Among the variations in the game of Poker, Texas Hold'em is considered as the most popular among players. It is used in all major tournaments in the world such as the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour as well as the European Poker Tour, which also feature the no-limit variation of this game.
It is also said that Texas Hold'em Poker variation is so popular across the world that this can be the only variety a new player of this game can ever learn. Talking about learning this variation of the card game Poker, it can also be said that understanding and then playing Texas Hold'em variation cannot be too difficult owing to the simplicity of its rules and there are a few other factors such as game-play and hand-ranking which make it the most popular poker variation in the world.
Additionally, with the advent and expansion of mobile phone technology, the option of playing Texas Hold'em Poker games anonymously online has also resulted in the popularity of this variation going sky high. The online Poker websites allow players to try those games for free; some of these are just for experiences, alluring the person to their respective platform.
Rules of Texas Hold’em Poker
But then, it is also not that simple and easy to understand either. The sheer magnitude of possible situations and combinations can make Texas Hold'em Poker variation an extremely complex one to understand, especially when a player is competing at the highest level.
For beginners, it is extremely important to learn the basics of the game before proceeding further. Like any sport or game in the world, the Texas Hold'em also has its own rules and points to remember, which are very crucial to understand the game-play and later on the very basic strategy of the game.
Texas Hold'em Poker is played by using a standard 52-card deck and it involves anywhere between 2-10 players. In big tournaments, there can be hundreds of players but during any one hand the player is only competing against the others on his or her respective table.
One player is determined as the nominal 'dealer' before every hand. This 'dealer' is identified by a marker known as the dealer 'button'. This person here does not actually deals the cards, but through the position of this dealer it is determined which two players have to put out the 'blind' bets to get the action kick-started. In the case of online Texas Hold'em Poker, the work of the dealer is done automatically.
As per the rule, two players must sit on the left side of the dealer and post the compulsory blinds – they are called so because these cards must be placed before anyone else sees what these cards are. The player sitting on the immediate left of the dealer posts the 'small blind' whereas the one on the next seat on the table posts the 'big blind', which is usually two times the size of the small blind. The dealer in this arrangement sits in front of a button.
After every hand has been completed, the dealer's button moves in the clockwise direction by one position, which helps the players to take the turn to be dealers – of both, the small and the big blind.
All the players on the table are then dealt with two cards that are facing down. These cards are known as the “hole cards” and can be used and seen only by one player. By the end of the hand, the rule says that five more 'community' cards should be dealt. These five cards are available for all players to use and they are laid face-up at the centre of the table.
Out of these five 'community cards', the first three are exposed together in one go and they are known as “Flop”. The fourth card, known as the “Turn”, is dealt individually and the fifth and the final one, which is also called “River”, is exposed. Each deal on the table is separated by a betting round.
The aim of this variation called Texas Hold'em poker is to make the best five-card hand out of the seven that are available. Two of these cards are in a player's hand and the rest are the five 'community cards'.
