How to play poker Texas Hold'em. Texas Hold'em Rules

To start playing online poker-room, you need to learn the rules of Texas poker. They are not that difficult, but they include a lot of important nuances that the player needs to know. To better understand the rules, it is recommended after reading this article to play poker for free chips - this will help you understand the material faster and gain practical experience in real game... The presented material does not contain instructions on how to win at poker, but sets out the rules of playing Texas Poker for dummies. The illustrations accompanying the text will help you better understand what it is about!

The rules of the game of Texas Hold'em poker are partially similar to other card disciplines, but they have their own differences. Therefore, if you know how to play, for example, Five Card Poker or Oasis, you still need to study these rules.

The goal of playing Hold'em poker is to win the pot. The player has two possibilities to take the pot - to win it at showdown by opening a combination stronger than that of the opponents, or earlier, by knocking out all opponents from the bidding on any of the streets.

Texas Holdem Poker - table rules

The rules for playing Texas Hold'em poker can vary within the discipline itself. So, tables and tournaments for this type of poker can differ quite significantly in terms of the game. This must be taken into account, since knowledge of these features will be useful to you later when choosing tables and strategies. Hold'em tables can vary in the following ways:

Number of players - can be from 2 to 10, while a ceiling can be installed at the table for the number of free seats. For example, at a 2-max table only two people can play, and at a 9-max table - from two to nine. The minimum number of participants is always two! If you have sat down at a 6-max table where three players are sitting, at any time more poker players can sit down to you until all the seats are occupied.

Bet Limits - the table format may differ according to the betting rules. Therefore, there are three types of betting formats - no-limit, pot-limit and limit hold'em, the rules in which differ in the size of the maximum possible bet in the auction. So, when playing Limit Hold'em, the rules do not allow you to bet or raise more than the blind in the first two trades and more than two blinds in the following. V no limit game the maximum bet can be of any size, and in the pot limit - no more than the size of the pot.

The size of the required rates - at cash tables, the size of the obligatory bets does not change during the game. In tournaments, they gradually grow, with the exception of some exotic formats.

These rules are changeable - they can be different for two different tables. They should be taken into account when choosing a table, as the conditions of the game affect the strategy. V online poker rooms tables can be easily sorted by size and format of bets, as well as by the number of participants.

Mandatory bets and dealer

Before a new hand or a game at the table begins, the participants put down the mandatory bets - the blinds. Their size is negotiated in advance by the participants in the game (in an offline game) or by the table rules (in poker rooms). Since the blinds are posted alternately, they do not change from hand to hand, which puts all players on an equal footing (except in tournaments). The first to post the blinds are the two players to the left of the dealer.

Dealer Is a participant in the game who deals cards. However, if the cards are dealt to the dealer or automatically, as in online rooms, the dealer's position is still designated by a special chip - Button which moves clockwise.

The player who sits closer to the dealer makes a mandatory bet of the smaller size - the small blind, and the player sitting to his left - the big blind twice as large. In the next hand, the obligation to post the small blind is transferred to the poker player who previously posted the big blind, and he, in turn, is placed by the player sitting on the left, who did not bet in the previous hand.

Sometimes the Ante bet is also used, which can revive the game - make it more dynamic, since the pot will be larger and more attractive. Ante is a mandatory bet that is placed by all participants in each hand. But at cash tables, it is rarely used, but it can be present in tournaments, especially at high levels.

Texas Hold'em Rules - Deal of Cards

The rules of the game of Texas Hold'em poker provide for several streets of distribution of cards, for each of which there is a bidding. But we will dwell only on the cards so that you do not get confused. They are distributed in four stages, each of which has its own name:

Preflop - players receive two cards, while each participant in the game can only see his own. They are called pocket ones;

Flop - three cards are laid out on the table and are visible to all participants in the distribution (community cards or board);

Thorn - the fourth card is added to the general ones;

River - The fifth card is added to the general ones.

