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Texas Hold'em
"The
Cadillac of Poker" has gotten a lot of attention lately in
televised celebrity and high-stakes poker games, and for good
reason! It's fun. It's solid. It's
intense. And for our purposes here, it can be played either
as a cash game or an all-in tournament game. This game is a
great deal about "reading" the other players; winning
hands tend to be very low. In a table of 5 or 6 players,
pairs or two-pairs will often win.
As a Cash Game:
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Everyone antes.
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The dealer deals two cards face
down to every player.
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A round of betting takes place,
starting to the left of the dealer.
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The dealer discards one card
from the deck (this is called "burning" it), then
deals the "flop": three communal cards, face
up. Everyone shares these cards.
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A round of betting takes place,
starting to the left of the dealer.
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The dealer burns another card,
then deals one card face up; this is the "turn."
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Another round of betting...
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The dealer burns another card,
then deals a final card face up; this is the
"river."
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A final round of betting takes
place.
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Whoever was "called"
shows cards first; players are able to use any
combination of five of the seven available cards (2 private
face-down cards, and 5 community cards).
As a No-Limit Tournament:
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In this version, everyone
must have bought in for the exact same amount, and no
additional buying in is allowed. Only Texas Hold'em can
be played - the dealer cannot call a different game.
Also, there are no longer antes (instead there are
"blinds"), and as the name suggests, there is no
limit on the amount that a player can bet.
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The person to the left of the
deal pays on basic unit (the "small blind") and the
person to the left of him pays two basic units (the
"big blind"). These blinds are played as if
the players actually bet one and two basic units,
respectively, on the first round of betting.
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The dealer deals two cards face
down to every player.
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Betting starts with the person
to the left of the player who posted the big blind. As
stated before, it's as if the small and big blind players had
bet one and two basic units, respectively; therefore,
every player must at least match the big blind to stay
in. They can also raise, or fold.
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The dealer discards one card
from the deck (this is called "burning" it), then
deals the "flop": three communal cards, face
up. Everyone shares these cards.
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A round of betting takes place,
starting to the left of the dealer. At this point,
"checking" (betting nothing) is an option.
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The dealer burns another card,
then deals one card face up; this is the "turn."
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Another round of betting...
-
The dealer burns another card,
then deals a final card face up; this is the
"river."
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A final round of betting takes
place.
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Whoever was "called"
shows cards first; players are able to use any
combination of five of the seven available cards (2 private
face-down cards, and 5 community cards).
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As the game progresses, the
blinds should increase in value; an easy way to do this
is to double the blind every time a player is eliminated from
the game.
A note on Tournaments: I've
found that it's best to end the night with a tournament.
That is, after playing a couple hours of cash games, then have a
little $5-buy-in Hold'em Tournament to cap off the night.
That way, people who get knocked out early can leave, knowing they
won't be missing anything afterward.
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