Texas Hold Em
Texas Hold Em is one of the most popular type of poker played, it can theoretically be played with up to 22 players. But is generally played with between 2 and 10 players.
It is one of the most positional of all poker types of games as the order of betting is fixed through out the rounds of betting.
Rules
The descriptions of the rules follow the familiarity of general games of poker and with poker hands
Play of the hands
Each play begins with each player being dealt 2 cards face down, these are your hole cards and are for each individal. These cards are the only cards that you will be given individually and could possibly only be shown at the showdown, which in turn makes it a closed game.
The game will always start with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise.
The hand will always begin with a pre-flop betting round again starting with the player on the left of the dealer and continuing clockwise.
After the pre-flop betting round, the dealer deals a burn card, followed by three face-up community cards called the flop. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player to the dealer’s left and continue clockwise.
After the flop betting round ends, another card is burned, and a single community card called the turn is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final burn card is followed by a single community card called the river, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.
Betting structures
It is common to use a fixed limit and two blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called a small bet, while the limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is called a big bet and is generally double the small bet. The small blind is usually equal to half of a small bet, and the big blind is equal to a full small bet.
Occasionally, the fourth bet is larger still, and the big blind is sometimes less than the small bet, in which case it is treated the same way a sub-minimum bring-in is treated in stud poker. Antes may be used instead of, or in addition to, blinds; this is especially true in tournament play. The game also plays very well at the no-limit level.
The showdown
If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the seven cards comprising his two hole cards and the board. A player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community cards form the player’s best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board.
If the best hand is shared by more than one player (e.g. if no player is able to beat the board), then the pot is split equally amongst all remaining players. However, it is common for players to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked hands. In particular, kickers are often needed to break ties. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand, because often the board nullifies kickers. Straights often split the pot, and multiple flushes may occur. In the case of flushes, the flush is awarded to the player with the highest flush card which completes a flush and beats the board’s flush cards. If there is a flush on board, then under cards in that suit do not play, and if no one has a card in the flush suit beating the board, then the pot is split. The sole exception to this rule is the case of a straight-flush.