As a result, if the game reaches the last street, five community cards will be exposed on the table, plus two more will be in each player's hands. However, the game may not come to showdown, since the pot can be played out earlier in any of the four trades, which you will learn about later if you finish reading the rules of the game of Texas Poker for Dummies.

Hold'em Hand Rules

If you remember the goals of the game of Hold'em, which were described at the beginning of the article, then you should remember that one of the ways to get the bank in the distribution is to make winning combination... The rules of the Texas Hold'em poker game provide only for the classic high hands, which you can see in the illustration:

These combinations can be made on the basis of seven cards (five common and two pocket). Of the seven cards to build a hand, only five are selected to make the strongest hand. The strongest possible combination is made from the available set of cards! If the combination is five-card (Straight, Flush, etc.) all these five cards are included in its composition. If the combination requires only two, three or four cards, the highest cards are selected from the remaining cards and added to the combination, complementing it to a five-card hand. This can be understood by an example:

Here the player has three Aces, and of the seven available cards, four more remain, which are not included in the composed Three of Aces. Since the eldest of them are Lady and Eight, they are also part of the hand. In this case, the Queen becomes the kicker (as the highest card not included in the combination) and if the opponent also collected three Aces, it is compared with his kicker.

The combinations are compared with each other only at showdown! If the distribution ends earlier, they do not make any sense and do not affect the determination of the winner. If the showdown is made, the player with the highest combination wins the pot. In the table above, they are arranged in ascending order of seniority. Thus, a Pair is younger than a Three, and a Three is older than two, etc.

Trading in Hold'em

Trades take place on every street and have similar names: preflop, flop, turn and river. The point of the bidding is that the players compete with each other to see the next card or to show it at a reasonable price. All bets become part of the bank. During the bidding process, poker players can announce the following decisions:

Receipt - the absence of a bet, which can take place if the player acts first or no one has placed before him. Also, a check can be announced in the big blind if the other opponents did not bet Higher than the big blind. After deciding the check, the player can make a bet only if one of the opponents has increased;

Beth - offering the minimum bet, which is equal to the big blind in the first two rounds of betting and two blinds in the following. This is the lowest possible rate;

Raise - a raise exceeding the size of the bet offered by previous opponents or bet. A callback is also sometimes called a reraise, although these actions can be considered the same;

All-in - a bet equal to the player's stack. The poker player bets all the chips he has and if one of the opponents is equal, he just has to wait for the showdown and the winner is determined;

Fold - the only decision after which the player stops participating in the distribution. He folds his cards and loses all the chips that are already in the pot, ceasing to qualify for his drawing.

Comparing the decisions of other players and their prospects for winning, the poker player can exit the hand in order to avoid losses, try to increase the pot by raising rates or get to the showdown with minimal investment. Some decisions can be made in the form of a bluff, showing a weak or strong hand when there is none. However, we are studying the rules of the Texas Hold'em poker game for beginners, so we will not consider this issue in detail.

Bidding ends only when all players are equal. Therefore, on the same street, one player can make decisions again. For example, if he placed a Bet, and the opponent offered a raise, he needs to make a decision again. In this case, he can fold, raise, or even. Classic rules poker games Texas Hold'em allow one player to make only three raises in one betting round. On all streets before the river, after the players are compared, a new street begins - additional community cards are revealed. On the river, after the comparison of the rates, a showdown is made.

Additional chip purchases

An important aspect of Texas Hold'em rules is the purchase of chips. For example, Hollywood movies often show how gamblers expand the pot without limit by investing in it when the chips run out, as well as real estate, yachts, and even wives. However, this is against the rules of poker!

In the auction, the player can only bet those chips that are already in the game - the existing stack. He cannot increase his stack if pocket cards have already been dealt. In addition, there are restrictions on the number of chips that a poker player can take into the game when he sits down at the table. However, players can have stacks of different sizes - one has more and the other has less. This situation can be solved simply! That a player with fewer chips should not buy them if the stack is not enough to equalize the opponent's bet... He can simply bet his entire stack and, if he wins, will take a pot commensurate with his size, and the opponent will get back the extra chips.

