Texas Hold'em Poker Rules & Strategy - PokerVIP Texas Hold'em Poker Rules & Strategy Texas Hold'em Poker Rules & Strategy Adam Jones • 4,855 Views • 0 Comments • on 18/5/15 Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular format of poker played all over the World. This article will teach you how to play Texas Hold'em. History The general consensus is that Texas Hold'em had its origins in Texas in the early 1900s. It was first introduced to Las Vegas in 1967 where it was modified from its original form so that Aces were now high instead of low. It became the main event of the newly established World Series of Poker in 1972 where there were 8 entrants. By 1982 there were over 100 entrants, and by 1991 over 200. The popularity of NLHE continued to grow after the inception of online poker in 1998. However, one event singlehandedly initiated the biggest explosion of poker, often named “the poker boom”.

It occurred in 2003 when an unknown online qualifier by the name of Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP. By 2004 interest in the Series had tripled. Regular every-day people now saw it was possible to make it big if they had just a few dollars in their online account. To date, Texas no-limit hold'em remains the most popular poker variant, although admittedly the “Texas” part is often omitted these days. Generally if someone tells us they are playing poker we should assume they are referring to No Limit Hold'em. The majority of films with poker scenes depict no-limit hold'em, whereas older movies would typically show stud or draw games. The 1998 cult classic “Rounders” also played a big role in boosting the popularity of poker as we know it. "Poker boom" started after an online qualifier, Chris Moneymaker, won WSOP Main Event in 2003 Texas Holdem Poker Rules Keeping Score Similar to all other variants of poker each player starts with a number of “chips”. These are small circular bits of plastic or clay used for betting and keeping score. Generally these chips can be traded in for their monetary value after the game is over.

The objective of any poker game – to win your opponents chips. In a poker tournament, you win by accumulating all of the chips on the table. Blinds/Position A poker table can consist of anywhere between 2 and 10 players, with one player being the dealer. The dealer will have a button indicator beside him, which is a plastic disc marked “dealer”. This moves round the table clockwise after every hand to indicate whose turn it is to deal. In a home game the player with the dealer button will generally shuffle and deal the cards, although in a casino this job is performed solely by a designated dealer. The dealer button will still be used in such cases to indicate the various positions players occupy at the table. To create a starting “pot”, certain players must make mandatory blind payments before any cards are dealt. These players are located immediately to the left of the dealer button: firstly, the “small-blind” (SB) position, and to the left of the SB is the “big-blind” (BB). Both these players must make the mandatory blind payments. In most games the BB blind be will be twice as much as the SB blind is, although this can vary depending on the casino.

The best position at the table is generally considered to be the BTN, while the worst is considered to be either the SB or UTG Immediately to the right of the “button” (BTN), is the “cut-off” (CO), followed by “middle position” MP, and “under-the-gun” (UTG). Specifically on a 9 or 10 handed table, the position directly to the right of the CO may be referred to as the “hi-jack”, while the position to the right of the “hijack” may be referred to as the “lo-jack”. Generally the main difference between a 6-handed table and a 10-handed table is that the 10-handed table will have 3 middle positions and 3 under-the-gun positions whereas a 6-handed table has only one of each. Position is very important in NLHE because it determines the order of betting. The best position at the table is generally considered to be the BTN, while the worst is considered to be either the SB or UTG. Playing a Hand of Poker Now that we have our players all set, let's get into playing a hand of poker! The game-flow is broken down into rounds known as “streets”.

Each hand of Texas hold'em is broken down into 4 streets referred to as “preflop”, “flop”, “turn” and “river”. On each street, a round of betting takes place. If more than one player is left in the hand by the river we reach what is referred to as “showdown”. All remaining players show their hands and the best hand takes the chips or “pot” that is in the middle. Round 1 – Preflop Before any action takes places, all players are dealt 2 “hole-cards” starting with the player on the dealers left and moving clockwise. These cards are kept secret and should not be shown to any other player. By the time the cards are dealt, the SB and BB have already posted their mandatory blind payments. Before any additional cards are dealt a round of betting takes place. UTG (to the immediate left of the BB) is first to act, and we move round the table clock-wise. BB will be last to act preflop. Once all the betting has taken place we move on to the next street. (More on how the betting works later.) "Hole cards" are to be kept secret and not shown to anyone.

On each street players have the option to bet/call/raise or fold. Depending on the situation not all of these options will be valid and this will be fully described below after the betting rounds. Postflop The betting order changes slightly on the flop. On each street, SB will be first to act, with BTN now acting last. This is why BTN is considered the most favourable position on the table. The BTN gets to see what all other players do before he acts. Round 2 - Flop Before any betting takes place, three “community cards” referred to as the “flop” are dealt face-up in the centre of the table. All players may make use of these cards to construct a 5-card hand along with one or both of their hole-cards. Again, players may 'Check', 'Bet', 'Fold' or 'Raise'. Round 3 - Turn After this round of betting is complete, an additional community card is dealt face-up, referred to as the “turn” card. Another round of betting takes place. Round 4 – River Finally, one last community card is dealt face-up, referred to as the “river” card. A final round of betting takes place.

