Texas Hold’em Guide

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Everybody knows that Texas Hold’em is extremely widely played variation of the poker game. People in various states enjoy it both in land-based and online casinos, while many movie characters can also be seen trying their luck on-screen!

This community card game not only cards but also gambling. The rules are quite simple, and if you’re looking for the ways on how to play Texas Hold’em easy, this guide will certainly help you!

However, becoming a master of Texas Hold’em is not going to happen overnight. A deep and thorough study of the various playing strategies out there is required for you if you really want to win regularly.

History

The most widely supported theory states that Texas Hold’em was born in a small town of Robstown, Texas, at the dawn of the 20th century. One overlapping narrative takes this game back to Renaissance France, where it was called “poque.” When Frenchmen sailed over to the New World, they promoted the game inside the community; and in time, the name was changed to poker.

Regardless of its real origin, Texas Hold’em began its path to fame in the 1960s. Before that, Five-draw poker had been the most favored version to play. In 1967, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Crandell Addington introduced Texas Holdem to Vegas.

In the beginning, high rollers had to visit the Golden Nugget to try out the game. The dreadful decor and location of the venue deterred the majority of them. So until it was played in the Dunes, located right on the Strip, Texas Hold’em stayed unnoticed to the public. But when professional card players found it to be rewarding, they really started throwing themselves into the game!

Tom Moore stand out from the crowd of first pioneers who attempted to gather all the best gamblers to organize a poker tournament called the Gambling Fraternity Convention. To cut a long story short, the idea failed; and in 1970, the rights to it were bought by the Binions. After the scarce rebranding, the venue was named the World Series of Poker, providing an excellent opportunity for Texas Hold’em to become well-recognized.

The first known big tournament was held in the Binion’s Horseshoe. The winner, Johnny Moss, became the first World Champion of Poker, receiving a silver cup as a prize. Following the advice of Tom Thackery, Binions made no-limit Texas Hold’em the main event of the tournament. This captured the attention of many players, starting from 8 entrants in 1972 and progressing to the point where it now has thousands of participants.

To boost the recognition of the game Doyle Brunson decided to publish a book on Texas Hold’em in 1978 entitled Super System, which became a bestseller that changed the way poker was played and analyzed. Following Doyle’s example, there was a series of books dedicated to the WSOP and the game itself. Nonetheless, its fame still didn’t spread beyond the boundaries of Las Vegas. To bolster the awareness about it, some professionals like Terry Rogers were using their ties with European card players.

What’s more, the 1980s introduced broadcasting to the venues. Journalists and hosts of these tournaments were using lipstick cameras to show the game all over the world. Besides the spiking interest from the player’s side – there were some governmental concerns regarding the essence of Texas Holdem. In 1988, during the Tibbets vs.Van De Camp case, the authorities wanted to prove that it should be referred to as a game of chance; but the court decided otherwise.

The acknowledgment of this game as a leader on the gambling market was established in the 2000s when the Rounders movie came out and the Internet cardsharp Chris Moneymaker won the major event at the WSOP.

Rules

Being a community game, Texas Hold’em allows dealing 2 cards face down to every player, usually referred to as “hole,” “pocket” or “down.” There are 5 community cards dealt in total in the middle of the table, and players can choose 3 out of them to form 5 card poker hand in the end.

Before the community cards are spread, the player bets are placed. The distinctive feature of Texas Hold’em is the presence of forced bets named “blinds.” Blind is done by a punter to the left of the dealer. In some versions of the game, blinds are done by two players. In casinos, a dealer button is used to rotate blinds. Once a player gets the button, a blind should be placed.

There are small and big blinds. The small one is the half size of the big one, and it’s placed by the player with the dealer button. Stakes usually define blind’s rates. The betting rules influence the kind of Texas Hold’em, depending on which there are 3 variations:

1. Limit Texas hold’em;
2. Pot-limit hold’em;
3. No-limit hold’em.

The first one has predefined bets and players cannot bet over their sizes. When playing pot limit game, participants can’t bet or raise the blinds, exceeding the sum in the pot. In no-limit hold’em, the maximum of a bet is set by the player’s house (the maximum bet is defined by the number of chips you have at the moment).

