How to play Texas Hold'em
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In Texas Hold'em, there are two face-down
cards for each player and five face-up community cards. The
player who makes the best five-card poker hand with any combination
of their two face-down cards and the five community cards
wins the round.
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In a Texas Hold'em game, a disc or
other marker is used to indicate which person is the "dealer"
for the round.
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There are no antes in Hold'em, instead,
forced bets called blinds are used. Before the cards
are dealt, the person to the left of the dealer posts a bet
called the small blind , which is usually equal to
half of the minimum bet. The person to the left of the small
blind posts the big blind , which is equal to the
minimum bet.
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The first two cards are dealt to
each player face down (these are called the hole cards
), and the person to the left of the big blind starts
the first round of betting. (Notice that the big blind and
small blind do not get to look at their cards before betting,
thus the term "blind").
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In the first round of betting, each
player has three options: call, raise or
fold . To call, the player must place a bet that
is equal to the last bet placed. (For the first player in
the round, this would be equal to the minimum bet.) A player
may choose to raise their call bet by an additional amount,
which the other players will then have to call. If one's hole
cards are not favorable, the player may simply choose to fold
and sit out the round.
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After all the players have finished
the first round of betting, the first three community cards
are dealt face-up on the board. This is called the flop.
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The second and all subsequent betting
rounds start with the first player to the dealer's left, and
players now have the option to check . By checking,
the player indicates interest in the pot without placing a
bet.
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Any player may choose to place a
bet, which the other players must then call. Players can still
raise, if a bet has been made, or fold, if their hand is not
favorable.
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After the second betting round,
the fourth community card is dealt face-up (this is called
the turn card).
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After the third betting round, the
fifth and final community card is dealt (this is called the
river card). A final round of betting ensues, and
afterwards each player turns their hole cards face up. The
highest hand that can be made with any combination of a player's
hole cards and the five community cards wins the pot.
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If two or more players have the
same hand, the next highest card in the player's hand (the
kicker ) is used to break a tie. If there is no kicker
card (the tied players have used both hole cards, or have
the exact same hand), then the pot is split between them.
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The dealer button is
then passed clockwise to the next player and another round
of play begins.
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Click here for a list of poker
hand rankings. |
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