LIMIT HOLD'EM
Hold'em or Texas Hold'em uses a standard 52 card deck. To
start a fresh game each player is dealt one card face up and the player
with the highest card is the hypothetical starting dealer and a white
dealer chip, called the "button" is placed on the table in
front of that player. In a tie a second card is dealt to break the tie.
After the dealer is established the first two players to
the left of the dealer must post blinds which are bets on the table
before any cards are dealt to create betting action on the first round.
The first player to the left must post a "small blind", which
is half of the minimum bet allowed on the table. The second player to
the left must post a "big blind", which is equal to the
minimum bet on the table. For example a table may have stakes of $1/$2,
in which the small blind would be $.50 and the big blind would be $1. In
tournament games the stakes will increase as a certain number of hands
are played or by the time that has elapsed and the blinds would also
increase.
After the blinds are on the table the dealer deals 2 cards
face down to each player starting with the player to the left and
dealing one card at a time to each player left of the previous player
dealt. These are also known as "pocket cards". Players may
look at these cards.
Next is the start of the first betting round, which already
has a bet on the table, which is the big blind. The player left of the
big blind is the first to choose whether to "fold",
"call" or "raise". Folding is throwing your cards
face down and ending any further playing in this hand. Calling is
matching the bet placed on the table. Raising is matching the bet on the
table and placing another bet on the table, which is equal to the
original bet. Once the player has made a decision the turn passes to the
next player to the left to make the same decision, where calling would
include any previous raise and and raising would be considered a
"re-raise". When it becomes the turn of the player who posted
the small blind or the big blind, the blind is added to the chips used
to match the bet. If the original bet was not raised before the player
with the big blind has a turn, that player then has the ability to check
or raise the original bet. If any player has raised, the turn then goes
to each player again to fold, call or raise until every player who
hasn't folded has an equal amount at stake and then all chips are added
together to form the "pot". Three total raises are allowed
during each hand. If all but one player decides to fold the hand is
ended and the remaining player collects the pot.
When the first round of betting is over the dealer deals
three cards face up in the middle of the table, called the
"flop". The flop are the first three of five cards which are
called "community cards". Each player uses these cards, in
addition with the pocket cards, to form a five card poker hand. The flop
is followed by a second round of betting, which begins with the first
player to the left of the dealer who hasn't folded. Players this round
have the ability to check if no other bet was made previously. Otherwise
the second round is the same as the first.
When the second round of betting is over the dealer deals
one card face up called the "turn" or "fourth
street". This is added to the community cards. The turn is followed
by a third round of betting, which is the same as the second, but the
stakes are doubled. For example, playing on a $1/$2 table, the first two
rounds are a $1 minimum bet and following betting rounds are a $2
minimum bet.
When the third round of betting is over the dealer deals
one last card face up called the "river" or "fifth
street". This is also added to the community cards. The river is
then followed by a fourth and final round of betting, which is the same
as the third round.
When the final betting round is over it is time for the
"showdown", which is when the last player that placed a bet on
the table and was called by another player, shows and declares the best
five card hand that was formed by using the five community cards and the
two pocket cards. The other players then have the choice to show their
hands and beat the other players or do not show their hand, called
"mucking" and have no claim on the pot. The player with the
highest ranked hand wins and collects the pot. If two players have the
same hand and have not used five cards, the player holding the highest
card, called the "kicker" wins the hand. If all five cards are
used to form identical hands, the pot is split between all matching
hands.
At the end of each hand the button is moved to the player to the left
and that player becomes the dealer for the next hand.
NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
No-limit hold'em is the same as limit hold'em except that a
player at any time on their turn can bet or raise any amount they choose
up to the amount they own on the table. A player can still call a bet if
they have less than that amount, called being "all in", the
remaining amount of the bet goes into a side pot where only players who
bet into the side pot are eligible to win it
POT-LIMIT HOLD'EM
Pot-limit hold'em is the same as
no-limit hold'em except that a player can only bet or raise up to the
amount of the pot, including any bets currently on the table.
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