After this round of betting any remaining players must reveal their hole-cards. The player with the strongest hand takes the pot. Showdown Betting The following is a list of the available actions players may take during the betting round. Bet – A player wishes to bet some of his chips on the outcome of the hand. Generally betting implies that no-one has acted yet on the current street (And therefore cannot be performed pre-flop, since a blind bet has already been placed). Players should place their wager chips into the centre of the table or “pot”. This is done automatically online. Check – A player wishes to take no action. The game-flow passes to his left where it is now the next players' turn to act. Note that checking is only a valid option when no bet has been made on the current street (and therefore cannot be performed pre-flop). If someone has already made a bet, the only valid options are “call”, “raise” or "fold". Call – Call is a valid option when a player who has acted before us has made a bet on the current street. In order to continue with the hand we need to match the bet made by the previous player.

If the player before us bets 5 chips, we need to place 5 chips into the pot to stay in the hand. Assuming we don't wish to continue with our hand it's necessary that we “fold”. Depending on action before them, every player has an option to either check, bet, call, fold or raise Fold – Assuming we are facing a bet from another player that we don't want to match we have the option to discard our hand. When we fold our hand we agree that we are no longer involved in the hand and have no possible way of winning. Our folded hand will generally be returned face-down to the dealer. Raise – Raise is an option when a player before us has made a bet. We can increase the bet by “raising” to a higher amount of chips. Players acting after us, including the original raiser, must now call, fold, or re-raise. A round of betting will only end when either one player calls a bet, hence closing the action, or he decides to fold. Players may continue re-raising each other until one player is “all-in”, at which point the other player may only call or fold.

It is not possible to re-raise a player for more than the chips they have at the table. Sometimes in movies we see players re-raising each other for watches, phones, houses and private yachts. In pretty much any casino game, players may only wager what they bring to the table ("table stakes"). While a standard “bet” may also be considered a “raise”, it's common to only use the terminology “raise” when a player before us has already made a wager and we wish to increase the size of the wager. Texas Holdem Hand Rankings Naturally the above information is not of too much help if we don't understand how to read the strength of our hand. The following is a list of the hand rankings used in NLHE (and many other popular poker variants). Keep in mind that all hands in No-Limit Hold'em are comprised of 5 cards. For example, assuming that we hold the same “pair” as another player, the strength of the remaining 3 cards or “kickers” will be used to determine who wins the pot. In a situation where these kickers are identical then the pot is a tie and will be split up evenly between the winners.

Royal Flush – T, J, Q, K, A all of the same suit. This is the strongest hand in NLHE and is made quite rarely as a result. Straight Flush – 5 cards in a row, all of the same suit. For example 7,8,9,T,J all of hearts. Four-of-a-Kind – 4 cards of the same value. For example QQQQ, or 8888. Usually referred to as “Quads” Full-House – 3 cards of the same value along with 2 cards of the same value. QQQ44, or KKKJJ. Often referred to as a “boat”. Flush – Any 5 cards of the same suit. Straight – Any 5 cards in ascending order. For example 7,8,9,T,J but not all of the same suit. Three-of-a-Kind – Three cards of the same value, for example KKK, or QQQ. Since all hands are 5 card hands the other two cards are referred to as “kickers”. KKKT7 loses to KKKAT for example.

Commonly referred to as “trips” when made with one hole-card and a “set” when made with both hole-cards as in the case of holding a “pocket-pair” such as KK. Two-Pair – 2 cards of the same value along with 2 other cards of the same value. For example KKQQ5 or JJ447. [image:=pokerimage] Texas Holdem Rules - Play Free Texas Hold'em Poker Games Poker Games Texas Hold’em Poker Driven by the popularity of televised poker, Texas Hold'em (more commonly, ‘Hold'em’) has become the world’s most popular poker game, both in live casinos and online at PokerStars. We’ll go into more detail below, but here are the key points you need to know: Every player is dealt two cards, for their eyes only The dealer spreads five cards - three at once, then another, then another - which can be used by all players to make their best possible five-card hand Before and after each card(s) is revealed, players take turns to bet.

To stay in the hand and see the next card, all players must have put the same amount of chips in the pot as each other The best poker hand wins the pot It’s a simple game to learn, yet has the potential to be played with a seemingly infinite variety of strategies, tactics and nuance. The Rules of Texas Hold’em Before you begin playing Hold'em, you'll want to learn the rules. In Hold'em, each player is dealt two private cards (known as ‘hole cards’) that belong to them alone. Five community cards are dealt face-up, to form the ‘board’. All players in the game use these shared community cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to each make their best possible five-card poker hand. In Hold'em, a player may use any combination of the seven cards available to make the best possible five-card poker hand, using zero, one or two of their private hole cards. To view the rankings of poker hands, visit the poker hand ranks page. The four major variations of Hold'em at PokerStars are distinguished from each other by their betting limits: Limit Texas Hold'em : There is a pre-determined betting limit on each round of betting.

