Texas Hold'em

Good evening, I'm Cynthia Nunez and I here to discuss a game I'm quite fond of called "Texas Hold 'em". I'm sure you have seen this game while flipping through the channels and were curious about this phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. Texas hold 'em is a variation of poker and I'll explain how to get started and to play.

Object of the game

1. To make the best 5 card hand in poker (see illustration) using your "hole" cards along with the "community" cards. And of course to collect as many chips as possible.

Table structure

1. There can be up to 9 players per table and the action begins to the player "left" of the"big blind". I'll explain the "blinds" later.
2. Each player is dealt 2 cards faced down clockwise with the "small blind" dealt first, then the "big blind".
3. There will be a total of 5 community cards that are dealt in addition to each players 2 hole cards.

Community card structure

1. Flop - The flop is the first 3 cards that are dealt.
2. Turn - The 4th card that is dealt
3. River - The last and 5th card that is dealt.
   

Blinds

1. A blind is a forced bet that each player on the table will pay at one time or another. This is to initiate the action/bets. Small blind = 1/2 the big blind.

Betting
There will be a total of 4 rounds of betting. Players will be given the option to check, call, raise, re-raise or fold.

1. Checking is one of the options that are given if the player before you doesn't place an additional bet (raising).
2. Calling is to match the previous raise (if any).
3. Raising is to place a wager.
4. Re-raise is to raise on top of a raised wager.
5. Folding is to give up your hand without losing waging any additional money/chips.

Now that I have explained the betting terms, here are the times when you will be able to bet.

1. Pre-flop - This is the 1st round of betting that occurs after all the players receive their "hole" cards even before the "community cards are dealt"
2. After the flop - After the flop, the 2nd round of betting can occur.
3. After the turn - This is the 3rd round of betting that occurs after the 4th community card is dealt.
4. After the river - This is 4th and last round of betting that can occur after the 5th community card is dealt.

The game ends with the last round of betting occurs and whoever has the best 5 card hand (see illustration)

That my friends, is the Texas Hold 'em in a nutshell. Now go have fun! Hope this was informative and gives you all a little insight on the world of Hold 'em. Once you understand this basic structure of the game, you can play Texas hold 'em and even some of the many Texas hold em variants out there. Texas Hold em is an easy game to learn, just difficult to master. The "mastering" part is the costly part, especially in the traditional setting of a casino poker room. Thankfully, you can practice all you want for free in online poker rooms.