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Texas Hold 'em Rules
Today, the game of Texas Holdem (sometimes written Texas Hold'em) is indeed the most popular poker variation. Many gambling industry insiders typically attribute this immense popularity to the combination of the following four factors: the advent of online poker, the appearance of Texas Holdem games in cinema and television, online poker rooms being advertised in all media outlets, and the incredible Chris Moneymaker phenomenon. Moneymaker was an online poker player who won entrance to the 2003 WSOP via online poker and went on to win the entire event. Many people, however, don't know Texas Holdem rules and we are here to help.
The ability of poker fans from all over the globe to join poker rooms on the cheap and anonymously over the Internet has been credited as the main reason why people find Texas Holdem such an appealing pastime, plus Texas Holdem rules are fairly simple to understand. Online card rooms both allow players to hone their gaming skills and take part in such celebrated land-based events like the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour via smaller satellite tournaments Both Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, 2003 and 2004 WSOP champions respectively, qualified by winning such tournaments.
Are you ready for some Holdem
Texas Holdem rules are fairly simple. Much like other poker games, the objective of Texas Holdem is to nab the jackpot. There are two ways to win the pot. Either on showdown time (when the remaining players reveal their hands and establish the strongest one), or when a player's opponents quit the game and abandon their claim to the coveted pot, usually the result of good poker strategy.
Place your bets
The game is typically played using two mandatory bets, the Small and the Big blinds. A dealer button is also used to indicate the player who serves as the dealer. Texas Holdem rules generally state the dealer button rotates in a clockwise direction after each played hand, but this can vary. The Small Blind is placed by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually worth 50% of the Big Blind. The Big Blind, placed by the player to the left of the Small Blind, is equal to the minimum allowed bet. These buy ins are part of the Texas Holdem rules and assure there are always some winnings in the pot.
The game kicks off with each player receiving two cards face down. These cards are the player's pocket cards. The hand starts with a "pre-flop" betting round. The player seated to the left of the big blind is the one to make the first move. A round of betting takes place until every participating player has either folded, gone all-in, or matched the amount placed in the pot by all the other players.
A few flops inbetween
After the pre-flop betting round, according to Texas Holdem rules, the dealer deals the Flop. These are three community cards placed on the board face up for all active players to share in an attempt to create the strongest five card hand. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all other rounds of betting begin with the player seated to the dealer's left and continue clockwise.
After the flop betting round ends the dealer deals the forth community card called the Turn, followed by a third betting round. A final community card, referred to as the River, is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown. Understanding the various Texas Holdem rules and play order is also vital to creating a good poker strategy.
The showdown and a winner
On the showdown, all the remaining players reveal their best five-card hands. Players must create their best poker hand out of two of their pocket cards and the five community cards. If two or more players share the best hand at the table, then the pot is split equally among them. It is important to remember that in Texas Holdem rules (along with Texas Hold'em rules) dictate that only the cards' numerical rank is of importance. Accordingly, suit value is completely disregarded.