No Limit Texas Hold'em : A player can bet any amount, up to all of their chips. Pot Limit Texas Hold'em : A player can bet any amount, up to the size of the pot. Mixed Texas Hold'em : The game switches between rounds of Limit Texas Hold'em and No Limit Texas Hold'em. Each of these Hold'em variations are available to play on PokerStars for free (play money) or for real money. And don’t forget that our free Poker School is always available to help you practice and improve your game. How to Play Texas Hold'em To learn to play Hold'em using a hands-on method, PokerStars offers free poker games in the poker room. To start practicing your poker skills, just visit the free poker download page, install the award-winning poker software, and you'll be learning Hold'em in no time. However, if you'd rather familiarize yourself with the rules of Hold'em first, then these instructions should help. The Blinds In Hold'em, a marker called ‘the button’ or ‘the dealer button’ indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise from the button posts the "small blind", the first forced bet.

The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the "big blind", which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played. In Limit games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the small blind is typically half the size of the big blind but may be larger depending on the stakes. For example, in a $2/$4 Limit game the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. In a $15/$30 Limit game, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15. In Pot Limit and No Limit games, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Hold’em game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2). Depending on the exact structure of the game, each player may also be required to post an ‘ante’ (another type of forced bet, usually smaller than either blind, posted by all players at the table) into the pot. Now, each player receives his or her two hole cards.

Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind). Player Betting Options In Hold'em, as with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or ‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the previous players. If nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it. Pre-Flop After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play his or her hand by calling or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.

Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit Hold'em, No Limit Hold'em, and Pot Limit Hold'em can be found below. Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot. The Flop Now, three cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is known as ‘the flop’. In Hold'em, the three cards on the flop are community cards, available to all players still in the hand. Betting on the flop begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. The betting options are similar to pre-flop, however if nobody has previously bet, players may opt to check, passing the action to the next active player clockwise. The Turn When the betting action is completed for the flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in Hold'em (and is sometimes also called ‘Fourth Street’). Another round of betting ensues, beginning with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. The River When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ or ‘Fifth Street’ is dealt face-up on the board.

The river is the fifth and final community card in a Hold'em game. Betting again begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button, and the same betting rules apply as they do for the flop and turn, as explained above. The Showdown If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands. Hold'em rules state that all suits are equal. After the pot is awarded, a new hand of Hold'em is ready to be played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player, blinds and antes are once again posted, and new hands are dealt to each player. Limit, No Limit, Pot Limit and Mixed Texas Hold'em Hold'em rules remain the same for Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit poker games, with a few exceptions: Limit Texas Hold'em Betting in Limit Hold'em is in pre-determined, structured amounts.

Pre-flop and on the flop, all bets and raises are of the same amount as the big blind. On the turn and the river, the size of all bets and raises doubles. In Limit Hold'em, up to four bets are allowed per player during each betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap (final raise). No Limit Texas Hold'em The minimum bet in No Limit Hold'em is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all of their chips. Minimum raise: In No Limit Hold'em, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10). Maximum raise: The size of your stack (your chips on the table). In No Limit Hold'em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.

Pot Limit Texas Hold'em The minimum bet in Pot Limit Hold'em is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet up to the size of the pot. Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10). Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the total of the active pot plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising. Example: If the size of the pot is $100, and there is no previous action on a particular betting round, a player may bet a maximum of $100. After that bet, the action moves to the next player clockwise. That player can either fold, call $100, or raise any amount between the minimum ($100 more) and the maximum.

The maximum bet in this case is $400 - the raiser would first call $100, bringing the pot size to $300, and then raise $300 more, making a total bet of $400. In Pot Limit Hold'em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed. Mixed Texas Hold'em In Mixed Hold'em, the game switches between rounds of Limit Hold'em and No Limit Hold'em. The blinds are typically increased when the game switches from No Limit to Limit, to ensure some consistency in the average pot size in each game. The betting rules on each round follow the rules for that game, as described above. In the PokerStars software, it’s not possible to bet less than the minimum or more than the maximum. The bet slider and bet window will only allow you to bet amounts within the allowed thresholds. Learn How to Play Texas Hold'em for Free If you want to learn how to play Hold'em, then download the PokerStars software and join any of the free poker games where you can play online against other players. Unlike our real money poker games, since there is nothing at stake, you can be comfortable learning the ropes of the game and all the rules of Hold'em.

We hope to see you in our poker room, and good luck at the tables! Other Poker Games As well as Texas Hold’em, we also offer other poker variants including Omaha, Stud, mixed games and much more. See our Poker Games page to learn more. You may also be interested in visiting pages about the poker room in general. You can find information about the following subjects: Canadians Play Texas Hold’em at William Hill Poker - Get Your Poker Bonus Hand Rankings The Buy-In To participate in a game of Texas Hold’em, every player has to “buy in” and pay a type of entrance fee. The Buy-In affords the player a seat at the table. For pot-limit and no-limit games of $0.25/$0.50 or less, the lowest buy-in is 20 times the game’s minimum bet limit. Therefore, if the lowest best limit is $0.25, the minimum buy-in is $5 (20X $.25). For fixed-limit and high-stakes no-limit games, the lowest buy-in is 10 times the minimum bet of the game.

