Texas Holdem Introduction

Online poker sites have the same basic rules, it doesn't matter what form of Texas Holdem you play, limit holdem, holdem poker tournaments, each form has four rounds of betting in the sequence of pre-flop, flop, turn and river. In this demonstration of how the game works, I will assume the following

1. The table is a ten player table.
2. All the seats are taken (10 players).
3. The game is limit holdem $2/$4.
4. Each round has a maximum of 1 bet and 3 raises. Some poker rooms allow 4 raises on the river, while others don't have a restriction on the river. In all the online poker rooms I have played it has always been a maximum of 3 raises on the river.

Start of a hand, pre flop.

• The deck of 52 cards is shuffled.
• The small blinds posts a bet, this bet is normally half of the small bet e.g. if you are playing $2/$4 holdem the small bet would be $2, so you would post a bet of $1 if you are in the small blinds. If you are playing a game where the small bet is uneven ($3/$6) then the small blinds would post a bet of $1.50, however some poker rooms round the bet down to the nearest dollar, therefore in this circumstance the small blind would post a bet of only $1. In online poker rooms this happens automatically so don't worry about remembering this.
• The big blind now posts a bet, this bet is full amount of the small bet e.g. if you are playing $2/$4 holdem the small bet would be $2 so you would post a bet of $2 if you are in the big blind.
• The "dealer" now deals every player two cards face down, these are your hole cards. In online poker, your cards will be dealt face up as your opponents will not be able to see your cards.
• The first round of betting now starts and moves in a clockwise direction around the table. The first player to the right of the big blind (EP1 or Early Position 1) will be the first to act. This player has three options, fold, call or raise. On the flop a bet would be the size of the small bet ($2 if you are playing $2/$4) and a raise would be $4 (2x small bet) The next player to act again has options fold, call or raise. The action now moves around the table with every one having an option to fold, call or raise, however the raise option will only be allowed up to 3 times per round of betting so once there has been 3 raises in a round the only option are call and fold. The preflop action is only complete once all the players but one have folded or placed the same number bets into the pot (side pots*). The maximum each player can put into the pot (pre flop) is $8 If you are playing 2/4 limit holdem. If there is one player remaining then this player wins the remaining money in the pot (rake*). If everyone folds the big blind will win as they are the only player that has placed a full bet.

Flop.

• The dealer now deals 3 cards face up (the flop), these are community cards so everyone who is still in the hand can use them (the players who folded are no longer part of this hand).
• The initial bet is still $2 ($2/$4)
• The action now starts at the small blind and moves in a clockwise direction around the table. The first player has three options, fold, check or raise. The first person to act should never fold even thou this option is available (Don't worry, the online casino's will warn you if you attempt to fold)
• The next player has a combination of actions, this depends on what the last player did.
  1. If the last player checked, you can now check, raise, bet or fold. (once again don't fold.)
  2. If the last player bet, you can now call, raise or fold.
• The flop action is only complete once all the players but one have folded or placed the same number bets into the pot (side pots*)
• If there is one player remaining then this player wins the remaining money in the pot (rake*)
• The maximum each player can put into the pot (on the flop) is $8 If you are playing 2/4 limit holdem.

Turn.

• The dealer now deals one card face up (the turn or 4th street), this is a community card so everyone who is still in the hand can use them (the players who folded are no longer part of this hand).
• The initial bet has now risen to $4 ($2/$4)
• The action now starts at the small blind and moves in a clockwise direction around the table. The first player has three options, fold, check or raise. The first person to act should never fold even thou this option is available (Don't worry, the online casino's will warn you if you attempt to fold)
• The next player has a combination of actions, this depends on what the last player did.
  1. If the last player checked, you can now check, raise, bet or fold. (once again don't fold.)
  2. If the last player bet, you can now call, raise or fold.
• The turn action is only complete once all the players but one have folded or placed the same number bets into the pot (side pots*)
• If there is one player remaining then this player wins the remaining money in the pot (rake*)
• The maximum each player can put into the pot (on the turn) is $16 If you are playing 2/4 limit holdem.

River.

• The dealer now deals the final card face up (the river or 5th street), this is a community card so everyone who is still in the hand can use them (the players who folded are no longer part of this hand).
• The initial bet is now $4 ($2/$4)
• The action now starts at the small blind and moves in a clockwise direction around the table. The first player has three options, fold, check or raise. The first person to act should never fold even thou this option is available (Don't worry, the online casino's will warn you if you attempt to fold)
• The next player has a combination of actions, this depends on what the last player did.
  1. If the last player checked, you can now check, raise, bet or fold. (once again don't fold.)
  2. If the last player bet, you can now call, raise or fold.
• The river action is only complete once all the players but one have folded or placed the same number bets into the pot (side pots*)
• If there is one player remaining then this player wins the remaining money in the pot (rake*)
• If more than is one player remaining there is a show down.
• At the showdown the dealer will determine who has the best hand. The winning hand can consist of the best 5 card combination from the of seven cards that are available. The seven cards that are available are your hole cards (two cards) and the community cards (5 cards - flop, turn and river).
• If the best hand consists of all of the community cards, then everyone left in the hand shares the amount in the pot (rake*)
• You can take a look at the hand rankings to remind you which hands are the best.

Showdown.

• Once the previous hand has completed, the next texas holdem poker hand will start. The dealer button will now move to then next person (the small blind in the previous hand). This happens at the end of each hand. In online poker the dealer button is indicated with a D, this is true for poker tournaments or texas holdem ring games.

*(rake and side pots) are explained in the dictionary section