From its humble beginnings, Texas Holdem is now by far the most popular form of poker in the world.
It wasn’t even a well-known game until the World Series of Poker began, which brought together the best poker players of the day who preferred that style of poker. No Limit Holdem became the main game at the WSOP, and has been since then. There are many different tournaments at the WSOP, but No Limit Texas Holdem is the great father of them. Two other things really influenced the rise of Texas Holdem. With the advent of internet poker, Texas Holdem took over the role of king as it was by far the most popular online game. With the skyrocketing popularity that came with it, there was a lot more television coverage, and Texas Holdem was the game that was played on television as well, which it introduced to even more people.
While there is a lot of hype surrounding Texas Holdem, it’s a lot more than just hype that makes it so popular. While traditional forms of poker played individual hands, in Texas Holdem each player is only dealt two cards, with the other 5 cards being dealt in the middle of the table and available to all players for the best possible 5-card hand.
What makes Holdem so exciting is that with the community cards involved, the players’ hands are much more likely to be closer together in strength. This is because they use a lot of the same cards. Tighter hands mean more action and more excitement. This also makes the strategy you will be using more complicated and extensive, which is why Texas Holdem is known as the thinking man’s game. It’s very easy to learn, but you can play for decades and still see how you do better.
Texas Holdem hand rankings
Hand rankings follow normal poker rules, and this is one thing that is consistent across all forms of poker. Hands that both have the same suit and are also consecutive, which means both a straight and a flush, are the best hand. Next up is four of a kind, followed by a full house that is both three of a kind and a pair, then flushes, straights, three of a kind, two pairs, a pair, and finally a high card.
Texas Holdem game
The players take turns as the dealer, as is common in poker. Before each hand is dealt, the two players immediately to the left of the dealer post the blinds. This is a set amount that these players must put into the pot. The first player on the left posts half of the big blind and the player on his left posts the full amount. If there are only two players called heads up, the dealer will be the half-blind and the other player will be the full-blind.
Each player receives two down cards. This is followed by a round of betting known as the pre-flop round. The player to the left of the big blind starts the thing, this is called the position under the gun. The big blind is used as a bet and players can call, raise, or fold the big blind, known as a limp. The action will continue until it is completed. This happens when either all but one of the players have folded or the highest stake has been requested from the remaining players.
The next round starts with three cards in the middle called the flop. After that there are two more rounds known as the turn and river, collectively known as post-flop betting. The train and the river each consist of an additional card that is dealt. A total of 5 cards are dealt in the middle in three rounds, with the last card appearing on the river card after the action is completed.