Poker Ghetto

How to play Texas Hold ‘Em

Texas Hold ‘Em is the most popular and widely played game of poker. It is the primary version of poker played in the casinos and the most commonly televised, so even if you are new to poker, it is more than likely that you will be aware of Hold ‘Em.

First and foremost, learning the rules of poker is really simple. OK so you won’t become a pro overnight, but you will be able to hold a poker night with your mates once you’ve read this.

Texas Hold ‘Em: In 10 easy steps

1. Take a regular 52-Card deck (you won’t need the jokers) and allocate a dealer – usually chosen on deck splits, dealt face-up hand etc. The dealer will get the ‘dealer button’ which is a round disc. The dealer button will be passed on to the left to track the dealer changes as the hands move on. Also decide the value of your chips in monetary equivalents before the cards are dealt, along with the amount of starting chips you are going to play with – this could be dependent on how long you want to play for.

2. Allocate the blinds. The two players to the immediate left of the dealer will be required to make a forced bet or ‘post the blinds’. These are required to keep money in the pot and ensure the game can close i.e. people can’t just sit on all their chips all night. There are two blinds, the small blind and the big blind (there is a button for each to keep track of who’s turn it is to post these) – the player to the immediate left of the dealer posts the small blind and the next one along on the left posts the big blind. Decide the chip value of both blinds in advance – again, depending on how long you want the game to go on for could dictate the size of the blinds. The big blind should be double the value of the small blind. Larger value blinds will eat away short stacks quicker for a shorter game. Up the size of the blinds as the game continues to ensure the game progresses (you could do this when the starting dealer, deals again depending on how large your rounds are).

3. After the blinds are posted, the dealer deals two cards to all players in a clockwise order. These cards are called ‘hole cards’ or ‘pocket cards’. These are face-down cards that only you can look at.

4. The player to the left of the big blind must make the first action. That can be a fold, call or bet depending on the strength of the hand. Folding will end your involvement in that hand, calling will require you to match the value of the big blind and betting will require you to put in double the amount of the big blind.

5. If the player bets, the following players have the option to fold, call or raise. A raise can be to the value of your choice. Subsequent players will have the same options until all bets on the table are of equal value. If the value has remained at the amount of the big blind, the person who posted the big blind can ‘check’, to settle on that stake.

6. The dealer will now deal ‘the flop’. This is the first three face-up cards or ‘community’ cards dealt to the middle of the table, or ‘board’. Two more face-up cards will follow. These ‘community cards’ are shared by all players to make the best 5 card hand. You can take the best 5 out of the 7 cards available to you (i.e. including your hole cards) and choose to use 1 hole card and 4 community cards, 2 hole cards and 3 community cards or all 5 community cards. Another round of betting takes place after the flop.

7. When all bets are placed for the flop, the dealer will deal the fourth card known as ‘the turn’ or ‘fourth street’. Another round of betting will take place.

8. After all bets are placed on the turn, the dealer will deal the fifth and final community card; the ‘river’ or ‘fifth street’. A final round of betting completes the pot for that hand.

9. Of the remaining players, the player who last got called, shows his/her hand. The other players still in the action can choose to reveal their hand or not but the highest hand will win the pot.

10. The chips in the pot are awarded to the winner and the dealer, small blind and big blind are all moved on to the next player on the left before the next hand is played.

If that makes sense, check out the winning hands in Texas Hold ‘Em and get playing poker!