Texas Holdem

Texas holdem is a variation of poker. It has evolved to be the most popular poker games in North America, Europe, and online. Much of this popularity can be attributed to Texas holdem being shown on TV on the World Series of Poker. Texas Holdem lends itself especially well to television through the use of special cameras embedded in the table that allow commentators to see players hands as the action is going on. Additionally, everyday people like Chris Moneymaker can win the tournament after paying as little as $55 to get into a satellite tournament which ends up at the main event.

The rules of holdem are slightly different from those of typical five card poker. Instead of being dealt a hand of five or seven cards, you are only dealt two. This means that the possible cards in a players hand are much easier to guess in holdem than in a game like 5-Card Stud. After the initial betting round, three communal cards known as 'the flop' are put in the center of the table. These cards are part of everyone's hands. After another round of betting, another communal card called 'the turn' is flipped face up. Finally, after another round of betting the last communal card, 'the river' is shown. Players now have the two cards in their hand and 5 communal cards to make the best 5-card hand they can. After a final round of betting there is a showdown.

In holdem, Antes are sometimes used, sometimes not. Instead, small and big blinds are frequently used. These bets are larger and smaller increments- normally slightly larger than individual antes, that rotate around the table to the left. Starting at the dealer, the small blind is just to the left, and the big blind is to the left of the small. The dealer at a casino is usually represented by a dealer button, that rotates around the circle behind the blinds. This serves to show the actual dealer where to place the cards, and to help keep track of the blinds. Where there are only two players left in the game, they trade off being big and small blinds until one player has all the chips.

Now that you know how to play, you can try out an online texas holdem poker and start winning today!