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Texas Hold ‘em: Basics

The Play of the Game

Texas Hold ‘em is a community card game (also called a flop game). It is played with two to eleven players at a table. One player acts as the dealer. This positon is called the button and it rotates clockwise after every hand. The game is generally played with two forced bets known as the blinds. The small blind is half the minimum “come in'' bet of the big blind. The other blind is the big blind. It is a full come in bet (the minimum bet for other players to enter). The two players to the left of the dealer are the small blind and the big blind, respectively. They are the only players who have money in the pot before the cards are dealt. (Holdem can be played with antes - but this style is generally only used in tournaments). Every player gets a total of seven cards (five of which are the community cards). Every player at the table receives two cards face down, (known as hole cards). The first betting round begins with the player sitting immediately to the left of the big blind and continues clockwise. After this round of betting there are three community cards placed face up in the middle of the table (known as the flop). The second round of betting begins with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button. Then a fourth card is placed face up, (known as the Turn or fourth street). The third round of betting commences with the first remaining player sitting to the left of the button, the betting moves clockwise. (The bets are doubled after the turn if playing a limit game). The final card is placed face up in the middle of the table (it is known as the River or fifth street). The fourth round of betting starts with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button. The betting contines to move clockwise.

Rank of the Hands

Name Example Description

1. Royal Flush (A,K,Q,J,10) Must be A,K,Q,J,10 all the same suit

2. Straight Flush (5,6,7,8,9) Five cards in order all the same suit

3. Four-of-a-kind (9,9,9,9) Four cards all with the same number

4. Flush (A,9,6,5,2) Five cards that are all the same suit

5. Straight (A,2,3,4,5) Five cards in numeric order

6. Three-of-a-kind (J,J,J) Three cards of the same number

7. Two pair (K,K-9,9) Two pairs each of the same number

8. One pair (A,A) One pair of the same number

9. High card (K,9,8,5,3) Five cards un-suited (King high here)

Texas Hold ‘em Formats

There are three formats of Texas Hold ‘em: Structured (Fixed or Limit), Pot Limit and No Limit. These forms can be used in either cash games (a.k.a. ring games) or in tournaments.

Structured simply means the betting pre-flop and post flop are restricted to the size of the big blind. For instance, if the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2 the bet must be $2. After the turn and river the bet must be double (which would be $4). If a player wants to raise, the raise must be equal to the structured bet. There are three raises allowed on each round of betting. A less common way of playing a Limit Game is called “Spread.” In a $2 - $4 Spread game the bets could range anywhere from $2-$4 on all four rounds of betting. The same rule of three max raises still applies.

In Pot Limit the bets must range between the size of the big blind and the amount of money in the pot. For example, with the small blind at $1 and the big blind at $2 and the player to act first wants to raise it must be between $2 and $5 (The small blind + the big blind + a $2 to call = $5). His bet can not exceed the size of the pot. After that raise there would then be $10 in the pot. The important thing to note is that in pot limit if you want to raise the pot, you must calculate your “call” before calculating the total size of the pot.

The third and most popular form of Texas Hold ‘em is called “No Limit”. In no limit you can bet any where from the amount of the big blind all the way up to your entire stack of chips where you would be “all-in''. The “all-in'' feature of No Limit Hold ‘em adds a unique dynamic to the game such that No Limit Hold ‘em is often referred to as the “Cadillac” of poker.

TheBestPokerSite.com’s following optimal Hold ‘em stategy is for beginners as well as any one that would like to improve their poker game! To be a successful Hold ‘em player you must form a solid foundation. They say Hold ‘em takes a day to learn and a life time to master. No matter what your personal goals are in poker you should apply some basic strategy to your game. TheBestPokerSite.com wants to help you become TheBestPokerPlayer you can be. We hope you pick up a few pointers.

Game Selection, Bankroll and Money Management

One of the most important and underrated disciplines of playing poker is game choice. If the players in a particular game exceed your level of play then you should play at another table and/or for lower limits. Ego and greed in poker can lead to destruction. You should never play above your bankroll, and never play at a table where there are more than one or two players better than you. In the beginning it may be hard to find action where the players aren’t all equal or better than you, which makes it even more important to play lower stakes.

Another important factor is defining an appropriate bankroll. Your poker bankroll should be a separate amount of money that is within your finances and relevant to your skill level. If you are a beginner then you should open a designated bank account with $500 (or what ever you can afford after all of your financial obligations are accounted for – NEVER gamble with your rent or car payment money !!! Then you should play lower limits or tournaments where your losses will be minimized and/or defined. Use this account as a quarterly allowance (for 3 months) for poker only. If you lose your bankroll then wait until the next quarter to restore the account. During this “time off'' you should read some books or watch some DVD’s to improve your game. It is very important to have the discipline and money management skills to retain and build your bankroll. Think of it as your poker livelyhood - once it is gone - poker is gone until next quarter...

There are many great poker players that have not had the discipline necessary to manage their poker bankroll. This failure has ruined their poker careers - not to mention relationships. If you don’t have good money management skills your poker game will never meet your potential. You may only want to play poker recreationally to have a little fun with some friends, but if you don’t practice this discipline then poker could become a very expensive (even destructive) hobby.

POSITION

Position, position, position. As in real estate, location (position) is everything in Texas Hold ‘em. When selecting a hand to play your position is the most important thing to consider. There are reasonable hands like Q,J  Q,10  and J,10 that should normally be folded in early position, but might be raised in late position. Hands like 6,7 and 8,9 (especially if suited) can be played in late position, but could get you in a lot of trouble if played in early position. The reason for position being so important has to do with information. In early position you have gained very little information. In late position you have had the opportunity to see several opponents act and possibly you even caught your opponent(s) to the left of you folding his/her hand(s) out of turn.

The information gained from being in late position does not end pre flop. The reason for this is if you play a hand mentioned above and flop bottom or middle pair it is extremly hard to play the hand when you are first to act against two or three opponents. If you check, you give your opposition an opportunity to make a good bet and take the pot away from you when you may have had the best hand. The correct way to play the hand in most cases is to make a bet, but if your opponent flat calls you then you’re in a very tricky situation where he has position on you on the turn and the river as well. The bottom line is that the later the postion you are in, the more hands you can play. The earlier the position you are in, the fewer hands you should play.

Hand Selection

As a beginner you should play a tighter game of poker. You should play tighter pre-flop to save yourself from tough decisions post-flop. As your game improves you can add some hands to your arsenal. When choosing a hand to play pre flop there are several factors to consider. The first thing to consider is the format. Are you playing in a tournament or a ring game. Is the format structured/fixed, pot-limit, or no-limit. If you are in a tournament you should keep in mind your chip stack compared to your opponents’, your position, and the size of the blinds in relation to your stack. There will be more about hand selection, stgategy and poker play coming soon.