Texas Hold’em continues to explode in popularity around the world. Card rooms in every country and city, as well as online poker rooms, are crowded with players trying their best to become the next big winner.
Texas Hold’em is not only challenging, lucrative, and fun, but also presents the opportunity for an average Joe to ascent through the ranks and compete against the best in the world.
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There are two main reasons for the incredible boost in popularity over the past two decades, and we’ll explain both in detail.
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Why is Texas Hold’em so popular?
Contents
- How to Play Texas Hold’em
- Texas Hold’em Frequently Asked Questions
The first noteworthy change over the past two decades was the introduction of the internet and the rise of online poker. New players can now practice and study the game, as well as their skills, without having to leave the comfort of their own homes. The rise of online poker also allowed players to enjoy multiple poker games at once where they could gain experience and far more practice in much shorter periods of time.
A typical land-based poker game will play an average of 20 hands every hour, whereas online poker tables can sometimes reach 100 hands every hour. If you multiply this by using several poker tables at once, you can understand how much quicker you can gain experience. This ultimately leads to more players testing their luck and land-based players getting more involved with the game.
The second noteworthy change over the past two decades is the rise in advertising of poker by media outlets and television. Poker professionals are now considered high rollers and celebrities, leading to loads of people wanting to try their luck and climb the ranks themselves to become one of the big guns. Media and television have also proved how much money can be made by simply playing poker, and therefore it’s easy to understand why viewers find it so appealing. Poker has always had minimal barriers of entry, even at the highest level.
If you’re an American football fan, the highest level in American football is the Super Bowl. Can you play in the Super Bowl? No. In poker, the highest level is the World Series. Can you play in the World Series of Poker? Yes. Anyone with enough cash can enter the main event. That means anyone will stand a chance to go against the best in the world, and if they win, they will be crowned a champion.
How to Play Texas Hold’em
Learning the game of Texas Hold’em looks more difficult than it actually is. The game itself is extremely simple and logical and only takes a few minutes to learn. Mastering the game, however, takes much longer. Texas Hold’em is primarily a community card poker game, with the focus on both the betting and the cards being dealt. The Texas Hold’em structure can be divided into three main categories, including Setup, Betting Rounds, and Showdown
Howcast
Setup
Texas Hold’em is played with 2 to 10 players, and each of them will get a stack of chips that will represent different values. Once the chips have been distributed, each player will get one card to determine who will start with the dealer button. The player with the highest card value will be considered the dealer. Texas Hold’em is played with a rotating dealer, which means each player will act as the dealer for only one hand. Once the hand is completed, the dealer button will move to the next player on the left.
Once the dealer has been determined, you can put out the blinds. In Texas Hold’em there are two blinds, a small blind and a big blind. The player situated to the left of the dealer button will be small blind, and the player to the left of the small blind will be big blind. The blinds will indicate the size of the stakes during gameplay and are usually 100 times the size of the big blind. If players want to buy-in for $20, the blinds should be $0.10/$0.25.
Betting Rounds
The player dealing the cards will deal to the left of the dealer button first and rotate around the table, giving each player one card every time until every player has two cards. The two cards are known as hole cards.
The Preflop
Once all the players received their two cards, you will be in the preflop betting round. The preflop betting round will start with the player situated on the left of the big blind. The player will have three options:
- Fold – A player will contribute nothing to the pot and will also throw away their hand. Once a player folds, he is out of the hand and will wait for the next game to be dealt.
- Call – A player will match the big blind amount to stay in the game.
- Raise – A player will raise the bet by doubling the big blind amount. They can also raise more depending on the betting styled being used.
A betting round will end once two conditions have been met: Every player has made their decisions to either fold, call, or raise, and all players who haven’t decided to fold have bet the same amount.
The Flop
After the preflop betting round, the flop is dealt. The top card of the deck is dealt face down on the table, known as the burn card, followed by three cards being dealt face-up on the table. Once the flop is dealt, the initial post-flop betting round will start. The post-flop rules are the same as the preflop with two exceptions: The player on the left of the dealer will act first, and the first player can either check or bet, as no bets have been made, and therefore calling is free. Betting on the flop is the big blind amount.
