Texas Holdem Basics

Learning how to play Texas Holdem is a simple, although one can spend a lifetime trying to master it. You win money by winning pots – the money or chips wagered during the play of each hand (round) of poker, from the first card dealt until the showdown. A hand also refers to five cards in possession in a player.

In Hold’em, two cards are dealt face down to each player, and a round of betting takes place. On the first round, players may either call or raise the blind bet, or they must fold their hand. Most casinos allow a bet and three or four raises per betting round, with one exception: When only two players contest the pot there is no limit on the number of raises permitted.

When the first round of betting is complete, three communal cards, called the flop, are turned face up in the center of the table. That’s followed by another round of betting. On this and each succeeding round, players may check if no one has bet when it is their turn to act. If there is no bet, a player may check or bet. If there is a bet, players may fold, call, raise, or reraise.

A fourth communal card – called the turn – is then exposed. Another round of betting takes place. Then the fifth and final community card – known as the river – is placed in the center of the table followed by the last round of betting. The best five-card poker hand using any combination of a player’s two private cards and the five communal cards is the winner.

You win hands in one of two ways:

• You show down (reveal) the best hand at the conclusion of all the betting rounds. When two or more players are still active when all the betting rounds are done, they turn their hands face up. The pot goes to the player who holds the highest hand during this showdown.
• All your opponents fold their hands. No, this doesn’t mean they politely clasp their fingers on the table in front of them. Folding a hand (or, more simply, folding) means that a player relinquishes his or her claim to the pot by not matching an opponent’s bet. In this case, you may have had the best hand or you may have been bluffing – it doesn’t matter. When opponents surrender their claim to the pot, it’s yours.

If antes are used, each player must post a token amount of money in order to receive cards. As for blinds, one or two players are required to make a bet or portion of a bet before the hand is dealt. This requirement rotates around the table so that each player pays his fair share.

Each time a round of cards is dealt, players have an opportunity to check, bet, fold, call, or raise. Any time a player decides to forfeit his interest in the pot, he may release his hand when it is his turn to act (to do something related to betting: raise, fold, check, or call). When a player folds a hand, he is not required to place any more money in the pot. If a player bets or raises and no one calls, the pot belongs to that player, the cards are collected and shuffled, and the next hand is dealt. If there are two or more players still active at the end of the hand, the best hand wins the pot.

Foundation of Holdem

Like a house, poker requires a foundation. Only when that foundation is solidly in place can you proceed to build on it. When all the structural elements are in place, you can then add flourishes and decorative touches. But you can’t begin embellishing it until the foundation has been poured, the building framed, and all the other elements that come before it are in place. That’s our purpose here: to put first things first – to give you a basic understanding of what you need before you begin to play.

Some poker players, and it’s no more than a handful, really do have a genius for the game – an inexplicable, Picasso-like talent that isn’t easily defined and usually has to be seen to be believed. But even in the absence of genius – and most winning players certainly are not poker savants – poker is an eminently learnable skill.

Inherent ability helps, and while you need some talent, you really don’t need all that much. After all, you don’t have to be Van Cliburn to play the piano, Picasso to paint, or Michael Jordan to play basketball. What you do need to become a winning player are a solid plan to learn the game and discipline.

Plotting a strategy

If you aspire to play winning poker you need a plan to learn the game. While the school of hard knocks might have sufficed as the educational institution of choice 20 or 30 years ago, most of today’s better poker players have added a solid grounding in poker theory to their over-the-table experiences. You can find a slew of information to help you learn the game. Check out Chapter 16 for our learning plan and suggested books, magazines, and Web sites.

Discipline

All the strategic knowledge in the world does not guarantee success to any poker player. Personal characteristics are equally important. Success demands a certain quality of character in addition to strategic know-how.

Players lacking self discipline, for example, have a hard time ever winning consistently regardless of how strategically sophisticated they might be.If one lacks the discipline to throw away poor starting hands, then all the knowledge in the world can’t overcome this flaw.

Knowledge without discipline is merely unrealized potential. Playing with discipline is a key to avoiding losing your shirt -or your shorts. you can learn to play poker at a level akin to that of a journeyman musician, a work-aday commercial artist, you will be good enough to win consistently.

You don’t have to be a world champion like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, or Tom McEvoy to earn money playing poker. The skills of a good journeyman poker player enables you to supplement your income, or – better yet – earn your entire livelihood at the game. If you go on to become the very best poker player you can be, that should be more than enough to ensure that you will be a lifelong winning player.

The object of the game

The objective of poker is to win money by capturing the pot, which contains bets made by various players during the hand. A player wagers a bet in hopes that he has the best hand, or to give the impression that he holds a strong hand and thus convince his opponents to fold (abandon) their hands. Since money saved is just as valuable as money won, knowing when to release a hand that appears to be beaten is just as important as knowing when to bet. In most poker games, the top combination of five cards is the best hand.

Number of players

Any number of players, typically from two to ten, can play, depending on the game. Most casino games are set up with eight players for a sevencard game like Stud poker or Razz, and nine or ten players for Texas Hold’em.

Although texas holdem basics is simple, its simplicity lies a wonderfully textured game structure that is fascinating, frequently enjoyable, and for some, a lifelong source of pleasure.