You can only buy chips on the stack between hands! A similar rule applies in rebuy tournaments, where a player can purchase chips between hands by paying an additional tournament fee.

Determining the winner

Texas Holdem Poker rules allow you to win the pot with or without showdown. You can get your winnings before showdown if all other opponents have folded. If the bid reaches the river and all the opponents have equalized the rates, pocket cards are opened and the combinations are compared. The pot goes to the player with the strongest hand. The rest turn out to be the losers, and a new distribution begins.

Poker rules Texas Hold'em - controversial situations

If you plan to play at home with friends or in an offline poker room, you should definitely study the rules of Texas Hold'em poker for beginners. In this case, there will often be controversial situations if you don't know the rules of Texas Hold'em poker. In an online game, controversial situations cannot arise. The fact is that the poker room software simply cannot technically allow players to break the rules and it itself strictly adheres to them... But what it doesn't know is that online poker players don't need to know the rules! Without knowing them, you can accept wrong decision in bidding, it is wrong to assess the strength of your combination, or simply not to notice it!

The rules of Hold'em poker at first glance may seem confusing and difficult to learn. But you just need to play this game, for example - on play chips to understand them well. You can also use simple poker simulators, which are designed specifically for learning the rules of the game.

Natalia Shibanova

Among all types of poker, Texas Hold'em is the most popular. One of the reasons is the availability of the rules of the Texas poker game, even for dummies. This is probably why most poker tournaments in the world are carried out exactly according to the rules of Texas poker.
In this article, you will learn about the rules of the Texas Hold'em poker game.

Texas poker - rules: basic nuances

To play Texas Hold'em, a deck is used with a set of 52 cards - from twos to aces. Up to 10 poker players sit down at the table. The point of the game is to collect the best combination of 5 cards. Each player will receive a maximum of 7 cards from the dealer (two are his own, hidden from everyone, and five are visible to everyone, because the dealer puts them on the table).

Community cards in Texas poker

Before the first distribution of cards takes place, the participants in the game use a round chip called the "button" to determine the dealer. It is needed for the player sitting to his left to make the first bet. The dealer also deals cards when playing at home (in a tournament this is done by a special person, while in online poker the deal is done automatically).

First, the two players making the mandatory bets are identified. These bets are called small blind (MB) and big blind (BB). This is necessary so that the bank always has capital. The players make “blind bets”: in fact, they have already paid, although the cards have not yet been seen.

So, the first player makes the MB, and to the left of him, the second, respectively, the BB, which is most often twice the small bet. In each subsequent distribution of cards, the dealer is new, i.e. all tournament participants alternately become MB and BB buttons for a while.

When the blinds are posted, according to the rules of Texas Hold'em poker, each player is dealt 2 cards face down.

The first round of the game is called “preflop”.

Preflop - the first round of the game

It begins with trading, the meaning of which is in the bets on the game, which are made clockwise by all participants in the game. They can do things like:

• fold / pass (discard your cards and exit the distribution);
• check (refusal to place a bet, but not discarding one's own cards) is simply a transfer of a game move;
• bet (rate), which the poker players will have to call, or fold. You can go all-in i.e. put all the remaining chips (money) - then the player stays on the hand until it ends;
• call (equalizing the previous player's bet), i.e. the same amount is sent to the bank;
• raise (increase in the rate), which forces the rest of the championship participants to either equalize the new rate, or increase it.

The first betting round ends after the highest bet of the hand is called.

The second round of betting is called the flop.

Flop - second round of the game

The dealer removes the top card from the deck and lays out a 3-card combination (flop) on the table (board). According to the rules of poker in Texas Hold'em, the poker player to the left of the dealer starts the second round. If the player made a “pass”, then the move goes clockwise to the next one. Players' applications are similar to those in the 1st round. They only add the ability to bet (be the first to raise rates in the given round) and check.

The third round of betting is called the turn.

