Texas Holdem 101 for Beginners
Poker is one of the world's most popular card games. And, Texas Holdem is by far, the most well known and appealing variation of poker. It is so flexible that it can be played by as few as two people and as many as ten players. Because of its simplicity and fast tempo, it continues to be the card game of choice in the United States and other parts west. Four betting rounds comprise Texas Holdem. To play the game, each player is dealt two private cards face-down. Then, all the players can share the five community cards that are placed face-up at the center of the table. The pot is won by the player who has the highest hand at the showdown. The following are some of the basic rules of the game:
The players take turns in dealing the cards. The player with the small dealer button is the dealer. After every hand, the dealer button is passed on in a clockwise direction to the next poker player to the left of the dealer.
Before the cards are dealt to the players, a pot is put up through mandatory bets called "blinds" and "antes" placed by the players. The first poker player immediately to the left of the dealer places the nominal bet referred to as the "small blind," which may be less than the table minimum. Then the second player from the left of the dealer puts up the bigger bet called the "big blind," which is generally twice the size of the small blind. At the time these bets are placed, no cards have been dealt as yet that's why they are called "blind," which counts towards the players' total investment in the first betting round and can be raised, checked, called or folded.
Two cards called private cards are dealt face down to each player so that nobody sees them except the player. The first betting round is started by the player sitting at the left of the big blind and anybody can raise, call or fold.
At the "Flop," or second betting round, three cards called community cards are dealt face up at the center table. The first bet is placed by the poker player to the left of the dealer.
The "River," which is the last round of betting, begins when the dealer deals the fifth community card at the middle of the poker table.
The "Showdown" comes after the final betting round and the pot is won by the player with the highest hand. In cases of players with identical hands, the poker pot is split between them.