Texas Hold'em Poker

First thing to understand is that there are several variations of Texas Hold'em Poker. By betting structure these variations can be divided into several groups: limit games and no-limit games, as well as tournament games and live cash games (also known as "ring games"). Although there is very little variations in the rules between these games, the novice players do not realize that each one of these variations is a drastically different game, from a strategic player's point of view. A limit Hold'em game can be viewed as a purely mathematical game, but the unpredictability of no-limit games and the increasing blinds in poker tournaments, makes these other games less scientific and more subject to fluctuations, unpredictability and luck. In other words, there is more gambling involved in a no-limit poker tournament than in a limit cash game, so a solid limit cash player does not necessarily do well in a tournament.

• General Rules of Poker

Before reading the specific rules of Texas Hold'em one should read the general rules of poker games, that apply to all poker games, in general, regardless of variation. These are the general rules that apply to all poker games and most of them will not be repeated here, since it will be assumed that the reader is already familiar with them.

• Texas Hold'em Structure

Texas Hold'em is a poker variation that uses community cards. Each player is dealt two initial cards face-down (called the "pocket cards") and a round of betting follows. Then three community cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table (called the "flop") and another round of betting follows. The next community card is called the "turn" or "4th street" and is also placed in the middle of the table, following the cards of the flop; a round of betting follows. The last community card is called the "river" card or "5th street" and is placed in the same row, following the turn card; the final round of betting follows.

At the end of the betting rounds each player must make the best 5-card combination of the seven cards that are available to him (her). It is important to note that it must be a 5-card combination, so a player cannot declare to have three pairs or a 6-card straight. By the same token, if a player is playing a hand that requires less than five cards to complete, (s)he still must include the other card(s) to complete his (her) hand; these additional cards act as "kickers" and are often used to break ties.

A player can make the highest 5-card combination by using any five out of seven cards that are available to him (her). This means that the player can play both of his (her) pocket cards, combined with three community cards, or one pocket card combined with four community cards, or even none of the pocket cards and simply declare all five community cards as his (her) hand; this is known as "playing the board" and is often the result of unpredictable developments in consequent betting rounds, or the result of bad play.

In any event, any player that wants to claim the pot must show both of his (her) community cards to the entire table (even to those players who have folded in previous rounds and even if both pocket cards are not used to make the winning hand combination). Should a player throw any of his (her) pocket cards away into the discards (known as the "muck") prior to collecting the pot, the player cannot collect the pot, unless everyone else had already folded.

• The Deal

In a home game the first dealer is determined by a random draw of cards. The two players to the left of the dealer must pay the blinds (see blind structure below). The dealer will shuffle and offer the deck to the player to his (her) right for a cut. The dealer then deals out two cards to each player, one card at at time in clockwise rotation.

After the first round of betting the dealer will "burn" the top card of the deck deal out three cards face down on the table, then flip these three cards face up and spread them out for everyone to see - the flop. After the second round of betting the dealer will burn another card and deal the turn card face up. Then, after another round of betting, the dealer will burn another cards and deal the river cards face up, following the turn card.

The dealer should now place the deck down.

After the showdown (if there is a showdown) the dealer awards the pot to the winner and passes the deck to the player to his left, for the next shuffle.

It should be noted that the purpose of burn cards is to eliminate the chance that the players can use marked cards to their advantage, knowing what card may hit the board, prematurely. For this reason, the dealer is not allowed to burn any cards before the completion of a betting round. Also, the three burn cards should be stacked separately, face down in a diagonal row, for everyone to see, so there is never any argument if the dealer forgot to burn a card - burn cards should never be tossed into the discard pile.

• Blind Structure

One every round, two players are required to place a blind bet, before the cards are dealt out. These blind bets are called blinds.

There are two blinds on every round: the small blind and the big blind. The player immediately following the dealer must pay the small blind and the next player must pay the big blind. The big blind is always the amount of the minimum bet and the small blind is usually half of that. In some cases the small blind can be some other fraction of the big blind, so in a game where the minimum bet is $15 the big blind is $15 but the small blind is typically $10. In baby-stakes games, both blinds are often the same amount (for example .25 cents).

A player is never allowed to miss any of the blinds, so in a typical game, when players leave or get knocked out, the dealer position may stay with the previous dealer, as the blinds populate the spots that would have failed on the players that left the game. For example, if the player immediately following the dealer (i.e. the player on the small blind) leaves the game, the previous dealer continues to be the dealer for the next round, as the blinds move to the next two players. In other words, if the dealer position moved to the next player, that player would have skipped the small blind and the following player would have missed the big blind. Since this is not allowed, the dealer position must remain with the previous dealer as the blinds move to the next players.

In another example, if the player on the big blind leaves the game, the player that just completed the small blind becomes the dealer in the next round (as it would in any event) but the player that is now left of to the dealer must pay the big blind, and on this round no one pays the small blind. On the consecutive round the same player retains the dealer position, but the blinds move clockwise. Once again, if this procedure had not been followed, then the player following the dealer on the second round would be paying the small blind and would have missed the big blind.

