Texas Hold’Em Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards The cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Aces can be HIGH or LOW. Aces are worth more than Kings which are worth more than Queens which are worth more than Jack, and so on. The cards are also separated into four suits. The suits are:

Clubs:  Spades:  Hearts:  Diamonds:

The suits are all of equal value, meaning that no suit is more valuable than another. It’s a very democratic game.

It is a game in which players bet into a communal pot during the course of a hand, and in which the player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. During a given betting round, each remaining player in turn may take one of four actions:

1. check, a bet of zero that does not forfeit interest in the pot
2. bet or raise, a nonzero bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or else forfeit all interest in the pot
3. call, a nonzero bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains a player’s interest in the pot
4. fold, a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another player’s bet, accompanied by the loss of one’s cards and previous bets

Betting usually proceeds in a circle until each player has either called all bets or folded. Different poker games have various numbers of betting rounds interspersed with the receipt or replacement of cards.

At the showdown, those players still remaining compare their hands according to the following rankings:

1. Straight flush, five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 6789T of hearts. Ranked by the top card, so that AKQJT is not only the best straight flush but is also known as a royal flush. The ace can play low to make A2345, the lowest straight flush.
2. Four of a kind, four cards of the same rank accompanied by a "kicker", like 66662. Ranked by the quads, so that 66662 beats 5555K, and then ranked by the side card, so that 6666A beats 6666K.
3. Full house, three cards of one rank accompanied by two of another, such as 999TT. Ranked by the trips, so that 88844 beats 777AA, and then ranked by the pair, so that 999AA beats 999KK.
4. Flush, five cards of the same suit, such as K7462 of hearts. Ranked by the top card, and then by the next card, and so on for all five cards, so that A7654 beats A6432.
5. Straight, five cards in sequence, such as 6789T. The ace plays either high or low, making TJQKA and A2345. "Around the corner" straights like QKA23 are not allowed.
6. Three of a kind, three cards of the same rank and two kickers of different ranks, such as 99962. Ranked by the trips, so that 99962 beats 888AK, and then ranked by the two kickers, so that JJJAK beats JJJAQ
7. Two pair, two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and a kicker of a third rank, such as TT889. Ranked by the top pair, then the bottom pair and finally the kicker, so that TT889 beats any of 99JJA, 8822Q, and TT445.
8. One pair, two cards of one rank accompanied by three kickers of different ranks, such as KKQ53. Ranked by the pair, followed by each kicker in turn, so that KKQ53 beats KKQ52.
9. High card, any hand that does not qualify as one of the better hands above, such as Q7432 of mixed suits. Ranked by the top card, then the second card and so on for all five cards, as for flushes. Suits are not used to break ties.

How A Hand is Played

The Button

The button represents the dealer.  In home games, no button is needed, as the cards are passed around the table and each player deals in turn.  In the casino and in online poker tables, the dealer is a professional or a computer.  Hence, the necessity of a “button”.  The button moves clockwise around the table after each hand, and the player “on the button” gets his cards last and bets last in each round.  Keeping up with the current location of the button is a huge consideration when determining positional strategy. This will be explained in much more detail later.

The Blinds

Texas Hold’Em has no ante.  To force the action without an ante, Hold ’em uses blind bets.  The first 2 players to the left of the button are forced to put in the blind bets.  Typically, the first player puts in the small blind, equal to half of the minimum bet, while the second player puts in the big blind, equal to a full minimum bet.  Minimum bets are determined by the game organizer. For cash games these will be relative to the amounts people have bought in for. For tournament play ante’s will increase, on a timely basis, to ensure game completion within a reasonable timescale.

The Deal and players options thereafter.

Starting with the first player to the left of the button, each player is dealt 2 cards, face down, called pocket cards or starting hands.  The first two players to the left of the button posts the blinds, and the first round of betting ensues.  The first action after the deal is taken by the player to the left of the big blind.  He and subsequent players can choose to call the big blinds bet, fold or raise. 

Calling would mean placing the SAME AMOUNT as the big blind in front of the player whose turn it is to act and saying the word ‘call’ to indicate to other players, and the dealer, that this was/is the players intention.

