The Texas Hold ‘em game is normally played using small and big blind bets – forced bets by two players. Antes (forced contributions by all players) may be used in addition to blinds, particularly in later stages of tournament play.

A dealer button is used to represent the player in the dealer position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the position of the dealer and blinds.

The small blind is posted by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player to the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses. (In some cases, the small blind is some other fraction of a small bet, e.g. $10 is a common small blind when the big blind is $15. The double-blind structure described above is a commonly used and more recent adoption.)

When only two players remain, special ‘head-to-head’ or ‘heads up’ rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind. The dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last for the remainder of the hand.

The three most common variations of Texas Hold ‘em are limit hold ‘em, no-limit hold ‘em and pot-limit hold ‘em. Limit hold ‘em has historically been the most popular form of hold ‘em found in casino live action games in the United States.

In limit hold ‘em, bets and raises during the first two rounds of betting (pre-flop and flop) must be equal to the big blind; this amount is called the small bet. In the next two rounds of betting (turn and river), bets and raises must be equal to twice the big blind; this amount is called the big bet.

No-limit hold ‘em is the form most commonly found in televised tournament poker and is the game played in the main event of the World Series of Poker. In no-limit hold ‘em, players may bet or raise any amount over the minimum raise up to all of the chips the player has at the table (called an all-in bet). If someone wishes to re-raise, they must raise at least the amount of the previous raise. For example, if the big blind is $2 and there is a bet of $6 to a total of $8, a raise must be at least $6 more for a total of $14. If a raise or re-raise is all-in and does not equal the size of the previous raise, the initial raiser can not re-raise again. This only matters of course if there was a call before the re-raise.

In pot-limit hold ‘em, the maximum raise is the current size of the pot.

Your objective: The objective of Texas Holdem is to make the best five-card hand out of seven cards… the two you are dealt face down and the five community cards dealt face up on the table.

Step by step

• Every player is dealt two cards, face down. These are called hole or pocket cards.

• The action, or the first move, falls on the player to the left of the big blind. She can either call the bet, raise it, or fold. Betting continues around the table, clockwise.

• After the betting is completed, three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, which is referred to as the board. The first three cards in Texas Hold’em are called the flop. These cards are “community cards” meaning everyone can (and will) use them in combination with their own hole cards to make the best hand.

• From the flop on, betting begins with the player to the dealer’s left, who can check or bet.

• A fourth card is dealt face up onto the board. This is called fourth street or the turn card.

• Another round of betting.

• The final card is dealt face up. This card is also called fifth street or the river.

• A final round of betting occurs. The remaining players show their cards and the person who can make the best five-card hand by combining their pocket cards with the cards on the board wins.

Further Reading:

Playing Poker to Win: A Comprehensive Guide to No-Limit Texas Hold’Em for Beginners and Improvers by Andrea Shavick and Dan Shavick

Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold ‘em: Making Winners Out of Beginners by Dennis Purdy

Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in Texas Hold’em by Phil Gordon

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