Texas Hold’em – the most popular poker game!
There are a number of different games in poker but Texas Hold’em is the most common one played today. Texas Hold’em is a game that can be played either with or without limits.
The game is usually played with about nine players and the cards are dealt in a clockwise fashion.
Two players to the left of the button – a reference to the white chip indicating who the dealer is – place a bet called a blind. The nearest places a small blind and the furthest away places a big blind.
A small blind is typically half of the minimum bet required, whereas the big blind is a full minimum. The button moves to the next player on the left after each round.
The poker cards are then dealt as follows:
Each player starting with the first blind receives two cards, face down, the last cards being taken by the button or dealer. Once the cards have been given out betting starts with the person on the left of the player who made the big blind.
This first round is called the pre-flop and players in turn decide to call, raise or fold.
When the betting reaches the small blind, they have a choice of calling, raising or completing their blind which simply means adding to it to make up the full initial bet.
The big blind on the other hand can check (place no bet), raise or fold. Checking is often the best option rather than folding.