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The Texas Holdem Poker Game:
Texas Hold’em Poker uses what is called a dealer-button to indicate the
theoretical dealer of each hand. After each hand is completed, as with
standard poker rules, the button moves clockwise to the next active
player. This player will be considered “the dealer” for that hand.
The First round
of Texas Hold em:
A fresh table starts of with the first person sitting on the table
becoming the dealer and the next player posting the small blind. A new
game on a active table starts with the button moving clockwise to the next
player. The player next to the button / dealer is required to place the
small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower stake. This is a
guideline for determining the blinds and not a strict rule. At
PartyPoker.com the small blind is rounded down to the nearest dollar. For
example – at $5/$10 Hold’em per the formula the small blind should be
$2.5. Instead, it is rounded of to the lower dollar, so the small blind
would post $2. However, as it is just a guideline, the amount of small
blind could be set differently at the time of setting up the table.
The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big
blind, equal to the lower stake limit. In a certain scenario it is
possible for more than one player to post a big blind in a hand. This is
if a new player joins a table at which a game is already going on. The
player would get an option of placing a Big Blind at the start of the next
hand or wait for his/her turn (as decided by the movement of the button)
to place the Big Blind in turn. All the blinds in Hold’em poker are
considered live bets and the players who posted them will have the option
of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting returns to their
position.
After the blinds have been placed, the down cards / hole cards are dealt
to each active player. In Hold’em, 2 cards are dealt to each of the
players, after which the first betting round starts. The player to the
left of the player who placed the big blind starts the betting for this
round.
Each player will now have the option to place his or her bets in the first
round, which is set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For
example in a $10/$20 Hold’em game, value of each bet is $10 for the
first round. When we say the bets are limited to $10, it refers to: a Bet
(single bet) of the value of $10, so when a user places “BET” then it
is $10, “RAISE” would be $20 – includes one additional bet and a
call on the previous bet placed by a player.
Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options – Bet, Call
and Raise. Each player will also have the option to Fold. These options
are available to each player depending on the action taken by the previous
player. The first player (left of the Big Blind) to act (in the first
round) would get the Bet, Call and Raise options. Subsequent players would
also get the options of Call and Raise. To Call is to bet the same as what
the previous player has bet. Raise action calls for raising whatever was
the bet/call amount of the previous player, and can be calculated based on
the value of the previous bet amount.
Every player participating in the hand should place equal amount of bet as
the previous players (includes bets, calls and raises). Till the time all
the players have placed equal amounts in the pot, the betting will
continue. There is a limit on the amount and the number of bets a player
can place during a betting round, which also would be considered during
the hand. The numbers of bets for a particular round of betting has been
mentioned below, please refer to the section on “Standard Rules” for
the limits on the number of bets.
After the first round of betting is over, the Flop (the first three cards
of the community) is dealt. The community cards are common to all the
players participating in the hand.
The Second Round
of Texas Hold em:
After the flop and in each subsequent betting round, the first active
player left of the button is first to act. The second betting round also
limits the value of bets and raises to the lower limit of the stake
structure. So in a $10/$20 value of each bet is $10 for the second round.
When we say the bets are limited to $10, it refers to: a Bet (single bet)
of the value of $10, so when a user places “BET” then it is $10,
“RAISE” would be $20 – includes one additional bet and a call on the
previous bet placed by a player. Bets can be placed, by playing any of the
following options – Bet, Call and Raise. These options are available to
each player depending on the action taken by the previous player. The
first player placing the bet would get the Bet option (the player left to
the Button). Other players will get the Call and Raise options only.
After this the fourth community card is dealt out – this is known as the
Turn.
The Third Round of Texas Hold em:
The third betting round starts again with the player left to the button,
and bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stake structure
($10/$20 game, $20 would be the upper stake). When we say the bets are
limited to $20, it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of the value of $20, so
when a user places “BET” then it is $20, “RAISE” would be $40 –
includes one additional bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a
player. Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options –
Bet, Call and Raise. Combinations of these options are available to the
player depending on the action taken by the previous player. The first
player placing the bet would get the Bet option (the player left to the
Button).
After this the fifth community card is dealt out – this is known as the
River.
The Fourth Round of Texas Hold em:
The fourth (and final) betting round starts again with the player left to
the button, and bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the
stake structure ($10/$20 game, $20 would be the upper stake). When we say
the bets are limited to $20, it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of the value
of $20, so when a user places “BET” then it is $20, “RAISE” would
be $40 – includes one additional bet and a call on the previous bet
placed by a player. Bets can be placed by playing any of the following
options – Bet, Call and Raise. Combinations of these options are
available to the player depending on the action taken by the previous
player. The first player placing the bet would get the Bet option (the
player left to the Button).
Some standard rules
A maximum of four bets, which includes one bet, and three raises are
allowed for each betting round per player.
The term cap is used to describe the final raise in a round since betting
is then capped and no one can make another raise. Once capped, players
will have the option of calling or folding only. Folding can be done at
any stage of the game. The action of folding basically shows the player
cards being moved to the dealer. The player from then on would not be
considered as part of the game. He/she would not have any rights over any
pots created on the table.
Apart from the fold option, a player could also get the option of
“Check”, in which the player can pass his/her turn without placing a
bet. This option would not always be available to the player, and depends
on the actions taken by the previous player in the hand. The player HAS TO
equal the amount of bet placed by any other players for each round in the
hand.
Poker is typically played "table stakes", meaning only the chips
in play at the beginning of each hand may be used throughout the hand.
This means that the player cannot get additional funds from the cashier
while he is in the midst of a game. The table stakes rule has an
application called the "All-In" rule, which states that a player
cannot be forced to forfeit a hand because the player does not have enough
chips to call a bet.
Exceptions to the value of betting in each round:
A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared All-In.
The player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of his
final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a
"side pot", which is unavailable to the player who has already
gone All-In. When a player goes All-in, the pot currently at the center of
the table, which has contributions from him/her as well, is treated as the
main pot, over which the All-in player has rights. After the player goes
all-in, all the new bets are placed in a side pot, over which only the
contributing players have rights. The All-in player does not have any
rights over the side pot. The side pot is then given to the next winning
combination.
After the final round of betting, it’s time for – Showdown. This
refers to the action of deciding who the winner of the pot is and display
of the cards from all players (though this is optional for the player,
he/she need not show the cards). Five cards of the total of hole and
community cards are to be used for deciding on the winning hands. A
combination of the following may be used -
- Both hole cards and three
community cards
- One hole card & four
community cards
- All five community cards
(playing the board)
On the final round of betting,
the player who bets first (or checks first if no one else bets) is
required to show their cards first at the showdown. If they have the best
hand, the remaining players may/may not show their cards as they wish. The
aggressors’ hand is only turned over first if he was the last to
initiate action on the river.
There is a set rank of cards, which
is used for deciding the winning combination. To view the various ranks
that are possible, click
here
If two or more hands
are the same ranking, the winner is the one having the higher cards. For
example, a Flush with an Ace high beats a Flush with a King high. If the
poker hands remain tied, then the highest card not being held in common
(the kicker) determines the winner. The suit order of the cards is not
taken into account while deciding on the winning cards.Should poker hands
be absolutely identical in ranking, the rule of poker pot distribution
will be split evenly between the two or more winning players. If there is
an odd chip, the winning player to the left of the button/dealer will
receive it. This applies to both play money (free) and poker for real
money.
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