Texas Holdem Rules
The rules of texas holdem can be understood via 3 simple questions – who, what, and when; once you know the answer to all of these questions, you know how to play texas holdem.
WHO: THE DEALER, BLINDS, AND ALL THE REST
Texas holdem starts with the dealer; a position that at home rotates after each hand in a clockwise direction by passing the deck of cards. In a casino setting the act of dealing will be fulfilled by a single professional casino dealer. In the case of the casino play, the dealer acts as a proxy for the person whose turn it is to deal. The requirement to maintain the dealer position and its movement is crucial as this determines bet order, play, and blinds (which will be explained later). The dealer position is indicated in a casino by a ‘button’; a small disc with ‘dealer’ stamped on it, which the professional dealer will move a position to the left after each hand, in much the same way that the deck itself would be moved in a home game.
There are two positions in texas holdem play known as ‘blinds’; there’s the ‘big blind’ and the ‘little blind’ and they are the players filling the two positions to the left of the dealer with the little blind being directly to his left and the big blind being directly to the little blind’s left. Blinds are the compulsory amounts entered into the pot before the cards are dealt. Texas holdem requires no ante as other poker games do, instead it uses the blind system to kick start the betting even before the cards are dealt as the blinds are essentially compulsory bets on the unseen cards. The little blind is usually half the size of the big blind and these amounts will always be determined before play begins. Most often, the big blind is equal to the amount of a full small bet, so in a $2-$4 game the big blind would be $2. As the dealer position circulates so do the blind positions, so all players at some point pay both blinds.
If you are not the dealer, and not a big blind or little blind, you are ‘all the rest’, and you have no special role or requirements.
WHAT AND WHEN: CARDS AND BETS
First Round: After the blinds have been paid, 2 cards are dealt to each player face down – these are you ‘hole cards’ and shouldn’t be shown to anyone. The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind. The bet at this point is to value of big blind which was the essentially a preemptive bet. This player therefore has 3 choices; call, raise, or fold. Betting continues around the table accordingly. The small blind, if he chooses to see the bet must make his original bet up to the amount on the table. If for example in a $2-$4 game where there had been one raise, the small blind must add $3 to see the bet. If the big blind wishes to raise the bet after being seen, he may do so once in the first round.
Second Round: following completion of the first round of betting, 3 community cards known as the ‘flop’ are placed face up on in the center of the table. These cards are for everyone’s use and should be used to make up each persons best 5 card poker hand. There will be two more cards dealt in this fashion – rounds 3 and 4. At this stage the blinds are no longer relevant so betting begins with the first player to the dealer’s left that is still in the game. As no bet has yet been laid, unlike in the first round when the blinds were the first bets, the player now has an extra option – he may check. A ‘check’ allows you to not bet so long as no-one before you has bet anything. So, this first player has the options of bet, check, or fold. If he checks, the next player has the same options; if he bets however, no-one else in that round can check but rather have the options of fold, raise, or see. Betting continues until all bets are seen. Some tables will limit the number of raises per betting round.
Third and Fourth Rounds: Following the second betting round, a fourth community card is dealt known as the ‘turn’, and a third betting round occurs following the same format as the second. Following this round, the fifth and final community card is dealt – the ‘river’. All 7 cards with which you can make up your best 5 card poker hand have now been dealt – the 5 community cards and your 2 hole cards. The fourth and final betting round is competed and once all bets have been called, each player still in reveals his hole cards. If a hand is revealed that beats yours, you are under no obligation to show what you have; you simply concede. The winning hand takes the pot.