Basic Poker Lesson
TEXAS HOLD’ EM - INTRODUCTION
Texas Hold ’Em is now the best known form of poker. The
7-card game is easy to under-stand, offering excitement for
beginner and expert alike. Famous as being the game of choice
for the top professionals, and played at the World Series of
Poker in Las Vegas, Texas Hold ‘Em has rapidly become
the most played form of poker across the world. The aim of the
game is to make the best 5-card hand possible with any of the
7 cards dealt.
HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED
In a full ring game, Texas Hold'em is played with a standard
52-card deck and as many as 10 participants. A dealer "button"
is used to indicate the position of the player who would be
dealing the cards if the players were actually dealing the cards
themselves. The player holding the button acts last and thus
has a positional advantage that remains throughout the hand.
After each hand, the button is moved one position clockwise,
so that all players in the game have, after a full round, had
exactly the same number of opportunities to hold positional
advantage.
Dealer Button
In front of a selected player is a disc called the Dealer button.
This disc displays which order the cards are to be dealt (moving
clockwise) and rotates around the table moving one player to
the left after each hand. Holding the button is an advantage,
because as the player to act last, you have more information
available to you when your turn to bet arrives. For exactly
the same reasons, being forced to act first is a disadvantage.
The players acting in the middle are, as you might guess, somewhere
in-between as regards advantage/disadvantage; the later you
act, the better your position.
Before the first cards are dealt, the player immediately to
the left of the dealer button must post a ‘small blind’.
The player to his/her left must post a ‘Big Blind’
- that is the amounts they place in the pot before they see
their cards.
Blinds
The ‘small blind’ player must post an amount equal
to half the minimum bet, e.g. 50p for a £1/£2 game.
Likewise, the ‘big blind’ player must equal the
minimum bet, e.g. £1 for a £1 game. Blinds are placed
in the pot to trigger the betting and give all players an incentive
to enter the hand. It also means that the winner of the hand
will always collect a pot.
(Please use DV8 table screen shot instead showing blinds like
this one)
Hole Cards
To start with, you’ll receive two hole cards – also
called “pocket cards” – which are dealt face
down on the table (which only you will be able to see). These
cards belong exclusively to their "owners," and are
not seen by the other players at any time until the showdown
at the end of the hand. A round of betting takes place during
this point, which is called "before the flop" or "pre-flop."
In the pre-flop betting round, the player in third position
has only three choices. Because a blind wager has already been
made, the player can select from any of the following three
choices:
1. Fold – decide that your cards aren’t
good enough to win the hand.
2. Call – match the big blind stake and stay in the betting.
3. Raise – up the stakes, meaning your opponents will
have to match your amount or fold. If you have staked the big
blind you can “check”, i.e. you remain in the hand
for free. But if another player bets, you will have to match
his stake to stay in. Please note, the stakes can only be raised
three times during each round of betting. This (and the next)
round of betting is set at the lower level of table stakes.
For example, in a £1/£2 game, all raises are increments
of £1.
How much the player can raise depends on whether the game is
limit, pot-limit, or no-limit. For ease of discussion, we will
assume the game played in our sample hand is Limit Texas Hold'em
poker, with £5 and £10 blinds, which means it is
a "10-20 game."
If he calls, he places £10 in the pot. If he raises, he
places £20 in the pot. The action continues in clockwise
fashion around the table, with each player in turn having the
option to fold, call or raise. If the third or another player
has raised, the player who acts after the raiser must now decide
whether he wishes to call £20, or raise to £30.
There is a limit on the number of raises per round; in some
casinos for example, the limit is three raises, and in some,
it is four raises. DV8poker.com uses the 4-raise rule.
Let us assume that the third player does indeed raise to £20,
and that everyone else folds until the button, who calls for
£20. Now, the player in the small blind must decide if
he is going to call for £15, or raise to £25 (because
he already had £5 in the pot). If he calls, the big blind
must decide if he is going to call for £10 or raise another
£10. If no one had raised the player in the big blind
would have an opportunity to raise, called "the option,"
because he was forced to bet his original £10 without
having looked at his cards.
(Please use DV8 table screen shot instead)
The Flop!
With the pre-flop betting complete, the dealer now deals out
three cards face-up. In Texas Hold'em, these "community"
cards belong to everyone, and these three cards are called "the
flop." Now the game is about to get interesting! Three
cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are
communal cards, i.e. every player can use them to try and make
the best hand possible from a combination of their 2 hole cards
and these cards.
A second round of betting follows.
