Texas Holdem Rules
The Texas Holdem Poker is the most popular, dynamic and exciting variety of poker, by many people perceived as the king of all pokers. The professional players say that Texas Holdem is a game of skill, not of luck, and in the long run it is skill that makes one win. Texas Holdem is the basic game in the prestigious World Poker Tour and World Series Of Poker championships. Holdem has also become the most popular variety among the Internet poker players.
The rules are very simple here: one only needs five minutes to learn how to play poker. In Holdem, as in every other variety of poker, the aim of the player is to gain the strongest set of five cards. One deal can be divided into four phases: pre-flop, flop, turn and river.
Before the deal the players make blind bets, called "blinds". Two players on the dealer's left place the small and big blinds, respectively. These are the only players who pay the money to the hand before the deal. The blinds depend on the table the players play at. Every player is given two cards which he does not show to the others. Then the first bidding is started: the players try to assess the strength of the cards they have got and either decide to play (by paying big blind to the hand) or back out (by passing). After the bidding has been closed, on the table there appears a flop: three cards shown down, common for all the players. Then the next bidding is started: the players can either fold, check, or get in by raising the bet. If one of the players decides to get in, the others can no longer check in this phase of bidding; they can only fold, get in, or raise the bet. After the bidding has ended, on the table there appears the fourth common card, a turn, and the next bidding is started. After it has ended, the players who have been left in the game watch the last of their common cards, the river, and the last bidding is started. In order to win, one has to have the best set of five cards consisting of one's own and common cards. He can use either one of his own cards or both of them. If the strongest set consists only of the common cards, the cards held by the players are no longer important; the deal ends in a draw and the hand is divided among the players.
Texas Holdem Hands:
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Royal Straight Flush An ace-high straight flush such as A K Q J 10 is known as a royal flush, and is the highest ranking standard poker hand. |
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Straight Flush A straight flush is a poker hand which contains five cards in sequence, all of the same suit. |
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Four of a Kind Contains four cards of one rank, and an unmatched card of another rank. |
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Full House Three matching cards of one rank, and two matching cards of another rank. |
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Flush Five cards of the same suit, not in rank sequence. |
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Straight Five cards of sequential rank but in more than one suit.A |
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Three of a kind Three cards of the same rank, plus two unmatched cards. |
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Two Pairs Two cards of the same rank, plus two cards of another rank |
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Pair Two cards of the same rank |
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High Card Hand in which no two cards have the same rank, the five cards are not in sequence, and the five cards are not all the same suit. |
This description may seem a bit complicated, but as soon as you play few deals you will feel much more confident and you will find more pleasure in playing poker. At the beginning try yourself in free games and special championships with low stakes. You will have time for the higher ones later.
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