Rules of Texas Holdem  

Texas Holdem  - Rules of Play

 The rules of Texas holdem are pretty easy and anyone can learn and start playing within minutes. Just follow these steps and you are on you way

• Agree who the dealer is. You can either

• Have a dedicated dealer who is not playing on the table. If you have a dedicated dealer then the blind moves round the table, but the dealer is constant. With a dedicated dealer the small blind always starts to the left of the dealer, it will then move clockwise with every new hand.
• Take turns at dealing. To select the first dealer, deal the cards out face up to each player until an ace is turned over. Which ever player gets the ace is the first dealer. Play is always clockwise from selected dealer, with each new dealer being to the left of the last dealer
• Play on line then the dealer is automatically picked and so is the blinds.

• The player to the left of the dealer always posts the small blind and the person to the left of the small blind always posts the big blind.

• You have to agree before playing what the blinds are, the big blind is the minimum single bet that a player can make, and the small blind is always half this. For example a $5/$10 table means that the small blind is $5 and the big blind is $10. It also tells you that $10 is the minimum bet you can make.

• The blinds are bet before the deal, this guarantees at least 2 bets.

• The dealer deals out 2 cards to each player, cards are dealt out one at a time to each player. These can be called the pocket cards. - The cards are dealt face down.

• Once each player has their pocket cards the person to the left of the big blind either matches the big blind, raises or folds. Each player gets this opportunity; if a player raises the bet then the betting goes back round the table. This continues round to the big blind where they have can either check, raise or fold. If the big blind raises the bet then the betting continues round the table again. If the big blind checks or folds and all the players still in the game have the same bets then the first round is over and the deal continues.

• Before the dealer deals any more cards they must discard the top card. This is called burning a card. The dealer then deals out the first three community cards. These are called The Flop.

• This time the first person to bet is whichever player to the left of the dealer is still playing. Players then have the opportunity to check, raise or fold, any raise must either be met or the player must fold. This continues round the table until it gets back to the player to the left of the dealer and all bets are equal.

• The dealer then burns another card and deals the fourth community card. This card is called The Turn.

• The first person to bet is whichever player to the left of the dealer is still playing. Players then have the opportunity to check, raise or fold, any raise must either be met or the player must fold. This continues round the table until it gets back to the player to the left of the dealer and all bets are equal.

• The dealer then burns another card and deals the fifth and last community card. This card is called The River.

• The first person to bet is whichever player to the left of the dealer is still playing. Players then have the opportunity to check, raise or fold, any raise must either be met or the player must fold. This continues round the table until it gets back to the player to the left of the dealer and all bets are equal.

• Once this is finished whichever players are left turn over their pocket cards and declare their best 5 card hand from the 5 community cards and the 2 cards in their own hand.

• The best declared hand wins the pot.

• In some instances the 5 community cards may be the best hand available, if 2 or more players have hands that are equal then they will split the pot.

• If at anytime during the hand players fold and there is only 1 player left, then that player will win what ever the pot is at that time and the hand is finished and a new hand will start.

Additional Rules.

• No Limit - This means that there is no limit to the maximum amount you can be.

• Pot limit bets - This means that you can never bet more than is in the pot at any one time. Somepeopel prefer this type of play. It makes the overall play time longer and minimises you risk of getting knocked out as ther betting is  smaller. You also tend to get to the river in most hands, and its not until then that the value of bets gets to a decent size.

• Capped - this means that the maximum anyone can bet is capped.

• All in bets. If the game is no limit then players can go all in. This is where it gets confusing. A player can have the least amount of chips and go all in, players then match this bet. All the bets then go into a side pot and the betting continues. At the end of the hand the players still in, will play first for the remaining bets and whoever has the highest cards will win the pot. This player will then compare their cards with the person who went all in. Who ever has the best hand will then win the side pot. This gets even more confusing when there are more than 1 side pots. Its easy when playing on line because the computer works it all out for you, but if playing at home it’s a nightmare.

• Miss called hands. If a player miss declares their hand then that is their own risk, only the declared hand stands. Not a problem on line because the computer works it out, can cause grief when playing face to face. That’s why it’s best to get the rules clear before playing. See our copy of our house rules.

• Blinds. Agree the level of blinds and if they are to be raised during the order of play.