Turn - third round of the game

The dealer lays out 4 cards from the deck onto the board, after which trading begins. Then, following the rules of Texas Hold'em, the fifth and last card (river) is laid out.

River - the final round of the game

As a result, each of the tournament participants has 7 cards (2 pocket cards and 5 common cards on the table). The player's task is to collect the best combination.

If two or more poker players have the same card combinations during showdown (showing cards), the player whose card combination includes the kicker (higher card) wins. The kicker is possible in combinations - pair, 2 pair, three of a kind (set) or four of a kind. In other poker hands, the kicker rule does not apply.

More about card combinations in poker - read another article on our website “Poker combinations of cards”.

Poker rules Texas Hold'em - video:

Learning to play Texas poker isn't that hard game mechanics pretty simple, besides, it is the easiest and most popular option. The main goal of the game is to collect a strong combination of cards and take the bank... It is more difficult for beginners to study the nuances, terms, combinations, the course of the game, and trading circles. A lot of questions often arise: how the win is formed, who makes the first move, how many combinations and which one is older, how to resolve controversial situations, what are the flop, turn and river? And other difficulties. In fact, it will be difficult only at first, with each new hand the user learns more and more the rules of Texas Hold'em, learns to do all the actions “automatically”.

Each hand in poker usually lasts no more than five minutes, during which time the players determine the winner and have time to make many moves. Inside one hand (this is how the hand is called in another way), there are the following elements:

• collection of winning combinations;
• setting initial rates;
• circles of trade and the formation of a bank;
• determination of the winner.

These are the highlights of one round, inside game session there may be several hundred or even thousands of hands. Let's take a closer look at these Texas Poker rules.

Hold'em combinations

The most important part, it is around the collection of combinations that the whole game is built, in Hold'em poker the rules say that the one whoever can make the strongest combination takes the whole pot... Below are the combinations in ascending order of precedence.

1. High card... A different kicker. Five cards in random order, not related to each other in any way. If all participants do not have any combination, then the leader is determined by the highest card.
2. Pair... First combination. Consists of 2 cards connected to each other with the same denomination. Since any combination must consist of five elements, three more play the role of kickers, they are needed to determine the winner in controversial situations.
3. Two pairs... Two pairs of cards with the same denomination. In Texas Hold'em Poker, the rules state that the seniority of the hand is counted from the highest par Pair. For example, two kings and two tens will beat two queens and two jacks.
4. Set... Three cards with the same denomination. The combination is complemented by two kickers.
5. Straight... Opens combinations in which there is no kicker. Five cards in ascending order of denomination. Everyone should have different suits (if they are the same, this is a different, stronger combination). A combination is allowed ace, 2,3,4,5.
6. Flush... Five cards of the same suit of any value. Seniority is determined by the face value of the highest card in hand. The suits in poker are all the same.
7. Full house. The combination is assembled from Set and Pair, that is, three cards of the same rank and two more. The rules of Texas Hold'em establish that the combination is higher, in which the set is higher at par.
8. Square... Four cards that have the same rank. There is also one kicker here.
9. Street Flush... Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
10. Royal Flush... Royal set. Five cards from 10 to ace of the same suit. Drops extremely rarely.

Before you study the rules of the Texas Hold'em poker game in depth, you need to memorize the combinations by heart. Without this, it is undesirable to sit down at the table, especially in offline mode. When playing over the Internet, it is better to print the combinations and keep them with you, at least for the first time.

Starting bets and the beginning of the game

After learning the combinations, you can sit down at the table and play the first few rounds. Practice will allow you to quickly and better memorize the rules of the game of Texas poker, how the drawing goes, what amount is due to the winner, who becomes the leader and other components.

At the gaming table, it is allowed to sit from two to as many people as you like, the main thing is that everyone has two pocket cards and five common cards on the field. The rooms have accepted formats of 2.5 and 9 participants.

