Texas Holdem Poker
Texas Holdem (or simply, "Holdem") is the most popular poker game in the casinos
and poker card rooms across North America and Europe. Driven by the popularity
of big events such as the
World Poker Tour and the World
Series of Poker, playing Texas Hold'em has become a big enough pastime that
many people have begun playing online at sites like 4FunPoker.
Before you begin playing Texas Holdem however, you'll want to learn the rules
first. In Texas Hold'em, each poker player is dealt two cards (known as "hole
cards") that belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up
on the "board". All players in the game use these cards in conjunction with
their own hole cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand. To view the
rankings of poker hands, visit our
poker hand ranks page.
The three major variations of Texas Holdem are distinguished from each other by
their betting limits:
- Limit Texas Holdem: There is a
specified betting limit in each game and on each round of betting.
- No Limit Texas Holdem: A player can
bet all of his chips at any time.
- Pot Limit Texas Holdem: A player
can bet what is in the pot.
Each of these Texas Hold'em variations are available online to play for free
(play money).
How to Play Texas Holdem
If you would prefer to learn to play Texas Holdem using a more hands-on
method, we offer
free poker games in our poker room for you to practice your poker skills.
Just visit our free poker
download
page, install our award winning poker software and you'll be learning Texas
Hold'em in no time.
However, if you'd rather familiarize yourself with the rules of Texas Hold'em
first, then these instructions should help.
The Blinds
In Texas Holdem, a disc called "the button" indicates which player is the
nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player
immediately clockwise the button posts the "small blind", typically half a small
bet (for example, $1 in a $2/$4 game). The player immediately clockwise from the
small blind posts the "big blind", which is always a full small bet ($2 in a
$2/$4 game). Now each player receives his or her two hole cards.
Pre-Flop
After seeing his or her pocket cards, each player now has the option to play his
or her hand by calling or raising the big bet. As mentioned before, the big bet
is the size of a full small bet. Thus in a $2/$4 Texas Hold'em game, it would
cost $2 to call in this initial round of betting (known as the "pre-flop").
In Texas Holdem the available actions are bet, call or raise. These options are
available depending on the action taken by the previous player. Each poker
player always has the option to fold. The first player to act has the option to
bet, call or raise. Subsequent players have the option of calling or raising. To
call is to bet the same amount as the previous player has bet. To raise is to
match the previous bet and increase the bet.
Now, the "flop" is dealt face-up on the board. The flop consists of the first
three community poker cards available to all active players. Betting begins with
the active player immediately clockwise the button. All bets and raises occur in
small bets (increments of $2 in a $2/$4 game). The same rules apply from above
to complete this round of poker betting.
Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game.
Explanations of the betting action in limit holdem, no-limit holdem, and
pot-limit holdem can be found below.
The Flop
Now three cards are dealt face-up on the board - this is known as the flop. In
Texas Hold'em, the three cards on the flop are community cards available to all
players still in the hand. Betting begins with the active player immediately
clockwise of the button. All bets and raises occur in small bets (increments of
$2 in a $2/$4 game).
When betting action is completed for the flop round, the "turn" is dealt face-up
on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in a Texas Hold'em poker
game. Play begins with the active online player immediately clockwise the
button. On this round, Same rules apply as above except that poker betting
doubles from the small bet to the big bet. In a $2/$4 game, betting on the turn
is done in $4 increments.
The Turn
When the betting action is completed for the flop round, the "turn" is dealt
face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in Texas Hold'em.
Play begins with the active player immediately clockwise of the button. On this
round, the betting doubles from the small bet to the big bet. Thus, in a $2/$4
game, betting on the turn is upped to $4 bets.
The River
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the "river" is dealt
face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in a Texas
Hold em game. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise the
button and the same poker rules apply as they do in the fourth card explained
above.
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the "river" is dealt
face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in a Texas
Hold'em game. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise of the
button and the same hold'em rules apply as they do on the turn.
The Showdown
If there is more than one remaining poker player when the final betting round is
complete playing Texas Hold'em, the last bettor or raiser shows his or her
cards. If there was no bet on the final round, the player immediately clockwise
the button shows his or her cards first. The player with the best five-card hand
wins the Texas Hold'em pot. In the event of identical hands, the poker pot will
be equally divided between the players with the best hands.
At the end of the final betting round, if there is more than one remaining poker
player, the last bettor or raiser shows his or her cards first. If there was no
bet on the final round, the player immediately clockwise the button shows his or
her cards first. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot. In the
event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players
with the best hands. Texas Hold'em rules state that all suits are equal, so
split pots are more common than in other variations of poker.
After the pot is awarded, a new game of Texas Hold'em is ready to be played. The
button now moves clockwise to the next player and new hands are dealt to each
player.
Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit Holdem
Texas Hold'em rules remain the same for limit, no limit and pot limit poker
games, with a few exceptions:
Limit Texas Hold'em
In Limit Texas old'em a maximum of four bets is allowed per player during any
betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap
(final raise), but in No Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Texas Hold'em there
is no limit to the number of raises that a player can make.
No Limit Texas Hold'em
Minimum raise: In no limit Texas Hold'em, the raise amount must be at
least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if
the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of
$5 (total bet of $10).
Maximum eligible raise:: The size of your stack (your chips on the table)
Pot Limit Texas Hold'em
Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous
bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets
$5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).
Maximum raise: The size of the poker pot, which is defined as the total
of the active pot plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player
must first call before raising.
Learn How to Play Texas Holdem for Free
If you want to learn how to play Texas Hold'em, then
download
the 4FunPoker software and join any one of our
free poker
games where you can play online against other players. We hope to see you in our poker room
and good luck at the tables!
Other Poker Game Pages
Texas Holdem isn't the only poker game available at 4FunPoker. We also offer
the following games:
You'll probably also be interested in visiting our pages about our poker
room in general. You can find information about the following subjects:
Thanks for visiting our guide to Texas Holdem at 4FunPoker.
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