Basic Texas Hold 'Em Poker Rules for Beginners
Texas Hold 'Em is at the forefront of the popularity boom being experienced by poker. More and more are joining the bandwagon of players who are drawn into the popular poker variant which is no surprise as the game is a perfect introductory one for those who want to get into poker.
Like most poker variants, the objective in the game is to put up the best five-card hand at the table. But unlike other variants, this objective is attained with the help of community cards - five cards that all the players can use to put together with the two cards dealt to them to come up with the best five-card hand possible.
In place of the antes which are prevalent in rules of other poker variants are the blinds which are basically forced bets that will comprise the initial amount of the pot. There will be two players that will be paying the blind and they are called the big and the small blind. These two will be the players that are seated at the left of the dealer, with the player seated to the immediate left of the dealer being the small blind and the player seated next the big blind. The rotation will turn one place clockwise after each hand.
With the blinds paid, two hole cards will be dealt face down to each of the players. The first round of betting will then commence starting with the player seated at the left of the big blind. That particular player will have the option to call, which is betting the same amount as the big blind, to raise, which is putting a greater amount than the big blind, or fold which is giving up the hand.
The betting will continue until all have called the big blind or the previous raise that was made. After that, the first three of the five community cards will be dealt face up at the center of the table. A second round of betting will then ensue, beginning with the small blind. Note that the small blind and all the subsequent players will now have the option to check, which is holding on to a hand without betting, provided that the small blind and the previous players have all checked as well.
After that round of betting, another community card will be dealt face up followed by another round of betting. The last community card will be dealt after that round which will be followed by a final round of betting.
After that final round, the one left after everyone has folded will be the winner. If there are two or more remaining players, a showdown will then be necessary. The showdown will determine which of the remaining players have the best hand. The players can use both, one or none of their hole cards in combination with the community ones. The player with the highest hand will win the pot, or in the case of a tie, will share the pot with the other player(s).