Texas
Holdem Rules
In Hold'Em players form a five-card
hand from seven available cards.
Only two cards are actually held
by the player as pocket cards.
The other five are open, dealt
to the middle of the table and
shared by all players. This means
there are less cards in play,
which is why Hold'Em typically
seats nine or more players at
the table.
The Seats
The dealer is marked by a disk
called the button. For each
hand the button rotates to the
left. Players are identified
by their seat position. The
dealer is seat one, the player
to the dealer's left is seat
two and so on, clockwise around
the table to the player on the
dealer's right.
Casino Hold'Em has a fixed
dealer and the button rotates
around the table simply to mark
the rotation of theoretical
dealer. Betting position significantly
affects a player's opportunities
so the button's position in
not simply symbolic.
Beginner Hold'Em games typically
starts with $1-$2 or $2-$4,
but the highest can be as much
as $500-$1000 or even more.
Instead of a small ante in 7-Stud,
Hold'Em uses two forced bets,
the blinds, to get Bets on the
table right from the beginning
of the game.
The Open
The first player to the dealer's
left - seat two - is the small
blind and must kick in half
the lower limit, $5 in a $10-$20
game. Seat three is the big
blind and must kick in the full
value of the lower limit or
$10 in a $10-$20 game.
The deal rotates clockwise
around the table beginning with
the player to the big blind's
left. Each player is dealt their
first card in turn, then their
second, and so on.
Since the blinds opened with
their forced bets, seat four,
the player to the big blind's
right, bets first. They Call
by matching the big blind ($10,
the lower limit) and may also
Raise by kicking in the big
limit, $20 in the $10-$20 example
game. In this round Checking
is not permitted. The blinds
in Hold'Em are live in that
they can Call, Raise or Fold.
The Flop
Once the first betting round
has completed, the dealer lays
out the first three community
cards in the center of the table.
This is called the flop. This
betting round begins with the
blinds, or the first remaining
seat on the dealer's left. Checking
is permitted now and for the
rest of the hand. Bets are placed
at the lower limit ($10).
A fourth community card it
dealt onto the table. Betting
begins with the blinds, as before.
Now, and for the rest of this
game, Bets and Raises are at
the high limit ($20). The turn
becomes the first expensive
street.
The fifth and final community
card is dealt. This is also
an expensive street: Bets and
Raises are all at the high limit
($20).
The Showdown
As in 7 Card Stud, the best
5 card hand wins. Players may
form their final hands from
any combination of the table
cards and their own pocket cards,
even ignoring the pocket cards
and using only the table cards.
In Hold'Em any player has option
to see another player's pocket
cards once they've been mucked.
Provided the requesting player
has Called or Raised the last
Bet made, they simply ask the
dealer and the mucked cards
will be retrieved and shown.
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