The Turn
Once the flop betting round is completed, the dealer will deal one more card facedown and another single card face-up, known as ‘burn and turn’. The third betting round will start after the turn has been dealt. This betting round will be the same as the flop betting round but with one small exception: The bet size for this round, and the final round will be doubled.
The River
If there is still more than one player left on the table, the river will be dealt. The river is dealt in the same way as the turn is dealt, with one card facedown and another single card face-up. No additional cards will be dealt in the final street, and the betting round is the same as that of the turn.
Showdown
After the river betting round is completed, the remaining players will enter a showdown. Essentially, the hands will be evaluated, and the best hand will take the pot. The rules for a Texas Hold’em showdown include:
- The player who made a bet on the river is by default the player who needs to reveal his hand first.
- If no additional bets were made on the river, as everyone checked, the player closest to the left of the dealer button will reveal their hand first.
- Should a player hold a losing hand, they can decide if they want to show their cards or muck.
Texas Hold’em Frequently Asked Questions
Texas Hold’em is extremely popular. Thanks to exposure on television, movies, and popular culture in general, the game has quickly become the most popular poker variant in the world. Massive numbers are drawn to cash games, as well as live tournaments every day, and more online players are being introduced to the game online.
Definitely. Several poker sites offer Texas Hold’em tournaments where players can play for real money. Some of those tournaments are even satellite events that can lead to a seat at a land-based Texas Hold’em tournament.
Yes. Due to the popularity around Texas Hold’em, novice and experienced players are always trying their luck at Texas Hold’em, especially when you play at micro-stakes tables. Texas Hold’em is also the easiest to learn from all other poker variants, so there will always be plenty of fish to take advantage of.
4. What stake levels are available in Texas Hold’em?
The lowest stakes in Texas Hold’em are usually $0.01/$0.02. However, these stakes can also increase to around $100/$200 with everything in between also being available. It will greatly depend on the poker site, but there will always be a vast range of different cash tables with a range of different table stakes.
Yes, you can. All popular poker sites will offer newly registered players a special bonus or promotion. The playthrough requirements are eventually met the more cash games you play by accumulating rake.
Yes. Most online poker sites will offer the chance to play with fun money where you can first test your skills and learn the game before heading over to the cash tables to play for real money.
It’s known as the Cadillac of the poker world and a game that has given millions of people a lot of pleasure (and money), but how do you play Texas Hold’em poker? Moreover, why is it such a popular game and one that’s so easy to find at our top US poker sites?
In a nutshell, Texas Hold’em is the perfect blend of mathematics, strategy, psychology and luck. On top of that, because anyone, no matter how experienced they are, can win a hand, it’s extremely attractive proposition for novice players. Because there is an element of luck in the game, it means an amateur can, theoretically, beat the likes of Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu or any of the top pros in the USA given the right conditions.
To counteract this, the skill elements of the game are such that an experienced player will always win over an amateur in the long-run. Indeed, regardless of whether you’re playing Texas Hold’em in a limit, pot limit or no limit format, there are a certain amount of skills you can learn in order to improve your chances of success. However, before we delve into some top Texas Hold’em tips for playing at online poker sites in America, it’s important to breakdown the basics of the game.
“Hold’em is to stud what chess is to checkers.” – Johnny Moss
The Basics of Texas Hold’em
Thankfully, the rules of Texas Hold’em are relatively simple and in this article we’ve outlined the basic mechanics of the game so that you can begin exploring its wonderful complexities.
Before we look at the specific details of a hand of Texas Hold’em we first need to establish some general rules.
- In essence the aim of the game is simple: win the pot by any means possible.
- In practical terms there are two main ways you can win the pot: by having the best hand or by bluffing.
Having the superior hand means that your cards are better than your opponent’s at a showdown and bluffing is where you force your opponent to fold before a showdown.
A hand of Texas Hold’em uses five cards which can be any combination of a player’s two hole cards (the cards they are dealt) and the five community cards. This means that a player can use one, two or none of their cards in conjunction with the five cards in the middle to make a hand ranging from a pair up to a Royal Flush.
