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How to play Texas Hold’em poker

Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular poker variants because of its easy gameplay and rewarding nature. What makes it even more appealing is that it features a lot of variants that players find appealing. Are you curious to know more about this casino game? Dive into it when you read this article.

What is Texas Hold’em poker

In a game of Texas hold ‘em, the objective is to build the greatest possible five-card poker hand using your hole card and the community cards. 

Each player is given two down cards known as hole cards, followed by a betting round. Three cards from the board are simultaneously flipped over (referred to as the “flop”). Then, there is a round of betting when each of the following two cards on the board is turned over. 

A player may employ any five-card combination from the board plus their cards to win the game. You can build a hand using just the cards on the board and no personal cards. However, the game may be played with only one blind multiple blinds, an ante, or a combination of blinds plus an ante.

Poker terms you should know

One of the ways to get familiar with poker is to learn the basic terms you can encounter. Here are some of the terms you should know about: :

  • Ante – The term “ante” refers to a tiny fraction of a stake placed by each player before a game starts.
  • Blind – A blind bet is a player’s wager before any cards are dealt and is usually employed in Texas hold’em.
  • Small blind – A small blind is often one-third or two-thirds of the total amount of a first-round bet.
  • Pot – When all of the bets are put together, this is referred to as a pot.
  • Bluff – A bluff is when you bet or raise with a hand that you believe is weaker than the one you are holding.
  • Hole cards – Each participant receives two cards that are dealt face down. Your hole cards are the first two cards in your opening hand of two cards.
  • Burn card – The burn cards are the ones placed in the discard pile and often known as the muck. Once you’ve burned a card, you flip over the next available community card, which is called “burn and turn.”
  • Community cards – The community cards are dealt face up at the poker table’s middle. With your hole cards, you can construct the best five-card poker hand. 

How to play the game

The Dealer deals players two cards after they have contributed to the pot. Each round of Texas Hold’em has five possible outcomes: fold, check, bet, call, and raise.

  • Fold – Folding is when players choose to fold and give up control of their hand and forfeiting any bets they may have made while participating in the game.
  • Check – Checking in poker means the player refrain from doing an action and keep their current cards in hand.
  • Bet – Bets are made by putting money into the pot that matches the value of the hand. The initial wager sets the round’s stakes.
  • Call – The initial stake value is multiplied by two to determine if a player would call.
  • Raise – To raise, players will place a wager that is more in value than the wager placed before.

Rounds of betting

In Texas Hold’em, there are five rounds to a game: the Pre-Flop, the Flop, the Turn, the River, and the showdown. Here’s everything you need to know about them:

  • Pre-flop – After the dealer has dealt two cards to each player, the right blind may fold, call, or raise the preceding wager and move clockwise around the table.
  • Flop – The dealer starts the Flop round by putting three community cards in the centre of the table, and the game continues clockwise from the dealer.
  • The turn – The dealer puts a fourth card in the community at the start of the turn round, often known as Fourth Street.
  • The river – A fifth and final card is dealt into play at the start of the River Round, followed by a showdown.
  • The showdown – Assuming there are still participants after the River Round, the highest hand wins the pot. 

Hand rankings

Texas Hold’em is handled with a 52-card standard deck of cards. Each deck has four suits of 13 cards each. The following hand values are listed from lowest to highest hand, and the player with the highest hand on the list wins.

  • High card – The high card is the lowest hand you can form in poker. On this hand, your ‘best card’ is the highest-ranking card you have. 
  • Pair – The pair hand means having two cards of the same rank.
  • Two pair – A two pair in poker means having two cards with two different valuations. 
  • Three of a kind – Three of a kind consists of three cards with the same suit.
  • Straight – A straight hand includes 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6 with at least two suits. If two or more players have a straight, the highest card wins.
  • Flush – A flush is a five-card hand of the same suit but not arranged in sequence. 
  • Full house –  A full is a hand composed of five cards with the same suit but different ranks.
  • Four of a kind – A four of a kind hand has four identical cards. If two players have four of a kind, the person with the highest-ranking four of a kind wins the game. 
  • Straight flush – A straight flush comprises five cards of the same suits and is dealt in the same sequence. The only way to beat this hand is to have a royal flush. 
  • Royal flush – The royal flush is the best hand you can form in poker. This hand consists of high ranking cards such as Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q) and Jack (J) in the same suit. 

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