In Texas Hold'em, the rules of the game require two opponents to bet small and big blinds... These are mandatory bets designed to whet the interest of the participants, as well as a guarantee that the winner in any case will receive at least the minimum amount in his hands.

The big blind is always equal to the minimum possible bet of the table, the minimum is half of it.

All players are required to post the big and small blind in turn. The move in each round is transmitted in a circle, according to the movement of the clockwise, so as not to confuse the order, there is a button chip on the table - a special element with a pointer. The rules of the game of poker hold'em state that in the very first hand, the starting bets are made by the two players sitting to the left of the dealer.

Then the immediate distribution of cards and the betting circles begins, further Hold'em rules for the betting circles and the formation of the bank will be considered in the next chapter.

Circles of commerce and bank formation

The first bets have been placed, now the dealer starts dealing. According to the rules of the game of Hold'em, cards are dealt clockwise, starting with the player sitting to the left of the dealer. Everyone receives two cards in their hands, they are not shown to the opponents, having looked at them, the participants decide on their further moves.

The player who made the small blind speaks first, he has several actions available:

• Equalize... In Texas Hold'em rules, it bears the designation Call. That is, the player calls before the big blind.
• Reset... Designation Fold... Discard and exit the current hand, losing the small blind.
• To raise... Designation Raise... The player can increase the big blind by the amount provided by the table limit.
• All in... Designation All-in... Put all your chips on the line. Allowed only in the unlimited version of the game.

The last move belongs to the big blind, he is allowed one more action - Receipt, that is, skip without putting anything into the pot, but on condition that no one has raised.

First round - flop... The croupier puts three cards on the table, they are considered common, all participants can see them and use them to make combinations. In Texas poker, the rules of the game for dummies stipulate that a new round of betting begins, the possible actions of the players are described above.

Second round - turn... The fourth card is dealt on the table. A new round of betting begins, already in this round most opponents throw out cards and leave the game.

Third round - the river... The number of community cards reaches five, the participants open the final round of betting. In Texas poker rules stipulate that at this stage the final pot is formed, which goes to the winner.

Determination of the winner and controversial situations

If there are several opponents left in the game, they produce showdown - showdown and comparison of the collected combinations... Whoever has the strongest combination will take all the winnings for himself. This is where the controversial moments arise, in which beginners get confused, in the rules of Texas Hold'em poker controversial situations are resolved quite simply.

1. Two or more poker players had the same combination. In this case, the rank of the cards that make up the combination is taken into account. For example, a King Flush will beat a Ten Flush. Pair of nines will be stronger than Pair of 3s, and so on. If the base of the set is the same, kickers will count.
2. The combination of cards turned out to be completely the same for two or more opponents, Texas Holdem rules interpret this situation in favor of all participants. In this case, all applicants are declared winners, and the bank goes to them in equal parts.
3. In Texas Holdem poker, the rules allow a situation where all five community cards on the table, if they form any combination, are counted to all players. In this case the bank is divided equally for everyone.
4. If one of the participants has gone all-in, and the other cannot equalize, then side banks are created. The point is that there will be multiple pots at stake. For the number of chips that the player could not equalize, he cannot claim. They go to the participant who has assembled the second strongest combination. It will not be possible to consider all the subtleties of these Hold'em rules, it is easier to understand them directly during the game.

These are the main controversial points that cause difficulties for beginners. The best way understand all the nuances - practice constantly at the gaming table, even if it will be an ordinary simulator for fun.

Limits in Hold'em Poker

The last aspect to consider in the rules of the Texas Hold'em poker game for beginners is - limits... Each table has certain restrictions regarding the bets of the players in the betting circles, in total there are three draw options.