Thus, at a table with a $5/$10 minimum, the lowest possible buy-in is $50 (10X $5). Back To Top The Game At the start of every hand of Texas Hold’em, the Dealer Button – a round disc that says “Dealer” - is placed in front of a different player, rotating clockwise with every hand. The player seated to the left of the Dealer must post a “Small Blind” and the player seated to the left of the Small Blind places the Big Blind. The “blinds,” which are essentially the first bets of the hand, are put down even before the cards are dealt, hence the name. After the blinds are placed, every player gets two face-down card, which are also referred to as “hole” cards or “pocket” cards. (Only the player looks at these cards.) The first round of betting begins once these cards are dealt, starting with the player who is seated to the left of the Big Blind. Betting rotates to the left and ends with the Big Blind.

During this and all rounds of betting, players can fold (opt not to continue in that hand), call (match the amount already bet), raise (enlarge the previous bet), or check (if no one has already bet). Checking is tantamount to passing. After the two pocket cards are dealt and the initial round of betting is finished, the first three community cards – referred to as The Flop – are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are called Community Cards because all the players left in the hand can use them to form a winning combination. After The Flop, there is a second round of betting, and then another community card, called The Turn, is dealt, followed by another round of betting. The River is the fifth and final community card, and it is followed by the fourth and final round of betting. After this round of betting, all those left in the hand (whoever hasn’t folded yet) show their cards and hands are compared. Hand rankings determine the winner: Whoever has the best-ranked hand, using five cards from the seven available cards, wins the round.

Back To Top Dealer Button In Texas Hold’em, table position is very important, in terms of who bets first (or last), and who posts the big and small blinds. The Dealer Button is put in front of players in a clockwise rotating order, and the person to the left of the Dealer posts the Small Blind. Post Blinds A “blind” is the opening bet of a hand of Texas Hold’em. Players post big and small blinds before seeing any cards, which is the derivation of “blind.” In fixed-limit Texas Hold’em games, the player to the left of the Dealer posts the Small Blind, and the player seated to the left of the Small Blind posts the Big Blind. The amount of the Small Blind is always equal to half of the minimum bet; for example, $4 for an $8/$16 game. The Big Blind is the equivalent of the full amount of the minimum bet, or, for instance, $8 for an $8/$16 game. Back To Top Pocket Cards After the blinds are posted, each player receives two cards, face down. These two cards, which only the player looks at, are known as Pocket Cards or “hole” cards.

After the pocket cards are dealt and the players assess them, the first round of betting begins with the player who is positioned to the left of the Big Blind. Betting rotates to the left and ends with the Big Blind Back To Top Betting The amounts that can be bet are determined by the table stakes. For example, at fixed-limit $10/$20 tables, $10 bets are allowed in the first and second rounds, and $20 bets are allowed in the last two rounds of betting. In the first three rounds of betting, there cannot be more than three raises. This is also the case in the final round of betting, following the River, if there are three or more players remaining. However, if just two players are left at that point, then there is no limit to the number of raises allowed. The above are the betting rules for fixed-limit Hold’em; however, in no-limit games, there is no limit to how much players can bet or to the number of bets and raises. The highest permissible bet is the amount that a player starts out with. In pot-limit games, the maximum raise is equal to the amount in the pot.

Back To Top The Flop Cards After the pocket cards are dealt and the first round of betting has taken place, the first community cards are dealt, and they can be used by all the players to form winning hands. The first three community cards are called the Flop, and after the Flop is dealt, there is a (second) round of betting, starting with the player seated to the left of the Dealer Button. Back To Top The Turn Card The Turn is the next community card – the fourth of five. The Turn is followed by another round of betting Back To Top The River Card The fifth and final community card, which is dealt into the middle of table next to the Flop and the Turn, is called the River. It is followed by the fourth and final round of betting. Back To Top Showdown After the last round of betting, it is time to determine the winner. Players who are still in the hand show their cards, and the highest-ranked five-card hand wins the hand and takes the pot. If there is a tie – two identical hands – the pot is split equally between the two players. If there is an odd chip, it goes to the first player to the left of the Dealer Button.

Back To Top Start Again After a hand ends, the chips and the cards are cleared away, the Dealer Button moves one position to the left, the big and small blinds are posted, and the next round commences with each player getting two new pocket cards. How to Play Poker | Poker Room | Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room Contact Us Inside The Poker Room The 55-table, luxurious poker room features Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Seven Card Stud. Ideal for novices, seasoned pros, and everyone in-between, hone your skills at one of our high stakes poker cash games or take your shot at any of our regular daily buy-in tournaments. Post your blinds in the same poker room that plays host to nationally televised events, celebrity poker tournaments, and regular monthly tournaments with thousands of dollars in guaranteed cash payouts and the excitement of bad beat jackpots. Stake your claim to the thousands of dollars won in our poker room every month. Texas Hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as hold 'em or holdem) is a variation of the standard card game of poker.

The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three ("the flop") then two additional single cards ("the turn" and "the river" or "fourth and fifth street" respectively), with players having the option to check, bet, raise or fold after each deal; i.e., betting may occur prior to the flop, "on the flop", "on the turn", and "on the river". Texas Holdem Poker - Learn How To Play | Ladbrokes Poker Learn how to play Texas Hold'em Poker Hold'em is the most popular and well-known variant of poker. It is the most famous of the flop-based games, and the easiest to learn. It's the game you've seen on TV in the Poker Million and the game that made the likes of ‘Isildur1' and Phil Ivey the household names you see today. Our how to play Texas Hold'em Poker guide will show you how to be a pro.

