Texas Hold ‘Em is just one of those poker games that has captured to public’s imagination. With continued television coverage and a huge following in casinos all over the country, if you are a gambler and you haven’t caught onto Hold ‘Em by now, you are missing out.
Texas Hold ‘Em starts with the blinds. This is the part that really confuses people. There are some variations of the blinds rule, but we are going to go with the official one. The person to the left of the dealer is the “small blind” they would pay the pot half of the agreed upon blind amount. So if the agreed upon amount is $50, the small blind plays $25. The Big blind is the person to the left of the little blind. They pay the full amount. As the deal as passed to the left from hand to hand, the blind will change. In effect, with four people playing, two get free cards. This is non-negotiable.
The game begins with each player getting two cards face down. Betting is the normal kind, but I like confusing people so we’re going to cover the average betting round now and get it out of the way. Players bet in turns, for the sake of explaining things let’s assume there are four players whose parent’s had no imagination and named the A, B, C and D. C is the small blind so he bets last. D sees he doesn’t have the greatest two cards to bet on and checks (passes on betting.) A likes his cards and bets $5. B now has to bet at least $5 and sees (matches) the $5. D sees as well. Now A, who checked earlier has to decide if he wants to stay in or fold. He decides to stay in and bets his $5… then because he’s a stud, bets $5 (raises.) B has to meet this or fold, as does C and D. They all have the option to raise. Things continue on like this until someone at the end of the betting train says WHOA! And calls.
After the first round of betting is over, the dealer burns or places the top card from the deck to the side. They then deal three cards face up. This is called the flop. These are community cards that everyone will have a chance to make a hand from. Another round of betting takes place. Based on your hand, bet accordingly.
After the second round of betting is over, it is time for the turn card to be dealt. The dealer burns another card and deals just one, face up, next to the flop cards. Based on the best possible 5 card hand, another betting round takes place.
After round three, the river card is to follow. The river is dealt the same way as the turn. Betting takes place based upon the hands that people now have. Once betting is completed, it is time to see who has what.
A suggestion is to ride things out at least through to the river card. Folding too early sometimes will make you feel like kicking yourself when the 2, 6 in your hand could have been a small straight. Unless betting is heavy, you might as well stay in. Another suggestion is for when you have Texas Hold ‘Em night at your place. Your guests would no doubt appreciate a second table so they can continue gambling while they are waiting for everyone else to finish up. Often things can get pretty rowdy at table 2, but it sure beats people poking through your closets for some unknown reason- it’s happened to me once.
Texas Hold ‘Em is a lot more intense than the average “call it” poker night. One needs to be aware that once you start playing Hold ‘Em, you have to keep playing or else then someone is going to be upset. This is due to the big and little blinds being the only ones having to ante. Keep this in mind and good luck to you.
Zeeman Haus enjoys writing articles online on a variety of subjects. You can check out his latest website on Folding Poker Table which provides reviews on Fat Cat, ChipsAndGames, Trademark Global and more.