Texas Hold’em is one the most popular poker variation currently since it is used in some of the most high profile poker tournaments like World Poker Tour and the WSOP. Those who are new to the game and are interesting in learning in should go through the basic rules which are listed below:
The Betting Variations
There are three variations in betting in Texas Hold’Em:
Limit Hold’em – in this type of variation the amount that a player raises or bets is fixed. Any bet which is placed before the fourth community card is a small bet and would be equal to the big blind bet. A bet placed after that would be the big bet and would be twice the amount of the big blind.
Pot limit hold’em- in this variation there would not be any fixed bets. Players can raise and bet up to the amount which has been accumulated in the pot till that point of time. This would also include the bets on the table plus the player’s call.
No limit- in no limit games players are free to bet or raise as much as they want. They can go all in at any point in the game.
In the no limit and pot limit games the minimum raise or bet amount would be equal to big bet but once a player raises the minimum amount for re-raise would be equal to that last raise.
The Button and the Blinds
In casinos there is a dealer and a button which is used for these games. The button is just a disk which is rotated among the players on the table clock wise. In Texas Hold’em blinds would have to be placed before the hole cards are dealt. However, only two players would have to put in these binds, the small blind and the big blind clockwise. The big blind would be double the small blind. In limit games the big blind would be equal to small blind.
The player who is sitting left of the big blind player would be the first one to act and can either fold, call or raise the hand. The play would continue and there would not be any other forced blinds. The button would be rotated among the players for all hands.
Side Pots
The side pot would be created when you play poker and a player calls a bet but does not have enough money to cover it or when a player raises if another player has already gone all in. At this point the main pot would only have the chips that all the players have contributed equally to. The other chips would go to the side pot and cannot be won by a player who went all in since he/she did not contribute to it. There could be more than one side pots if more than one players have gone all in.
After the showdown the last pot would be the first one to be awarded and the main pot would be the last one. Any player who folds before the showdown would not be able to win anything.