In the second betting round, the player closest to the left
of the button, who is still in the hand, acts first. Unlike
the first betting round, though, where the options were "call,
raise or fold," now the options are:
1. Check, which means to decline to wager now but to retain
the option to call or raise bets made by other players; or
2. Bet, in this case, because of the game's structure, £10.
Why this difference? On the first round, the blind money was
placed in the pot to give the players a reason to play. If there
were no blinds in Texas Hold'em, there would be very little
incentive for a player to enter a hand without the absolute
best possible cards, because there would be nothing to win.
As the first player in, you would be risking your £10
bet to win nothing; the only way you could win something would
be if someone after you decided to call or raise your bet, and
one would assume that the player after you, knowing that you
had a strong hand (because you were the first to bet) would
only raise or call with a strong hand himself).
The blinds thus give players something to shoot at, a reason
to play with something less than the best hand. But once we
reach the flop, there is already money in the pot, so there
is no longer a need for blinds, and the first player can choose
to bet £10, or to check.
It is possible in Texas Hold'em, and indeed happens reasonably
often, that all players still in the hand will check, meaning
that there is no betting action on the flop. But if someone
bets, the players must decide whether they are going to call
or raise, and the same limit on the number of raises in a round
applies.
The Turn (Or Fourth Street)
A fourth communal card is now dealt face up in the middle of
the table, which is called the ‘Turn’ card. Again,
this card can be used by every player to improve their hand.
In limit Texas Hold'em poker, the size of the betting amount
now doubles, to £20 (which is why this game is called
a "10-20" game). The greater bet size aside, the process
of betting and checking is identical to that on the flop.
The River (Or Fifth Street)
Now it’s time for the last card of the round, the River
card. This is the fifth community card is dealt face up in the
middle of the table
You now have seven cards from which to choose:
2 Hole Cards (closed)
3 Flop Cards (open)
1 Turn Card (open)
1 River Card (open)
You must now select the best possible five-card hand from the
above. At the end of this fourth round of betting, any players
still remaining in the hand turn their cards over. (If at any
point during the hand, one player makes a bet that all others
decline to call, the hand is over immediately, and the player
who made the final wager takes the pot without the need to show
his cards.) In Texas Hold'em, the player who can assemble the
best five-card hand, out of the seven possible (the two in their
hands and the five in the middle) wins the pot.
The players can thus use two, one, or none of their "private"
first two cards. Although it is unusual to use none of one's
private cards, it is possible, if the five cards on the board
form a strong hand such as a straight, flush, or full house.
If, for example, two players remained in the Texas Hold'em hand
at the end, one of whose private cards were two kings (K-K),
and one of whose private cards were two aces (A-A), and the
board was 5-6-7-8-9, the players would split the pot, because
each has exactly the same nine-high straight. Before the river
card, the player with the two aces had a very large advantage,
but the concluding nine cost him half the pot (as would have
a concluding Four, which also would have put a straight on the
board).
We have a winner!
The player with the best five cards is the winner of the round
and subsequently takes the pot. If there are multiple winners
with the same hand, the pot is split between these players.
Let’s Go Round Again!
After the pot has been handed to the winner(s), the dealer button
moves left one player and a new hand begins.
Learn More About Pot- Limit Texas Hold'em
Learn More About No-Limit Texas Hold’em
POT LIMIT TEXAS HOLD'EM POKER GAME RULES
If you are familiar with the rules for Limit Texas Hold'em,
you will not need to learn too much more to understand our rules
for Pot Limit Texas Hold'em.
Pot-Limit involves blinds, just as Limit does, and in our Pot-Limit
games you have a choice of $.50/$1 and $1/$2 blinds. However,
from here, Limit and Pot-Limit change dramatically.
In Pot-Limit, any player is allowed (assuming he has enough
chips in front of him at the start of the hand to do so) to
raise any amount within a certain range. This range is defined
by the size of the pot at the time it is the player's turn to
act.
The minimum allowable raise is either the size of the previous
bet or the size of the previous raise, depending on whether
the last action was a bet or a raise.
The maximum allowable raise is the size of the pot. Sometimes
players in brick and mortar casinos have difficulty calculating
this because of the rule that allows a player first to call
the previous bet and then to bet the size of the pot, including
that call. In on-line games, although you should still understand
how the process works, our system software will calculate the
proper raise range allowed and will not allow a player to make
a raise too small or too large.
To see how the calculation of the raise limit would work, let's
assume you are playing in a game where the blinds are $1-$2.
The next player to act can fold, call the $2, or raise by placing
any amount between $4 and $7 in the pot. If the player bets
$4, he has raised the minimum, because the previous bet was
$2, and he is doubling that. If the player bets $7, he is betting
the maximum, because he is first calling the $2 blind bet, creating
a total pot size of $5, and then raising the size of the pot.