With this in mind a player must measure the value of their two starting cards before any of the community cards are revealed and decide whether or not the hand is worth playing. If they feel the cards are too weak then they can simply fold. However, if they like their hand then they must either call or raise (the size of each will be determined by the table stakes and the previous action).
This process is repeated by each player at the table until everyone has either folded or met the minimum bet. (A point to note here is the each new hand starts with a player in the small blind and one in the big blind. These forced bets kick off the action and it’s the player to the left of the big blind who starts the action).
After all the pre-flop action has been completed the first three community cards (the flop) are revealed. At this point another round of betting ensues with players having the option to check (take a free card if no previous betting has occurred), bet or fold based on the current strength of their hand. This process is repeated on the turn (the fourth card) and then again on the river (the fifth and final card).
If at least two players are still in the hand by the river then a showdown takes place and the best five-card hand wins. However, if at any point during the hand only one player remains then they are declared the winner by default and thus scoop the pot.
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This, in a nutshell, is the basic outline of Texas Hold’em poker and should be enough for you to begin grinding at the tables.
Five Things You Need to Know about Texas Hold’em
- Texas Hold’em involves two hole cards and five community cards.
- A player can use one, two or none of their hole cards in order to make the best five-card hand.
- Texas Hold’em can be played in a limit, pot limit or no limit format.
- Texas Hold’em at US poker sites can be played as multi-table tournaments, cash games or single table tournaments.
- One of the best ways to win at Texas Hold’em is to be as aggressive as possible.
Top Texas Hold’em Tips
Texas Hold’em is a relatively simple game to learn, but if you want to become one of the best players in the world it takes a lot of work. Indeed, players such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey have all played countless hours of poker and refined their skills over a number of years.
While it would be impossible to outline every strategic concept you need to consider at the poker table in this article, we can give you some bite sized tips that will help you become a more profitable player.
Cut Down the Amount of Hands You Play:One of the biggest mistakes novice players from the United States make when they first start playing Texas Hold’em is to get involved in too many hands. Although the prospect of making a strong hand or bluffing our opponent is appealing, it’s can actually be a major drain on your bankroll if you get involved in a lot of pot. One important fact to remember is that if you play a lot of hands you will make a pair less than 2/3 of the time and this often means you’ll have to fold a lot post-flop. Secondly, if you do manage to make a hand it will be usually be weaker than average which means you’ll lose pots (and thus money) at showdown more often. |
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Be More Aggressive:Coupled with a propensity to play more hands than is profitable, novice players will often adopt a passive strategy when they enter a pot. Instead of raising or re-raising they will usually limp or call and allow another player to take control of the hand. This is potentially fatal because it means the passive player is more likely to be bullied into submission and, thus, lose the pot. There’s an old adage in poker that you should try to remember if you want to avoid being passive and make more money: “If a hand is not worth raising, then it’s not worth playing.” |
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Always Try and Play in Position:Position is king at the poker table and before you enter any pot you should consider where you are in relation to the button, the blinds and to any active players. Essentially this means you should play more hands the closer you are to the button because you’ll have the benefit of extra information. Sometimes playing out of position is unavoidable, but if you want to have the greatest advantage over your opponents, then you should always play in position. |
In the US, Texas Hold’em is still the dominant poker game used to define ultimate champions and big money winners.
Biggest Winners in Hold’em History
Because Texas Hold’em has been the basis for the biggest poker tournaments in the world for a number of years and although players can earn $100,000+ in a single hand, these winnings pale in comparison to the $15,306,668 Daniel Colman won at the 2014 WSOP. After battling his way past the likes of Phil Ivey, Scott Seiver and Daniel Negreanu in the $1 million Big One for ONE DROP, Colman was able bank of the largest tournament hauls in history.
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Topping Colman’s 2014 effort, Antonio Esfandiari banked $18,346,673 in the 2012 version of the Big One for ONE DROP. The Texas Hold’em MTT welcomed 48 players, but when the betting was done it was Esfandiari who clinched the title and more money than any other US online poker player in history.
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