Texas Hold'em Poker

I will start explaining with how to play fixed limit texas holdem and from there you will learn no limit and pot limit.

.Important Terms/Facts

Knowledge of this section willalso help you understand Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo, so is it important you understand these basic rules.

Firstly, there are 5 main 'rounds' in a hand (game) of Texas Hold 'em:

The Pre-Flop

The Flop

The Turn

The River

The Showdown

There are also 5 decisions that a player can make during a hand of Texas Hold 'em:

Bet - To place an initial amount of chips on the table.

Call - To match the bet of the preceding player.

Raise - To bet an increased amount of chips in comparison to the preceding player.

Muck (or Fold) - To quit the hand and give your cards, face down, to The Dealer.

Check - To choose to make no decision at this point. You may be obliged to make a decision later in the round.

Fixed Limit

In a Fixed Limit game, the bets (as the name suggests) are fixed amounts, and you cannot bet outside of these parameters. If, for example, you are playing a 2/4 table, then the first two betting rounds - The Pre-Flop and the Flop - have a bet size (and raises) of 2 $. in the next two rounds - The Turn and The River, bets and raises are made at the higher limit, in this example, 4 GEL. The Showdown is a non betting round where the players still in the game compare their cards to determine the winner.

Dealer Button & Blinds

At a new table, the game starts with a single card being dealt to each player. The player with the highest card is assigned the Dealer Button. Each subsequent hand starts with a player receiving the dealer button which is passed clockwise as each hand is played. The cards are dealt clockwise starting with the person following the dealer. In an online environment, tables are constantly active, so the position of the Dealer Button will usually have been established when you join the table. The Dealer Button represents the theoretical position of The Dealer. In a live environment, this person may actually deal the cards, but at most casinos, and certainly online, The House (the venue) deals the cards.

Prior to The Flop, two Blind Bets are made creating an initial pot. The blind bets are made by the two players sitting to the dealer's left. The player sitting next to the Button, posts (bets) the Small Blind. This is set at half the lower limit of the table. In our 2/4 example, this would be 1 GEL. The player to his or her left posts the Big Blind. This is set at an amount equal tot hew lower limit (2 GEL in our example). These forced bets ensure that there is a pot for people to compete for. The are called Small and Big, for obvious reasons - Because of their relative size. They are called Blinds because the players are making these bets before receiving any cards and are therefore blind to their hand...

This may seem a little unfair to these players, but remember, the Dealer Button will move around next time and two new players will be the Small and Big Blinds. This ensures that everyone get to be The Dealer, the Small Blind and the Big Blind.

Blind Penalties

If, for whatever reason, you missyouturn at posting either the Small or Big Blind - without leaving the table - (called Sitting Out), there is a penalty to be made once you return to the table:

For missing the Small Blind - You MUST pay a penalty equal in value to the Big Blind. This is in addition to the person who is naturally the Big Blind at this point.

For missing the Big Blind - OR, the Small AND the Big Blind - You MUST pay a penalty equal in value to the Big Blind, and another equal to the Small Blind. This smaller amount goes straight into The Pot (the chips/money that is being gambled) and does not count towards the player's bets for the game. This is called a Dead Bet.

Pre-Flop

Each player receives two, face down cards (Hole Cards, Pocket Cards). The person sitting left of the Big Blind position is first to act. In this round, he has three options. He canCall,RaiseorMuck. If he mucks, as already mentioned, he throws his hand away, and the action passes to the next player on the left. If he calls, he matches the value of the Big Blinds forced bet (2 $ in our 2/4 example). If he chooses to raise, he can, in a Fixed Limit game, onlyraise by a further 2 $, to 4 $.

In a Fixed Limit game, there are a maximum of 1 initial bet and three raises in a single round. These raises have specific names:

Raise

Reraise

Cap

In our 2/4 game, during The Flop, the initial bet would be 2 $, the raise would be a further 2 $ - meaning that player has bet 4 $, the reraise would be to 6 $ and the cap would be a further 2 $, to 8 $. After the cap, there can be no more raises during this round! Remember, bets and raises on the Turn and River will be made at the higher limit (we will see this later).

