Texas Hold’em Basics
Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular and exciting form of poker available to players today. With the explosion and success of major televised tournament events, No Limit Texas Hold’em has become the player’s favorite type of poker.
Texas Hold’em, also known simply as Hold’em, is a poker game in which each player receives two cards (hole cards) dealt face down, while five community cards are dealt face up on the table throughout four betting rounds. The object of the game is to win the pot that players invest in by betting during the various rounds. All players play their best five cards using any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards on the table. The best five-card poker hand among those in contention for the pot wins.
There are three different types of Texas Hold’em Poker games, made different by their betting structures
No Limit Texas Hold’em
In No Limit Texas Hold’em, the minimum amount a player can bet must be equal or greater than the big blind and a raise must equal or be greater then the last bet or raise within the same round. There is no maximum amount to bet, a player may bet his entire stack at any time. The number of raises is only limited to a player’s chips total.
Pot Limit Texas Hold’em
In Pot Limit Texas Hold’em, the minimum amount a player can raise must equal or be greater than the last bet or raise within the same round. The maximum a player may bet is equal to the amount in the pot including his call before making the raise. (Example; a player‘s call is $5 and the pot is $20, he may raise to a maximum of $50. His call of $5 brings the pot to $25 and he may raise the amount equal to the pot of $25, thus the raise is $25.)
Limit Texas Hold’em
In Limit Texas Hold’em, players must bet a pre-determined fixed amount per each round. The betting amount is equal to the big blind for the first two rounds of betting and doubles up for the last two rounds of betting. A maximum of 4 bets is allowed per round which includes a bet and three raises. (Example; in a $5/$10 Limit Texas Hold’em game, players must bet $5 and raise by $5 up to a maximum of $20 for the pre-flop and flop rounds, they must bet $10 and raise by $10 up to a maximum of $40 for the turn and river round).