Folding would mean tossing the players cards, face down, towards the dealer. The dealer would then ‘muck’ the cards and the cards would then become dead and no longer playable.

Raising would mean that the player wishes to increase the size of the current bet in play. In NO-LIMIT the player must state the word ‘raise’ to the dealer and is then allowed to bet as much as they like, up to whatever chips they currently possess. If the player wishes to bet ALL their chips at that moment then the words ‘all-in’ are used and the player would then push ALL their chips into the pot. When stating the word ‘raise’ players MUST raise AT LEAST the size of the BIG BLIND currently in play. E.g If the big blind is currently 100 then the player raising MUST raise by that amount after calling the big blind bet first. In this case the MINIMUM BET for a raise where the big blind is currently equal to 100 would be 200. 100 = BIG BLIND. CALL + 100 = MINIMUM RAISE. 

Where a player wishes to play in a hand but does not have the necessary chips to call either the big blind or any subsequent raises then they may go ‘all-in’. By doing this a ‘side pot’ is created where the player going ‘all-in’ may ONLY win a pot equivalent to THEIR total chip count * number of players in the pot matching their ‘all-in’ bet.

Side pots are discussed in more detail in our ‘Varieties Of Poker’ chapter.

In most Texas Hold ’em games, the blinds are live, which means that in the first round of betting, the players ‘in the blind’ get a chance to call, check or raise when the action moves back around to them (see above).  In this sense, the big blind would be the last player to act after the dealing of the pocket cards.

If any of this seems a bit confusing, it should clear up after you’ve observed a few hands played by others in an actual game.

The Flop

Next occurs what’s known as the flop. The flop is derived by the dealer dealing 3 cards laid face up in the center of the table. To prevent cheating by players who would ‘mark’ the backs of playing cards so that they could be identified from afar the dealer will ‘burn’ or discard the top card and the next 3 cards immediately after this burned or discarded card will be the flop.  These cards serve as common cards.  Another round of betting ensues, with the first remaining player to the immediate left of the button starting the action.

The Turn

Again the dealer will burn or discard the top card from the remaining deck and use the very next card as the ‘turn’ card. This single card is laid face up, next to the flop, for a total of 4 cards face up.  Another round of betting ensues, with the first remaining player to the immediate left of the button starting the action.

The River

Again the dealer will burn or discard the top card from the remaining deck and use the very next card as the ‘river’ card. This final card is turned face up, bringing the total number of common cards face up on the board to 5.  A final round of betting occurs, starting with the first player remaining to the left of the button.

Showdown

After betting is complete and if more than two players remain, a showdown occurs in which the winner is determined by the best five card hand possible using the 5 common cards and each players 2 pocket cards.  It is entirely possible for the best hand to be completely “on the board,” in which case the players still in the game split the pot.  It is also possible to have a “tie” in which the players with the same hand strengths split the pot.

After the showdown, the button moves one person clockwise, and the next hand is dealt.

Texas Hold’Em Poker – Name of the game

Showdown – Where cards are turned over for all players (and dealer) to see

Quads – Four of a kind (3333 or QQQQ)

Trips – Three of a kind (444 or 888)

Button – Object, usually round, that traverses the table in a clockwise direction, to indicate the current ‘virtual’ position of the dealer.

Ante – Enforced bet

Blind Bets – Player(s) immediately to the left of the button must make these bets. So called ‘blind’ bets as the players have yet to see cards before placing the bets.

Small Blind – 1^st player to the immediate left of the dealer button is enforced to make the small blind. Usually for one half value of the Big Blind.

Big Blind – 2^nd player to the immediate left of the dealer button is enforced to make the big blind. Usually for DOUBLE the amount of the small blind.

Muck – Cards are ‘mucked’ or ‘killed’ when the player, in possession of them, throws them to the dealer. This indicates that the player no longer wishes to participate in the hand being played.

All-In – When a player puts all his chips into the pot he is said to be ‘all-in’.

On The Board – Where the best possible 5 card hand is the hand shown by the community cards. E.g Community cards are AAAKK. Players cards are JJ & QQ.

Tie – Where players remaining in the pot, after all 5 community cards have been dealt, have the same hand holding. E.g Community cards dealt are AA462…two players left in the game both have AJ.]

Next week’s article is on Reading the Board