Back to the game. The action continues around the table, with each player calling, raising or mucking as they see fit, until it reaches the player at the Small Blind position. Let's assume everyone has called. In our 2/4 game, this would mean they have all committed 2 $ to the pot. It is now the Small Blind's turn to act. Remember, this person has already bet an amount equal to to half the lower limit (1 $ in our example). Because of this, if she chooses to call, she only has to place 1 $ in the pot (making her total, 2 $). She can, of course raise (to 4 $)

or muck!

Now the action moves to the Big Blind. This player has already committed 2 $ to the pot. In theory, the Pre-Flop is over, because everyone has committed the same amount but, as the Big Blind is the only position that has not yet made a decision based on his cards, he is allowed to do so now. He can raise (to 4 $) muck or check. Usually, a player cannot check whilst there is money on the table, but, in this instance, the player at the Big Blind position can check.

It is important to remember, that, if you have the option, you should always check instead of mucking your hand. You are still in the game for free and you may just get cards that improve your hand. If the player at the Big Blind position raises, play continues round the table again until all players have called or mucked their cards. At the end of this, and all regular rounds, play continues until all players have committed the same number of chips to the pot, or have mucked their hand. For this example, our Big Blind player checks.

At this point, the Pre-Flop is over and all the chips are collected and placed in the middle of the table.

The Flop

The dealer places three, face up cards on the table. These are called Community Cards or Board Cards and, as the name implies, these are shared by all players at the table to help complete their poker hands. After the cards are dealt, the first person to act is the player left of the Dealer Button. Usually this is the person in the Small Blind position, but if they have mucked, then the next player is first to act. This player can either check or bet. The action then continues around the table until each player has had a chance to check, call (if there has been a bet or raise), raise or muck. Once there is a bet or raise, each player must match that bet, reraise or muck for the action to continue. It is not unusual for all players to check during a round. In this case, no money would be added to the pot, and the round would be over.

As before, once all the players have called (or mucked), and have bet an equal amount, the round is over.

The Turn

The dealer places a fourth community card, face up, onthe table. Again, the players, starting with the player left of the Dealer, check, bet or muck accordingly. However, in this round (and the next), players bet and raise by the higher limit of the table. 4 $, in our example. Action continues, as before, with all the players finally betting the same amount, or mucking their hand. Again, all the money bet in this round is pooled in the centre of the table.

The River

The dealer places a fifth, and final face up card on the table. Each player now has seven cards (Their hole cards and the five board cards) with which to make the best five card combination. Again, the player left of the dealer is first to act and the action continues around the table as before.

The Showdown

After The River, players compare their cards to determine the winner. The player with the highest ranking hand wins the pot. If two or more players have identical hands, then the pot is split between them with any odd chip(s) going to the winning player left of The Dealer.

There is a structure to how players display their cards. The last person to take aggresive action but betting or raising at The River is the first to show their cards. EG. If the player at the Small Blind position checks, the Big Blind position bets 4 $

and every one else calls. The the player at the Big Blind position would show their cards first. However, is someone else raised (and everyone else called or mucked), then that person would be first to show their cards. If the player to their left can beat that hand, they would display their cards. However, if they have an inferior hand, then they are not obliged to show their losing hand and can simply muck. Once all players have displayed their hands (or mucked) then the player(s) with the highest visible hand wins the pot.

What Happens Next?

After The Showdown, all cards are returned to the dealer, the winning player collects their chips and the Dealer Button is moved clockwise to the next player. This action, as mentioned before, ensures that the Dealer, Small Blind and Big Blind are rotated, ensuring that all players at the table play at all positions.

Hope it helped you ^^

Texas Hold'em Poker

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Poker Combinations

Fixed Limit Texas Hold ’em