need to be "casino quality." The standard 52-card deck found at any drug or grocery store is more than adequate for even the most serious poker lovers.
    2. Poker Chips: In many poker games, betting is done with colored chips standing in for different cash amounts. You can also bet cash, potato chips, M&Ms, your clothes or whatever else you have available. Poker chips can be purchased at most Wal-Marts, Targets and game stores.
    3. Dealer Button: A "dealer" button is a white chip that shifts from player to player every time a new round of playing starts. In a home game, it indicates who the dealer is for the next round as the responsibility for dealing shifts from person to person. In a casino, the button indicates who bets last. A dealer button is not essential to home play, but you will see the buttons used in casinos.

  • Texas Hold 'Em Basics

    • Poker is a general term which encompasses several types of card games. All poker games, however, adhere to the same basic rules and use similar terminology:

    1. Number of Players: 2-10
    2. Goal: To win the "pot" based on the best possible combination of 5 cards.
    3. Dealing: Each player is "dealt" a certain number of cards. The number of cards dealt depends on the type of poker game being played. Dealing can occur all at once or over a series of rounds, between which betting takes place.
    4. Hands: A hand refers to your cards and the best combination you make from those cards. A "hand" also refers to a round of dealing and betting over a single pot. Once someone wins the pot, a new hand begins.
    5. Betting: Players either bet or fold (quit playing) based on the quality of their hand, versus their best guess as to what other players are holding.
    6. The Pot: The aim of poker is to win the pot. The pot is all of the money bet over the course of a hand. Once a pot is won, a new hand begins.

  • Texas Hold 'Em Hand Rankings

    • The following poker hand rankings determine who wins the round of Texas Hold 'Em poker:

  • Suits

    • There are four suits - diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs.
    1. The suits are of equal value.
    2. Suits come into play in flushes and straights. The type of flush or straight you have and its worth is dependent on whether the cards in your hand are of the same or different suits.

  • Five of a Kind

    • If you are playing a variant of poker which uses a "wild card," a "five of a kind" hand is possible. The "wild" card is typically a joker or a random card called at the beginning of the game. Five of a Kind is the highest ranking hand. It even beats the almighty Royal Flush.

  • Rank

    • Every card is marked by a letter or number which determines its rank.
    1. The highest ranking card is the Ace (A).
    2. There are numbered cards (2-10) and face cards.
    3. The face cards include the Jack, Queen and King (J, Q, K).
    4. The Ace (A) can stand-in as the lowest card in the hand A-2-3-4-5.
    5. The cards are ranked from highest to lowest as follows: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
    6. The rank of cards will help determine the winner of a tie when two players have similar hands.

  • Hand Rankings

    • Just as individual cards have ranks, hands or combinations of cards have ranks. These hand rankings determine who is the winner of a round of poker:

    • 1st: Royal Flush: Five highest ranking sequential cards of the same suit.

    • 2nd: Straight Flush: Five sequential cards of the same suit.

    • 3rd: Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank. Any suit.

    • 4th: Full House: Three cards of the same rank, plus two of the same rank. Any suit.

    • 5th: Flush: Any five cards of the same suit.

    • 6th: Straight: Five cards of sequential rank. Any suit.

    • 7th: Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank. Any suit.

    • 8th: Two Pair: Two pairs of cards of the same rank. Any suit.

    • 9th: One Pair: Two of the same cards. Any suit.

    • 10th: High Card: When no one has a pair or higher, the highest card wins.

  • Kickers

    • When there is a tie between hands with the exact same cards, the "kicker" or the highest ranking card that does not make up the hand serves as a tiebreaker. For instance, an A-A-K-6-8 beats A-A-9-5-3 because the King is higher than a 9.

  • Texas Hold 'Em Dealing

    1. Shuffling: Before dealing the cards, the dealer shuffles them thoroughly. You can read up on a variety of shuffling techniques at Pokerology.com.
    2. Cutting: After shuffling the cards, the dealer hands the cards to the person sitting on his or her left. That person cuts the cards - meaning he or she picks up approximately half of the cards from the top of the deck and places them next to the lower half. The dealer restacks the cards - completing the cut. The top half of the card deck is now at the bottom.
    3. Dealing Order: The dealer deals the first round of cards clockwise, beginning with the person to his or her left. Each player is dealt one card at a time.
    4. Betting: In a home game, the dealer always bets last. At a casino, the dealer does not play. The betting order shifts between each round with the person betting last indicated by a dealer chip.

  • Texas Hold 'Em Betting

    • Betting in poker starts before the cards are dealt and continues with each round. Any limits on the amount that can be bet or raised vary from game to game.

  • Blinds: The First Bet

    • The first bet occurs before any cards are dealt. Each player must put some money into the pot to begin the game.
    1. Blinds: A blind is a mandatory bet that the two players sitting immediately to the dealer's left must make to start play. The person immediately next to the dealer puts in the "small blind." The person to that person's left puts in the "big blind," which is twice the amount of the small blind. After the cards are dealt, every player, including the one who put in the small blind, must bet at least the amount of the big blind to stay in the game.

  • Your Turn to Bet

    1. Fold: If you have a weak hand or the betting is too high, you should fold. Folding is dropping out of play. You surrender your cards by placing them face down on the table and sliding them to the dealer.
    2. Check: If no one else has bet yet, you can check, which is essentially passing on your turn without folding. If everyone checks in the first round of draw game, it gives you the opportunity to draw a new card without risking any money or dropping out of the game. To check, simply say "check" or tap the table.
    3. Call: Calling means that you bet the same amount as the previous player. If other players have already bet, the minimum you can do to stay in a hand is call the previous bet.
    4. Raise: Raising means you bet more than the previous player.

  • How to Play Texas Hold 'Em

    • Number of Players: 2-10
    1. The two players to the left of the dealer put in the small blind and the big blind.
    2. Each player is dealt two cards.
    3. There is a round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the player who contributed the big blind. Each player must put in at least the amount of the big blind to continue playing. The player who put in the original big blind can either raise or check on his or her first turn.
    4. The dealer deals three cards face up on the table. This is called the "flop."
    5. There is another round of betting.
    6. The dealer deals a fourth card face up on the table. This is called the "turn."
    7. There is another round of betting.
    8. The dealer deals a fifth card face up on the table. This is called the "river."
    9. There is another round of betting.
    10. If two or more players remain, they show their cards to determine the winner. The winner has the best 5-card poker hand formed with his or her hole cards and any combination of the community cards on the table.
    How to Play Texas Hold 'Em with Phil Gordon

  • Texas Hold 'Em Slang

    • Texas Hold 'Em has its own lingo. These terms refer to the two hole cards players are dealt individually as opposed to the community cards. Maybe you've heard Phil Gordon on Celebrity Poker Showdown refer to people's "pocket queens." Now you can play Phil at home.
    • A-A: American Airlines, Pocket Rockets
    • A-K: Big Slick
    • A-J: Ajax
    • K-K: Cowboys
    • K-J: Kojak
    • K-9: Canine
    • Q-Q: Dames, Divas, Ladies, Siegfried & Roy
    • Q-J: Maverick, Oedipus Rex
    • J-J: Jokers, Hooks
    • J-5: Jackson Five, Motown
    • 10-5: Five and Dime
    • 8-8: Snowmen, Octopuses
    • 7-2: The Hammer
    • 5-4: Jesse James
    • 4-4: Sailbots
    • 2-2: Ducks

  • Conclusion

    • You're ready, ace. Just remember that poker is supposed to be fun. Keep your bets within reason. Keep the trash talk to a minimum, and enjoy the company of your fellow players.

  • Resources for How to Play Texas Hold 'Em

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