LEARNING TO PLAY TEXAS HOLDEM

Anyone interested in learning to play Texas Holdem should note that it is one of the easiest poker games to learn, with practice anyone can play without the ability to count cards or calculate odds.

For any novice player it is advisable to practice on play money tables first eliminating the risk of losing your bankroll to more experienced players who play Texas Holdem as a career or full time hobby. There are many options for anyone wishing to play Texas Holdem at a play money table, however, these are all restricted to the online vertical.

The basic structure of how to play Texas Holdem is as follows:

1. 2 players on the left of the dealer will post a blind usually a small blind and a big blind to get things started.

2. The dealer deals each player 2 cards face down their Hole or Pocket cards.

3. Once everyone has looked at their cards there is an initial round of betting that takes place starting with the player to the left of the 2 blinds. This is commonly referred to as the Pre-flop.

4. Betting structures can vary between games so all the players at the table must be aware of the minimums and maximums before commencing a game.

5. Players go round the table and can Check, Raise or Fold until each player has stated their position.

6. Once the Pre-flop betting has finished the dealer will discard the top card on the pack (Burn) and then place 3 cards face up on the table referred to as The Flop.

7. All players at the table will use The Flop in combination with their pocket cards to get the best possible poker hand.

8. The next round of betting will then commence beginning to the left of the dealer.

9. At the end of this round of betting the dealer will burn another card from the top of the pack before dealing another card face up referred to as The Turn. This card can now be used by all the remaining players at the table to make up a five card poker hand.

10. Again the player to the left of the dealer will now kick off with another round of betting whereby each person at the table will Raise, Check or Fold their hand.

11. For the final time the dealer will burn another card from the pack and deal one last card face up on the table. This card is referred to as the River and now all the players remaining will have their final combination of cards which make up their 5 card poker hand.

12. Another round of betting will commence starting again with the player to the left of the dealer. At the end of this round the Showdown will commence with each player revealing the combination of cards that make up their best hand. If there are 2 players with equal value hands the betting pool or Pot will be split, however, usually the Pot will go solely to one player with the highest value hand.