Texas holdem is the most popular poker game player around the world. It is also the most popular game played by celebrities; this has helped boost its reputation among the young crowds. It is played on television and now can also be played online.
How do you play Texas holdem? It goes like this:
- Played by 9 or 10 players.
- Players post their blinds and antes.
- Dealer shuffles the deck (standard 52 cards).
- Each player is dealt two hole cards (facing down).
- Start of betting round known as the preflop. Players are allowed to call, raise, or fold.
- At the end of the betting round the top deck card is discarded by the dealer (known as the burn card).
- The dealer continues with the flop in which he places the next three cards facing up on the table. These are known as community cards which can be used by any player.
- Next betting round starts (the player who is sitting left of the dealer starts).
- After this round once again the dealer burns the next card and continues to place another community card facing up on the table which is referred to as the turn.
- Next betting round starts again the same as before. Usually in this round is when the betting doubles.
- After this round once again the dealer burns yet another card and continues to place the last card on the table referred to as the river. At this point the players can make use of the community cards or their hole cards in order to make a five card poker hand.
- Final betting round starts.
- Showdown takes place: starting with the player on the left of the last player, those who haven’t folded expose their hands.
- The player who has proven to have the best hand is the winner. In cases where more than one player have the best hand then the pot splits between them.
Indeed it might take some time to absorb all the different variants that can take place while playing Texas holdem. A lot of times it’s more of a psychological game where players try to guess what their opponents have in their hands. One of the best ways to start practicing is by playing online; despite the fact that you’re not playing face to face with other players, you’ll get the hang of the game rapidly and soon you’ll be playing in the casino tables.
If you would like to read more about Texas Holdem rules click here.