A player is dealt two ‘hole' cards, and then 5 community cards that all players share, and which arrive in a specific sequence: the ‘flop' (3 cards at once), the ‘turn' (or ‘fourth street') and the 'river' (or ‘fifth street'). A round of betting ensues after each of the four rounds: pre-flop (when each player has only their two face-down pocket or hole cards), post-flop, turn and river. Once all betting is completed there is a "showdown" where the best hand tabled by a player will win the pot. The idea is to make the best five-card poker hand from the seven available in any combination of community and hole cards. With 4 betting rounds there is a lot of room for T exas holde'm strategy and information to come to the fore (compared to a game like, say, 5 Card Draw) that the game has become the game of choice for beginners and enthusiasts alike. "Texas Hold'em poker takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master", goes the saying, and maybe this is the reason that "The Cadillac of Poker" has become the signature poker game of the World Series of Poker.

Many other top line events have sprung up around the massive influx players to the game that has been created by T.V. and the Internet. Competitions like the WPT and the European Ladies Championship further show the popularity of the game. You can even sail away on the Ladbrokes Poker Cruise and play Texas Hold'em Poker while sailing the Caribbean, such is the diversity of events and experiences available to the modern poker player. The popularity of the game has spawned numerous forums, books, TV shows and movies. Titles such as Rounders, Late Night Poker, The World Poker Tour, Super System and Ghosts at the Table have become synonymous with the poker industry. Indeed, no other poker variation has had so many strategy and advice books written on it than Hold'em - it seems that every professional and pundit has written a book on Texas Hold'em poker strategy, with some of the most popular written by the likes of Doyle' Texas Dolly' Brunson, T.J. Cloutier and Dan Harrington. Poker luminaries such as Phil ‘Poker Brat' Hellmuth and Mike ‘Mad Genius of Poker' Caro hold regular coaching seminars on Texas Hold'em strategies.

Helped by the internet phenomenon, the ability to play anytime, anywhere and the relatively cheap cost of playing satellites to enter big tournaments (Chris Moneymaker paid $40 to enter a Texas Hold'em online poker satellite to the WSOP main event and won $5,000,000!) has made the game accessible to all. Celebrities such as Matt Damon, Toby Maguire, Michael Jordan and even Montell Williams have featured in many events – always followed by a big crowd of onlookers! If you want a fast-paced, exciting game that you will forever be finding new strategies and puzzles for, then Texas Hold'em is the game for you. Here at Ladbrokes Poker, you'll get all the help you need with our how to play Texas Hold'em Poker guide to get you started on the road to the WSOP Final Table! How to play Texas Hold'em Poker: Step-by-step Guide In this guide we will detail all the necessary steps to help you feel at home on the tables. We have even enlisted the sage advice of some proven and accomplished players whose results and experience here at Ladbrokes Poker speaks for itself, and they have generously given their time to provide some helpful strategies, hints and tips.

If you wish to practice what you will learn below, but want to feel your way a bit further into the game, then we have a vast selection of free money poker tables available for you on the site. At the start of every Texas Hold'em poker hand there are two things that are a constant: The button and the blinds. The button is a disc placed in front of a player, and signifies who is the dealer for that hand. The blinds are forced bets (so called because the players have to post them ‘blind' before they see any cards) placed by the two players to the immediate left of the button. The first player posts the small blind and the second player posts the big blind. The small blind is generally half the number of chips of the big blind. After each hand the button progresses one place to the left, and so do both the blinds. Pre-Flop Action Once a player has received their pocket cards (hole cards), they are faced with their first decision: to play or not to play. A player must decide if they are in or out of the hand, and do this by matching the bet that stands when the action reaches them (or indeed raising that amount if the feeling takes them).

Betting will go in sequence starting from the first player to the left of the dealer, and continue round the table sequentially in a clockwise fashion until all bets have been matched. The possible actions available to any player are: Fold, Call or Raise. As the action moves around the table pre-flop, players wishing to remain in the hand will have to at least call (match) the big blind bet, OR if a previous player has raised (increased the bet) then that bet will have to be at least called to remain in the hand. A player always has the option to fold any time the action is on them (it is their turn). If there has been no raise when the action (betting round) returns to the big blind player, that player will still have the option to raise if they so desire. Any money put into the pot by a player before any cards are dealt counts as part of their overall bet. So if the blinds are $1 (sb) and $2 (bb) and there is no raise before the action gets to the small blind, then he or she will only have to put an extra $1 into the pot to match the $2 as they already have $1 invested prior to the dealing of the cards.