So, in Texas Hold'em, the important thing to remember is that the dealer position follows the blinds, and no player is allowed to miss any of the blinds. So in some situations the dealer position lingers on the same player, until the blinds move away in clockwise direction.

In any event, the player immediately following the big blind is first to act (this is called "acting under the gun"). This player has the option of calling, raising or folding (there is no option to check, at this point, because preceding players had paid blinds and to check would mean to play for free).

In a 3-handed game the dealer is the player immediately following the big blind, so the dealer must act first before the flop.

If there are only two players, the dealer pays the small blind and acts first, before the flop, but acts last one every other betting round.

In some cases there are also antes, in addition to the blinds. This is done during the final rounds in tournaments, when the past remaining players have accumulated huge piles of chips and it is to force the players to get into the action. During final rounds of a tournament different playing strategies apply, than during the start of a tournament.

◊ Blind Structure in Poker Tournaments

Tournaments are always conducted with a time constraint, so the blinds are structured in such way that players are forced to take action in most of the rounds. By contrast, in a cash game the players have more opportunities to wait until a desirable situation develops.

To force the action in tournaments, the blinds are increased in predetermined time intervals, unlike in cash games where the blinds are fixed throughout the evening. In a typical tournament players would all receive an equal amount of chips, for the initial buy-in. These chips would typically amount to 100 times the money that the players bought-in for. Then the blinds are raised throughout the evening, in predetermined time intervals. A typical tournament blind structure may look as follows:

◊ Straddles and Sleeper Bets

In addition to the blinds some players sometime like to commit more money to the pot, before the cards are dealt.

The player immediately following the big blind can "straddle". This means that he can place a bet double the amount of the big blind, before any of the cards are dealt. Any straddle must be announced before the deck is cut for the deal. If a straddle is not announced, or if it is announced too late, it does not count.

The player immediately following the straddle can re-straddle (and must announce following the same rules) by doubling the bet once again. The other players can also re-straddle, by doubling their bets respectively, all the way up to the dealer. The only player that is never allowed to straddle is the dealer.

The advantage of a straddle is that the player who straddled gets to act last, after everyone else has acted. So, in effect, this player puts himself into the big blind position, by playing a higher bet.

A sleeper bet is similar to a straddle, except that it is may be done by any player (excluding the dealer or the players that are in the blinds). For example, the fifth player can place a sleeper bet (and must properly announce it), in the amount double the big blind. If all the players following the big blind fold, the sleeper bet becomes a live straddle and play continues as if it is a straddle bet. But if any one of the players between the big blind and sleeper bet calls or raises the blind, then the sleeper bet is removed from the table and play continues as if it was never there.

• Betting Structure

The betting structure varies depending if the game is a limit or no-limit game. There are however, some betting rules that apply to all the games, regardless of betting limits.

In any hold'em game, the player immediately following the big blind must act first. The player on the big blind acts last and if the pot is un-raised the player on the big blind has the option to raise or check. A dealer will often call out "option" to the player on the big blind, when the action comes to him (her).

As discussed previously, the dealer acts first before the flop in a 3-handed or 2-handed game. After the flop the player following the dealer acts first, regardless of the number of players.

◊ Limit Games

In limit games players do not have much flexibility how much they are allowed to bet or raise. The minimum bets in serious limit games are typically higher than the minimum bets in no-limit games. So, a 20-40 limit game means that the allowed bets during the first two rounds (pre-flop and flop) are $20 and then $40 during the last two rounds (turn and river). The blinds in a 20-40 game would be $10 for the small blind and $20 for the big blind.

◊ No-Limit Games

In no-limit games the betting structure is completely different. A typical low-stakes 1-2 no-limit game means that the blinds (not the minimum bets) are $1 for the small blind and $2 for the big blind. The minimum bet is always $2, on every betting round, but the players are allowed to raise as much as they want, as long as the raise is equal or greater to the last action (the last bet or the last raise). For example, if a player bets $2, the minimum raise is $2; now if a player wants to re-raise, the minimum re-raise is also $2 because it is equal or greater to the last action. There are often misconceptions here, when players think that the minimum raise is to at least double the amount that the previous player had put into the pot. In no-limit games the betting is "capped" after three raises (so there cannot be more than three raises) unless there are only two players remaining.

• The Showdown

During the showdown, the last aggressor must show his (her) cards first. The other players are not required to show their hands, if they were outranked. Furthermore, any player that wants to claim the pot must show both of his (her) pocket cards.

If players go all-in, in a tournament, and if there are no other players remaining, they must turn their pocket cards face up, before the rest of the community cards are dealt-out on the board. In a cash game this is not the case, so if two players go all-in, for example, they can keep their cards private while the dealer deals-out the rest of the board. At the end, the last aggressor must show his (her) hand first and the caller(s) can muck their hands if they have been outranked.