The $2 call plus the $5 raise yields the $7 bet.
Let's assume, to continue the example, that the first player
to act does indeed bet the maximum $7. The pot now contains
$12. This would mean that the next player to act could fold,
call the $7 bet, or raise by betting an amount somewhere in
the range between $14 and $24. This is the proper range because
the minimum raise is $7 (the size of the previous bet) and the
maximum raise is $19 (calculated by calling the $7 bet and then
raising the size of the now $19 pot).
As you can see, if several players in a row decide to make pot-sized
raises, the size of a pot can escalate rather dramatically.
This is why we usually recommend that beginning players start
off by playing limit poker before moving on to the more difficult
(but for many, more fun and challenging) pot-limit form of poker.
Players may not bring additional chips to the table in the middle
of a hand, but can always decide to bring more chips to the
table in between hands.
If a player bets more chips than you have in front of you, you
are not forced out of the hand. You are allowed to call for
whatever number of chips you have. If no one else is in the
pot, the bettor simply takes back his excess chips, and the
hand is played to conclusion without any additional betting.
If there are other players remaining in the pot, it is possible
that a side pot may be created.
Side Pots
Side pots also happen frequently in limit poker, but because
the bets are larger in Pot-Limit, the situation tends to occur
a bit more frequently here. Let's look at an example involving
three players, Andy, Bob, and Chuck. When the hand starts, Andy
has $100 in chips, Bob has $40, and Chuck has $250. The blinds
are $0.50-$1.
In the pre-flop betting, Andy opens the hand for the maximum
$3.50, and Bob and Chuck each call, with everyone else folding.
This puts $12 in the main pot.
After the flop, Andy decides to bet the size of the pot, $12.
Bob would like to make the maximum raise possible, which would
entail a bet of $36 (calling the $12 creates a pot of $24, which
would then be the maximum raise), but he only has $35 left,
so he bets that much, creating a pot of $59.
If Chuck also likes his hand, he has two options. The first
is simply to call Bob's $35 bet. If he does this, Andy has three
options.
1. He could fold, leaving Bob and Chuck to contest a pot in
which there could be no more betting (because Bob is out of
chips).
2. He could call, creating a total pot of $117 ($59 + $35 +
Andy's $23 call). If Andy chooses to call, Bob is "live"
(eligible for) the entire $117 main pot, but any betting on
the turn or river will create a "side pot" for which
only Andy or Chuck will be eligible to win. If either Andy or
Chuck makes a bet on the turn or river that the other is unwilling
to call, the player folding loses all right to contest not merely
the side pot but the main pot as well.
3. He could raise. Andy theoretically could wager an amount
as large as $129 (the $59 pot plus Chuck's $35 call create a
pot of $94; so if he had enough chips, Andy could call the $35
and then raise the $94), but Andy doesn't have this much left
in front of him, and he cannot buy chips in the middle of the
hand. If Andy wants to raise, he is limited to what he has in
front of him, which in this case is $84.50 (of his starting
$100 stack, he already bet $3.50 before the flop and $12 on
the flop).
If Andy does put in this $84.50 bet, Bob has no decision to
make. All of his chips are already in the pot and he cannot
be forced out by another bet. Chuck, however, must decide whether
or not to call (he can't raise, because Andy has no chips with
which to call a raise).
If Chuck calls Andy's $84.50 bet (and to do so, he need put
only $49.50 in the pot, because that was all Andy was raising),
a side pot of $99 is created, because $35 of this wager is "allocated"
to the main pot that all three players are contesting. Bob cannot
win this $99, even if he has a royal flush. The $99 side pot
is contested only between the two players who put money into
it, Andy and Chuck.
Although we have chosen to show you examples involve large sums,
the same principles apply in smaller pot-limit games. Very experienced
pot-limit players in brick and mortar card rooms learn how to
calculate minimum and maximum bets, as well as side pots, fairly
quickly, but fortunately the difficulty of these calculations
is removed online, with our system software imposing minimum
and maximum wagers appropriate to the situation.
NOT A RECOMMENDED GAME FOR BEGINNERS
As you can see from the size of the potential raises, in Pot-Limit
all of your chips can be at risk on any one hand. While this
creates the potential for huge wins, it also creates the potential
for large losses. For this reason, we at UltimatePoker.com recommend
that novice players start off with limit poker, and only move
into Pot-Limit after they gain a significant amount of experience.