Once all bets are matched the flop is dealt. The Flop The flop consists of three cards being dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards, meaning that they are shared by all the players and may form part of anyone's hand. A round of betting will now follow, starting from the player to the immediate left of the button and continuing clockwise around the table. Once again any player will have the option to Fold, Check, Call or Raise. A check is a situation where there is currently no bet that stands which a player would have to match, so a player may decide to continue that by checking (essentially calling a bet of zero). Betting will continue as detailed above until all bets are matched. Once this happens the next card is dealt. The Turn The turn card (or fourth street) is dealt face up in the middle of the table and becomes another community card. A round of betting then ensues in the same fashion as detailed above. The players who remain after this round of betting will then see the final card. The River: The final card is the River (or fifth street); this is dealt face up in the middle of the table and is also a community card. Players now have all the cards they can.

The idea is to make the best five-card poker hand from the seven available (the two pocket or hole cards and the five community cards). The final round of betting now follows in the same fashion as previous rounds. Those players that still remain after the completion of the betting then go to the showdown. The Showdown Once all betting has been completed the players who remain show their cards. If there was betting on the last round then the player who made the last positive action (last player to make a bet – not to call one) will show first, if the last round of betting involved all players ‘checking' then it will be the player to the immediate left of the button who will show first then clockwise from there. In Texas Hold'em Poker a player may use any combination of their two hole cards and the five cards on the board (the community cards). A player may even simply ‘play the board' and only use the community cards to form their hand (this differs from other forms of poker). The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot. In the event of player's poker hands being the same, the poker pot will be equally divided between the players.

The rules of how to play Texas Hold'em give no differentiation between suits so split pots can be common. The button now moves clockwise to the next player and a new hand begins. Now you know when to raise, fold and call after reading through out how to play Texas Hold'em Poker, put your new skills to the test at one of our Texas Hold'em tables. To try out this exciting variant of online poker, sign up and download our online poker tables today. Texas Hold'em Poker Review - WiiWare | Nintendo Life Share: 0 Apologies to Lady Gaga (well, actually to everyone reading this who may have heard that song and will now have it stuck in their heads), but you will be wondering exactly that after playing any amount of the latest Texas Hold 'em game from Gameloft. Before going further it's important to emphasise that Texas Hold'em Poker is a one trick pony: it plays the Texas Hold 'em poker variant and that's it. If you're not familiar with Texas Hold 'em, it's a version of poker born and bred in casinos as will be quickly apparent once a game starts.

Players are dealt two cards each with the two players to the left of the "dealer" (not the actual dealer, but the person used to determine the order of play) putting in the ante. After an initial round of betting (or folding) based upon the strength of the two hole cards, five communal cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table in three groups: the first three are referred to as "the flop," the fourth card is "the turn," and the fifth and final card is "the river." After each additional round of dealing follows another round of betting, though each player may choose to "check" rather than bet -- assuming no one else bets. Each player is trying to make the best 5-card poker hand possible from the combination of the initial two cards they've been dealt and the cards available to everyone. You cannot exchange cards -- thereby removing the hand-building strategy of games like draw and stud poker -- which makes for a much faster game that is more appealing to casual gamblers and casinos. Launching the game you'll find that Texas Hold'em Poker is definitely a Gameloft game with a pleasing menu design and visuals that are top quality throughout. You can criticise Gameloft for content, but their games definitely look good.

The Gameloft touch can also be seen in the type and variety of avatars used in the game (there are loads included -- though only a few are unlocked to start), which look much like they're modeled on the popular Bratz dolls all the sassy pre-teens want these days. Avatars are caricatures of "celebrities" (Steve Ballmer is a celebrity?) and make audio comments when folding, betting, winning and losing. This could get really annoying, but Gameloft has thankfully not mandated the comments be made every single time a given event occurs. Gameloft has also nicely included the option to stick one of your Mii heads on a body as well -- though only for your own character. There are three game modes on offer (Quick Match, Career and Multiplayer) and options for adjusting the volume of character speech, background music and sound effects. There's no tutorial but you can review the rules of the game, standard poker hands and play tips (mostly concerning the odds of getting different hands depending on the initial pair of cards dealt) by selecting different options in the in-game pause menu. Control is Remote-only with the pointer moving your cursor over prompts and pressing selecting them.

You can either move the cursor over your cards (presented in fancy perspective as if you were really at a casino gaming table!) or click to take a peek at them. Your cash pile is shown in the upper left corner and current pot in the upper right. The name Quick Match is a bit deceiving in that the game played isn't really any quicker than Career mode, though there's no profile created and you're randomly assigned an avatar rather than given the option to use your Mii. You can choose to play a "cash game" that continues until you get tired of playing (or die -- whichever comes first) or a single tournament against 8 computer-controlled players. You can select the difficulty level (referring to the aggressiveness of the betting style of the CPU players) and choose a casino from the selection of ones you've unlocked (initially only Caribbean is available). Career is the game mode you're mostly likely to partake of. You choose an avatar (or Mii) and enter your name which creates a save profile. Starting out with a seed of $1500, you play through a series of tournaments in casinos, which are unlocked for use in future Quick Match or Career games -- assuming you win.

