Texas Hold'em For Dummies
In Texas Hold'em, there are
two face-down cards for each player and five face-up community
cards. The player who makes the best five-card poker hand with
any combination of their two face-down cards and the five community
cards wins the round. In a Texas Hold'em game, a disc or other
marker is used to indicate which person is the "dealer" for the
round. There are no antes in Hold'em, instead, forced bets called
blinds are used. Before the cards are dealt, the person to the
left of the dealer posts a bet called the small blind, which is
usually equal to half of the minimum bet. The person to the left
of the small blind posts the big blind, which is equal to the minimum
bet. The first two cards are dealt to each player face down (these
are called the hole cards), and the person to the left of the big
blind starts the first round of betting. (Notice that the big blind
and small blind do not get to look at their cards before betting,
thus the term "blind"). In the first round of betting, each player
has three options: call, raise or fold. To call, the player must
place a bet that is equal to the last bet placed. (For the first
player in the round, this would be equal to the minimum bet.) A
player may choose to raise their call bet by an additional amount,
which the other players will then have to call. If one's hole cards
are not favorable, the player may simply choose to fold and sit
out the round.
After all the players have finished the first round of betting, the first three community cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is called the flop. The second and all subsequent betting rounds start with the first player to the dealer's left, and players now has the option to check. By checking, the player indicates interest in the pot without placing a bet. Any player may choose to place a bet, which the other players must then call. Players can still raise, if a bet has been made, or fold, if their hand is not favorable. After the second betting round, the fourth community card is dealt face-up (this is called the turn card). In limit games, the minimum bet doubles in the last two rounds of betting. After the third betting round, the fifth and final community card is dealt (this is called the river card). A final round of betting ensues, and afterwards each player turns their hole cards face up. The highest hand that can be made with any combination of a player's hole cards and the five community cards wins the pot. If two or more players have the same hand, the next highest card in the player's hand (the kicker) is used to break a tie. If there is no kicker card (the tied players have used both hole cards, or have the exact same hand), then the pot is split between them. The dealer button is then passed clockwise to the next player and another round of play begins. |
