Texas Hold’em poker is one of the commonest casino card games played by almost anyone in almost any part of the world – be it in casinos, online poker rooms, or even in your own living room. The basics of the game are relatively simple to learn and a beginner can start playing Texas Hold’em poker in a few minutes. However, to play the game well, you need to master it. And mastering Texas Hold’em poker is a different matter all together.
Texas Hold’em Poker: The Basics
The betting structure of Texas Hold’em poker varies from game to game. Most Texas Hold’em poker games, however, begin with two players to the left of the dealer placing out bets in predetermined amounts, called blinds.
After the blinds are posted, the dealer deals two cards to each player from a standard 52-card deck. In Texas Hold’em poker, these cards are called pocket or hole cards. When each player has his pocket card, the first betting round begins. The amount of the bets depends on what kind of Texas Hold’em poker game it is.
When the first Texas Hold’em poker betting round is completed, the dealer discards (“burns”) the top card of the deck and deals three cards, called the flop, face up on the table. Another round of betting ensues and players can either check, raise, or fold. After this, the dealer burns another card and turns over one more community card (“turn”) unto the table.
Afterwards, the dealer burns another card and deals the last of the five community cards, called the river. With the five community cards down and the cards they have in their pockets, the players can now form the best possible 5-card Texas Hold’em poker hand they can.
A final betting round follows and when it is completed, the Texas Hold’em poker showdown begins. This is the part in Texas Hold’em poker where the players reveal the cards they have. The player who shows the best Texas Hold’em poker hand wins.
Texas Hold’em Poker: Betting Structures
In Texas Hold’em poker, betting structures are usually determined by the limits of the game. There are four types of betting structure limits in Texas Hold’em poker – structured limit, spread limit, pot limit, and no limit.
In a structured limit Texas Hold’em poker game, the amount of the bet is set. For instance, in a $1/$2 game, the amount that can be bet at pre-flop and on the flop is $1 and at the turn and the river, the bet doubles. Every player has a limit of four bets per betting round so this means that a player can bet, get re-raised, re-raise, and be re-raised.
A spread limit Texas Hold’em poker game is where you can bet within a certain range of amounts. For example, if you’re playing in a $1-$5 game, you can bet between $1 and $5 during any betting round.
In Texas Hold’em poker, pot limit means you can bet any amount between the big blind (equivalent to the minimum betting amount set) and the size of the pot on any betting round.
No limit Texas Hold’em poker, on other hand, is where you can bet any amount between the big blind and the amount of money you have at the table on any betting round.