Rather than having the player choose the difficulty as in Quick Match, the CPU players gradually increase in their betting aggressiveness with two of them being designated "Celebrity Players" and given specific play styles. As in Quick Mode games you can press to skip bits that aren't as important -- like dealing sequences or other players making their betting/folding decisions -- to get to the good parts. This is especially nice if you end up folding early and don't want to just be a spectator. After a game ends you're presented with stats showing your best/worst hands and other vital statistics before moving on to the next tournament (or more likely, back to the menu to start again!). In this day-and-age of connected consoles you may well be drawn to the online Multiplayer mode, but this ends up being the weakest mode in the game. Unlike the local Quick Match and Career games which are played against 8 CPU-controlled players, multiplayer is features up to 5 human opponents with no CPU players involved. In addition to volume levels, you also have the option of whether or not to view other player's Miis.

Whilst this might initially seem like an option you'd like to have enabled, the lack of "witty banter" ends up making multiplayer matches with Miis more Poker of the Living Dead than Texas Hold 'em, with the only sound being background music and sound effects (though in fairness to Gameloft, this could be a limitation of Nintendo's Mii code). With the hand-building aspects of other poker games removed, the principal strategy in Texas Hold 'em (aside from knowing "when to hold 'em" and "when to fold 'em") is bluffing and would normally be where the flesh-and-blood players are separated from the ones residing in silicon. Unfortunately poker skills based around reading your opponent's intentions are non-existent in this game. The presentation in multiplayer is the same as all the other game modes: fixed camera with a top-down view as if from a security camera above the casino dealer's head.

You do get a zoom in on your character when winning a hand or getting knocked out of the tournament (cue happy/frowny face and waving hands), but that's just for effect and has no bearing on gameplay; players to the sides of the table are only visible in profile (in single player you cannot even see the faces on some of them). There's no Wii Speak support, so even the social aspect of playing online with friends is removed; instead you have a few pages of canned "dialogue" which largely consists of trash-talking and emoticons -- and most of the latter are Japanese! There's maybe two lines that could be loosely interpreted as relating to bluffing ("About those two aces I'm holding..." would hardly seem to qualify), but given bringing up dialogue choices contributes nothing to gameplay except making other players wait, the reality is that you're unlikely to bother with anything other than an initial "hi" once the game starts. Bluffing is the same online or offline and ultimately multiplayer just ends up being a slower -- and if using Miis, more boring -- game with no change in strategy whatsoever.

The presence of online leaderboards and the added jeopardy of having a cash allowance that only goes up $200 a day simply aren't enough to offset the slower and more lacklustre experience provided, so you're really better off just playing against the CPU. Conclusion As a single player experience, Gameloft's Texas Hold 'em Poker will provide about as much diversion as a good game of Freecell. The visuals are excellent and the game plays well, but the useless online experience and one-note gameplay prevents us from recommending this game to anyone but die hard fans of this poker variant. Poor 4/10 Omaha Poker Rules & Strategy - PokerVIP Omaha Poker Rules & Strategy Omaha Poker Rules & Strategy Adam Jones • 2,182 Views • 0 Comments • on 20/5/15 Learn everything you need to get you started in Omaha poker games and find resources to continue improving your knowledge History The exact origins of the Omaha variant of poker are unknown, although it first appeared in a casino setting at the Las Vegas Golden Nugget Casino. The full name of the variant was originally “Omaha Hold'em” as outlined in Doyle Brunson's super system.

Omaha Hold'em is synonymous with a variant of Hold'em poker known as “Tight Hold'em” where players must use both of their holecards to construct a 5 card hand. (In the modern version of Hold'em players can use both, one, or none of their hole-cards to create a 5card hand). The “Omaha” part of the name “Omaha Hold'em” reflects this rule of using exactly 2 hole-cards. “Hold'em”, refers to the fact that players share a pool of community cards which they can use to make their 5-card hand. This is different from draw games where players have purely face-down hole-cards, and stud games where players have a mixture of face-up and face-down hole-cards but no community cards. Omaha Poker Rules The action and betting rounds are identical to no-limit-hold'em but there are some important differences that must be kept in mind. a) Players are dealt 4 hole-cards instead of the 2 in Texas Hold'em. AAKK b) Players must use exactly 2 of hole-cards to make a 5-card hand.

Player A: AAKK Player B: 43QQ Board: 56789 Because of the "both card" rules, this is not the split pot (e.g. both players playing the board); instead Player B wins creating 7-high straight using his 34 c) Omaha is more frequently played with a pot-limit betting structure meaning it is not possible to go “all-in” unless the pot size is sufficiently large. Keeping Score Similar to all other variants of poker each player starts with a number of “chips”. These are small circular bits of plastic which are used for betting and keeping score. Generally these chips can be traded in for their monetary value after the game is over. The objective of the game – to win your opponents chips. In a poker tournament, you win by accumulating all of the chips on the table. Omaha is more frequently played with a pot-limit betting structure meaning it is not possible to go “all-in” unless the pot size is sufficiently large. Blinds/Position As with Texas Hold'em, a hand of Omaha can consist of anywhere between 2 and 10 players, with one player being the dealer. The rules on blinds and position are again exactly the same as Texas Hold'em.

