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This year the Poker explosion rocked the world
as televised matches made their way to TV and into
the living rooms of millions of viewers. The coverage
of the World Poker Tour on the Travel channel and
ESPN's broadcast of the World Series of Poker has
sparked the interest of the "kitchen table" poker
players as well as some people who have never played
poker before. The game that has everyone buzzing
is Texas Hold'em.
However before you race down to the casino and
sign up for a high stakes tournament you need to
learn the basics of the game and get some playing
experience in low limit games. The matches you see
on television are No Limit Texas Hold'em games.
That means that at any time a player can bet all
of his chips. This is a great format for tournaments
but as a beginning player you will want to first
learn to play Limit Texas Hold'em.
Low Limit games has structured betting rounds
and you are limited to the amount of money you can
bet during each round. More precisely you will want
to play Low Limit Texas Hold'em as you learn the
game. Some of the low limit games you will find
in the cardroom are have a betting structure of
$2/4, $3/6 $4/8. After you gain experience you can
move up the higher limits or No Limit if you desire,
but you must learn to walk before you can run. Let
me explain the game and then give you some winning
tips to get started.
How to Play
Texas Hold'em is a deceptively simple game to
learn but a harder game to master. Each player is
dealt two personal cards and then five community
cards are turned up on the board. You make the best
five card hand using any combination of the seven
cards. For this example we will use a low limit
structure of $2/4. There are four betting rounds
and the first two have a limit of $2 and the last
two rounds have a limit of $4. You must bet or raise
only the amount of the limit for that round.
The Start
To start a new hand two "Blind" bets are put
up or "Posted." The player immediately to the left
of the dealer puts up or "posts" the small blind
which half the minimum bet one dollar. The player
to the left of the small blind posts the big blind
which is equal to the minimum bet which is two dollars
for this game. The rest of the players do not put
up any money to start the hand. Because the deal
rotates around the table, each player will eventually
act as the big blind, small blind and dealer.
The Opening
Each player is dealt two cards face down with
the player on the small blind receiving the first
card and the player with the dealer button getting
the last card. The first betting round begins with
the player to the left of the big blind either putting
in two dollars to "Call" the blind bet, or putting
in four dollars to "raise" the big blind or folding
his hand. The betting goes around the table in order
until it reaches the player who posted the small
blind. That player can call the bet by putting in
one dollar since a dollar blind was already posted.
The last person to act is the big blind. If no one
has raised, the dealer will ask if they would like
the option. This means the big blind has the option
to raise or just "check." By checking the player
does not put in any more money. A rookie mistake
sometimes occurs here. Because the blind is a live
bet live, the player with the big blind has already
put his bet in. I have seen some players throw their
cards in not realizing that they are already in
the hand. Another rookie mistake is betting or folding
your cards when it is not your turn. You must wait
before you act.
The Flop
After the first betting round is completed, three
cards are dealt and turned face up in the middle
of the table. This is known as the "Flop." These
are community cards used by all the players. Another
betting round begins with the first active player
to the left of the dealer button. The minimum bet
for this round is again two dollars.
The Turn
When the betting round after the flop is completed,
the dealer turns a fourth card face up in the middle
of the table. This is referred to as the "Turn."
The minimum bet after the turn is now four dollars
and begins again with the first active player to
the left of the dealer. The River
Following the betting round for the turn, the
dealer will turn a fifth and final card face up.
This is called the "river," and the final betting
round begins with four dollars being the minimum
bet.
The Showdown
To determine the winner, the players may use
any combination of their two hole cards and the
five cards on the "Board" (Table) to form the highest
five-card hand. In some rare cases the best hand
will be the five cards on board. Don't count on
that happening too often. In that case the active
players will split the pot. A sixth card is never
used to break a tie.
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