The handling of the deal influences the betting rounds. Usually, the 2 players to the left place their blinds. Next, the down cards are dealt, and everyone can call the big blind or fold. Those who post the big blind, put the relevant contribution into the pot. Those who fold don’t contribute to the pot and cannot get additional cards; they also lose an opportunity to win during the showdown. Those players (assuming they got a lucky hand) may raise the bet. Once the bet is raised, the previous player has to increase the initial blind to stay in the hand.

Then comes the round called flop: the process when the dealer places three cards face up on the table. This is the chance for punters, who didn’t fold before the flop, to evaluate their hole cards. Again players may raise or fold after this betting round.

The ‘turn’ means that another face-up card was dealt followed by the betting round. In the end, the dealer places the last card, which is called the river; and then the final betting takes place.

When the betting rounds have passed, each active player opens down cards. The remaining player with the best hand formed by the pocket cards and those on the table wins the pot. This last stage of the game is called showdown, and it has some interesting rules. For example, the player who placed the bet on the river must show his hand first; no betting on the river means that the players must reveal their hands starting from the player to the left of the dealer and continuing clockwise.

Texas Hold’em Card Rankings and Hands

Generally, wildcards are not used in Texas Hold’em. You may come across some of them when playing poker at home, but the majority of casinos don’t use them, so there is no possibility to substitute any cards to form a better hand. A player can combine the best hand using both, one or none of the hole cards and all of the 5 cards on the table. The rankings of poker hands are standard in this game:

1. Straight Flush happens once you receive pocket cards of the same suit, and they can be placed in the consecutive order. The highest ranking is given to the Royal Flush which is 10JQKA.
2. Four of a Kind means you’ve got 4 or 5 cards of the similar ranks.
3. Full House – the situation when you have three cards of one rank and two of another.
4. Flush – you`ve got 5 cards of one suit.
5. Straight – 5 cards of down-the-line rank.
6. Three of a Kind – a punter gets 3 cards of similar rank.
7. Two Pairs – there are two cards of one rank and two of another.
8. Pair – happens when you have two cards of one rank.
9. High Card – the player with the highest card wins.

If both players have equal hands, the bank is divided among them. Remember that in tie situations, the hand with the higher card ranking always wins. Sometimes it happens that both players have the same hand, and there are hole cards left. In this situation, the highest hole card is called the ice breaker, and this one forms the winning combination.

There is a number of ways the hands can be composed and the odds go down from the lowest number of combinations the highest one.

Strategies

This game is no good without a strategy. This is why players are constantly contemplating further action. Texas Hold’em novices have to be aware of some tricks, to help avoid blatant mistakes at the table. There’s no point digging into complicated matters from the start.

Be Smart

Never try to play every hand. Get a sense of the right moment to fold, and don’t get too easily wrapped up in the game. Analyze the strength of your hand: pairs are always considered to be strong pocket cards, as well as two suited hole cards above nine. At the same time, seven-two offsuit is considered to be the worst hand to deal with. And remember that being too excited about a strong hand is likely to hurt your chances! Impatience is the Achilles heel of poker players. Once you are being dealt strong cards, keep it to yourself and don’t rush the betting.

Table Position Matters

Choose your seat at the table wisely. Those who are the first to act suffer the most, as the uncertainty about the strength of their hand keeps them hesitating whether or not to bet before the flop. On the hand, the dealer’s position gives you a great opportunity to see the potential outcome of the round, and ultimately to determine whether or not it’s better to fold without losing a dime.

In case you are the kind of player who acts first, you should really just limp into the pot if you are really sure about the hole cards. However, the circumstances may change in the next round, which may reduce your chance of winning.

Bluff

Bluffing is an inevitable part of poker. Skillful players can keep their “poker face” straight through the whole game, forcing other players to fold, even if their hands are not that strong. You may fake emotions and put blinds in the rounds, even though you know their chances of winning are low. Sometimes you may faze out players with stronger hole cards and ultimately succeed in winning the game!

Conservative Plan

A “tight” type of game is the best way to learn everything step by step. Rookies often play at least pairs of nines and higher or two suited pocket cards. Avoid big bets and never raise them, unless the initial hand turned itself into a pair. Following these steps, you may gain the experience to plunge into other strategies, depending on table or stack size.

Playing Online

Free Texas Hold’em practice games are available online. Those who are eager to play free poker can register on the Internet platform and gamble for virtual bets. The line between real-life and virtual version is blurred, so the chances to learn from an online casino are the same, as from the land-based one. Once you feel confident enough, you can finally start entering tournaments!