Again like Texas Hold'em, Position is very important in Omaha because it determines the order of betting. The best position at the table is generally considered to be the BTN, while the worst is considered to be either the SB or UTG. Playing a Hand of Omaha Again the same as Texas Hold'em - The gameflow is broken down into rounds known as “streets”. Each hand of Omaha is broken down into 4 streets referred to as “preflop”, “flop”, “turn” and “river”. On each street a round of betting takes place. If more than one player is left in the hand by the river we reach what is referred to as “showdown”. All remaining players show their hands and the best hand takes the chips or “pot” that is in the middle. Betting Betting rounds and actions are exactly the same as Texas Hold'em. Pre-flop, Flop, Turn and River mark the rounds of play in Omaha. Players may either check, bet, call or raise during each round. Hand Rankings Are all exactly the same as Texas Hold'em hand rankings. Please see our poker hand rankings article here. Betting Structure The most popular version of Omaha is the pot-limit version.

There is a cap on the amount we can raise in any given situation (more on calculating a pot-sized bet shortly). However it's also possible to find Limit-Omaha games, (raising in small fixed increments) and No-Limit Omaha games. In Pot-Limit-Omaha (PLO) we can raise only to the pot-size at any given time. The only way the betting action can continue after this is if our opponent chooses to re-raise us. He will then also be again limited to a pot-sized re-raise. Calculating a pot-size raise sounds simple but causes much confusion in the poker world. The majority of poker players possibly do not even know how to calculate a pot-sized raise because- a) it's automated in an online environment b) it's possible to ask the dealer what a pot-sized raise is in a live setting However, it can be useful to know for ourselves how to calculate it. We can use the following formula 3 * size of opponents bet(or)raise + size of the initial pot So imagine there is $10 in the pot and our opponent bets $5, what would be a pot-sized raise here?

Probably our instinct might tell us that we raise an extra $15 for a total raise size of $20. But this is where we'd be wrong. Let's apply the formula (3*$5) + $10 = $25 We can raise to $25 here. If formulas are not your strong point – we are effectively imagining that we call first to see what the total pot is. In other words the total pot would be $20 if we just called. So we raise that extra $20 on top of our opponents $5 to give us our total raise size of $25. And remember, if you are not sure, ask the dealer – they are paid for stuff like this. Why Play Omaha So what is it that makes Omaha so exciting? And why do many players make this their game of choice as opposed to No-Limit-Hold'em? Omaha has sometimes been described as “Hold'em on steroids.” The fact that we are now dealt 4 hole cards instead of 2 means that big hands are a lot more common. The fact is that most of the time in No-Limit Hold'em we are simply going to miss the flop.

We'll still miss the flop a fair amount in Omaha, but a lot less often. More big hands can result in more action. The game is tougher to pick up than No-Limit-Hold'em. For some this is a bad thing, while others enjoy the increased complexity of the game. Even reading our own hand takes a lot more work since we have twice as many hole-cards to think about. Establishing exactly how strong our holdings are when we have a made hand and several draws is a skill in itself. We may even need to question how strong our holdings are when we hold the stone cold nuts. We can't automatically get all of the money in even in these circumstances. Our opponent could also hold the nuts along with a strong redraw which makes putting our stack in unprofitable. Establishing exactly how strong our holdings are when we have a made hand and several draws is a skill in itself Similar to No-Limit Hold'em, Omaha is also a game of skill that can be beaten in the long term with enough work. The good news is that the average competition at Omaha games is a lot weaker than in Hold'em games.

So even though it takes a little longer to figure out the basic rules, it can potentially be more lucrative than playing No-Limit Hold'em. Omaha Tips for Beginners We need to use exactly two of our hole-cards and three cards from the board to make a 5-card hand. Can't stress this enough. This is easily the most common mistake players transitioning from NLHE make. Play 4 cards which work well together. The best starting hands in Omaha are comprised of hole-cards that work well together as a 4 such as AA10J. Non co-ordinated cards are sometimes referred to as “danglers”. It should be easy to see why the 3 in the hand AA103 is not really that useful. We would also rather have AA10J than AA10J. Since we can only use two of our hole-cards, having the J means we block some of our spade-flush outs. The worst hand in Omaha is considered to be 2222. It will hardly ever improve since the cards it needs are no longer in the deck. Stronger hands. If we come from a Hold'em background, we will need to up our standards for what constitues a strong hand.

Bottom set in NLHE is considered a relative monster. Bottom set in Omaha will get us into a ton of trouble. If our opponent wants to stack off he will have a higher set the vast majority of the time. As such our stacking off range in any spot should be the nuts or at least very close to it. Even 2nd nut flushes are huge problem hands for beginners since they will nearly always be up against the nut-flush when there is a lot of action. Nuts is not always nuts. Even with the stone cold nuts there may be situations where folding is correct. If we have the nuts and no redraw it will be a losing play to stack off vs our opponent who also has the nuts but with a strong redraw. Wraps. Wraps are very strong hands in Omaha and are straight-draws with additional fire power. They will have significantly more outs than a straight-draw in NLHE. For example we hold T-9-6-5 on a board of 8-7-2. We have 20 possible outs to make a straight! Even with the stone cold nuts there may be situations where folding is correct. For more Omaha content, I suggest you check out the following videos and articles:

Question: Which poker variant features cards referred to as 'the flop' or 'the river'?
Answer: Texas Hold Em