Popular Poker
Texas Hold ‘em is by far the most popular poker game. It is offered by virtually almost every poker room online and is very interesting to play. Events such as the annual World Series have just contributed in popularizing it even more. It is basically very easy to learn but requires regular exercise in order to perfect one’s playing skills. It is advisable to exercise how to play Texas Hold ‘em through online poker sites since they have free trials where one can play without losing any real money before gaining the confidence to compete for real money.
Texas Hold’Em Basics
For a Texas Hold ‘em game to be played, there must be at least 2-10 players (however, theoretically, as many as 22 people can play the game), there must be a deck of 52 cards, chips and a dealer (or dealer button). The player to the left of the dealer is referred to as the small blind while the player left to the small blind is the big blind. In the first round, the small and big blinds put out blind bets. With cards faced down, each of the players is then dealt two cards referred to as pocket cards or hole cards. The player to the left of the big blind is allowed to make the first move as the game moves clockwise. Each of the players is given a chance to call, rise or fold.
The dealer then deals three cards, face up after the betting round is complete. These three cards, also referred to as ‘community cards’ are used by all the players together with their pocket cards to make the best combination. The second round is also referred to as the flop round. During this round, betting begins with the small blind ie. the player who is next to the dealer.
After this round of betting is over, one more card is placed on the board, face up before the third round begins. This is commonly referred to as the turn card or fourth street. Once this round is over comes the final round of betting referred to as the river or fifth street, hence the common term ‘river betting’. In this round, one more final card is placed on the board, face up. Betting commences and after all players have betted, the player with the best combination of cards wins the pot. In the case that the board cards appear to have the best value, all the players divide the value of the pot equally, apart from the ones who could have folded, of course.
The most important thing to bear in mind before going on to play Texas Hold ‘em is that there are many skilled players out there and one should research or at least theoretically pick up some tips from here and there in order to match up a competitive game. Players who end up in the late section of the game have an advantage over their counterparts but this only helps if they’re good at using their wits to beat their opponents.