Pot-Limit tournaments are also an excellent place to gain experience
in Pot-Limit without risking huge sums.
NO LIMIT TEXAS HOLD'EM
POKER GAME RULES
If you are familiar with the rules for Limit Texas Hold'em,
you will not need to learn too much more to understand our rules
for No-Limit Texas Hold'em.
No-Limit involves blinds, just as Limit does, and in our No-Limit
games you have a choice of $.10/$.25 and $.25/$.50 blinds. However,
from here, limit and no-limit change dramatically.
In No-Limit, any player is allowed to raise any amount he or
she has in front of him at any time. If the blinds are $5-$10,
and the first player to act has $500 in front of him, and wants
to put all $500 in (a raise of $490), he may (even though a
raise of this size would probably be unusual).
The only confusing concept for players in No-Limit may involve
the MINIMUM size of raises that are allowed. The raise must
always be at least the size of the previous bet or raise. So,
for example, in a game with $5-$10 blinds, the first player
into the pot could not bet a total of $15, because that would
only be a raise of $5. The minimum bet in this situation would
be a bet of $20, which is a raise of $10.
In the more likely case that the first raiser makes a somewhat
larger bet, for example, a bet of $40 (which would be a raise
of $30), the next player could fold, call the $40, or raise.
If he raises, he would have to place at least $70 in the pot,
because his raise would have to be at least as much as the previous
raise. The only upper limit on the size of his raise is the
number of chips he has in front of him when the hand begins.
Players may not bring additional chips to the table in the middle
of a hand, but can always (unless they have run into their daily,
weekly, or monthly limit) decide to bring more chips to the
table in between hands.
If a player bets more chips than you have in front of you, you
are not forced out of the hand. You are allowed to call for
whatever number of chips you have (this will place you "all-in").
If no one else is in the pot, the bettor simply takes back his
excess chips, and the hand is played to conclusion without any
additional betting. If there are other players remaining in
the pot, it is possible that a side pot may be created.
Side Pots
Side pots occur in limit poker, but because the bets are larger
in No-Limit, the situation tends to occur a bit more frequently
here. Let's look at an example involving three players, Andy,
Bob, and Chuck. When the hand starts, Andy has $1,000 in chips,
Bob has $400, and Chuck has $2,500. The blinds are $5-$10.
In the pre-flop betting, Andy opens the hand for $50, and Bob
and Chuck each call. This puts $165 in the main pot.
After the flop, Andy decides to bet $500. Bob only has $350
left, but he likes his hand, and decides to call all-in for
his $350. If Chuck folds, $150 would be returned to Andy and
the hand would be played out without any further betting, because
Bob has nothing left to bet.
If, on the other hand, Chuck also likes his hand, he has two
options. The first is to call Andy's $500 bet. This would create
a $300 side pot between Andy and Chuck only; Bob is not eligible
for it, even if it turns out he has the best hand of the three
players. The main pot, for which Bob is eligible, contains the
$165 that went in before the flop, and $350 from each of the
three players ($1,050), for a total of $1,215. Bob is eligible
to win this, as, of course, are also Andy and Chuck.
Chuck might also decide that he REALLY likes his hand, and instead
of merely calling the $500 bet, he wants to move all-in. Because
the other player remaining in the hand (Andy) has only $450
left in front of him, this is really tantamount to raising Andy's
bet $450.
Even though raises are supposed to equal or exceed the preceding
bet, Chuck's bet is perfectly legal, because in No Limit players
are allowed to raise all of their remaining chips at any time,
just as players are always allowed to call for all their remaining
chips, even if they don't have enough to call a full bet.
If Andy decides to fold to Chuck's raise, Chuck and Bob remain
in the pot to contest the main pot of $1,215.
If Andy decides to call Chuck's all-in raise, we have two pots.
The main pot is $1,215, and will be awarded to whichever of
the three players holds the best hand. The side pot is $1,200.
Even if Bob has a royal flush, he cannot win this $1,200, because
he did not invest any of his money in it; he invested only $400
in the hand. Whoever has the better hand between Andy and Chuck
will win the side pot, and if it turns out that this hand is
also better than Bob's, it will win the main pot as well.
NOT A RECOMMENDED GAME FOR BEGINNERS
As you can see from the size of the potential raises, in No-Limit,
all of your chips can be at risk on any one hand. While this
creates the potential for huge wins, it also creates the potential
for large losses. For this reason, we at UltimatePoker.com recommend
that novice players start off with limit poker, and only move
into No-Limit after they gain a significant amount of experience.
No-Limit tournaments are an excellent place to gain experience
in No-Limit without risking huge sums.
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