• Unlimited... This means that every player, regardless of the current round, bank and other indicators, has the right to put any amount at stake. It is allowed to go all-in at any stage, the rest of the participants must support this move, or refuse to fight. This is the most popular variation of the game today.
• Limit... In Limit Hold'em, the rules limit the size of the bets within a strictly allotted interval. This means that the player cannot go beyond the established limits. For example, a $ 10 / $ 20 table means that the minimum bet is $ 10, and the maximum bet is $ 20, you can no longer bet. There is no talk of any all-in here. The most rare variant of the game.
• Pot Limit... The size of bets here depends solely on the bank, how many chips are in it at the current moment of the betting round, and how much the player is allowed to bet. For example, there is 100 dollars in the bank, which means that the participant can set the same amount. All-in is not allowed. The second most popular version of the game.

As you can see, the rules of Texas Hold'em poker are not as complicated as they seem at first glance. The main thing is to constantly practice. And at first, carry a cheat sheet with you so as not to confuse anything.

Texas Hold'em- the most popular type of poker today. Each player is dealt two cards, and his goal is to collect, using his two cards and five community, the strongest possible hand. During the game, you need to decide whether to play starting hand, whether to call a bet depending on the odds, whether to bluff based on the weakness of the opponent's hand, and so on. Most poker tournaments are held in Hold'em, the game is often seen on television, and the winners of major tournaments such as WSOP become stars and millionaires. The game on the Internet is no less popular, but the first steps in the game can be done simply in the campaign of friends.

Steps

Hand draw

Create a bank. One of the players (or someone from the outside) must collect and recalculate all the money in the game and exchange them for chips for each of the players. If the game is not for money, then everyone just needs to get an equal number of chips. There are several ways to organize the game further.

• Know limit hold'em, the winner takes it all. All are purchased for a certain amount - depending on the specific company. Bets are not limited, the game goes on until one player remains. You can enable rebuys, i.e. the eliminated player can re-buy chips and continue playing, in which case the period of time during which a rebuy can be made should be limited.
• Limit hold'em, no buy-ins. In this version, the bets are limited, but you can buy chips during the game. The game is on not until someone is knocked out, but until the players continue to play. You can calculate the chips and exit the game at any time.

1. Choose the first dealer (dealer). This player is given the "button" and standard deck 52 cards (without jokers). The dealer shuffles the cards and starts dealing clockwise. After each hand, the button moves to the left one position, and the duties of the dealer are also transferred.

   Place an ante. Have each player post an “ante”, the minimum cost to play the hand. Using antes is optional, but it speeds up the game and increases the pots.

   Deal two cards face down to each player. The cards are dealt one at a time, starting with the player to the left of the dealer and further clockwise. Players look at their cards so that no one else can see them. These are "their" cards, players hope that they will make a good combination with the "community" cards.

   Post the big and small blinds. The player to the left of the dealer on each hand is the small blind, he makes a certain minimum bet in front of each hand. The next player is the big blind, he also bets before the hand, but his bet is twice the small blind. After the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the big blind speaks first.

   Call (call), raise (raise) or fold (fold) depending on your hidden cards. The action begins with the player to the left of the big blind, then all in turn must either call the bet, raise it or fold. If a player raises the bet, then in order to play a hand, the next one must also call or raise, and so on. The raise is made in proportion to the minimum bet (big blind). If the player doesn't like his cards, he can fold, i.e. discard cards and not participate in the further play of the hand. Bets go clockwise, everyone must have their say. If one of the players bets and no one answers, then he wins the hand and takes the pot.

   • When it comes to the big and small blinds, they must add the difference to their blinds to play further. If no one has raised, then the big blind has the option to either just check and see the flop, or to raise.

2. Deal the flop, three cards face up. These are community cards, and all players use them to make the strongest hand.

   • Before opening the flop or one of the next cards, the dealer must "burn", i.e. just put aside the top card, this is done to prevent cheating.

3. Bet, check, or fold. Another round of betting takes place, this time the blinds begin. Each player now has two hidden cards and three community cards.

   • If no one has made a bet yet, then you can "check" and continue without a bet. If any of the following players bet, then after the checkers turn again, they will have to fold, call or raise.

4. Open the turn, place another round of bets. The turn is the fourth community card that the dealer faces up. Now players have two of their own and four community cards, they also take into account that another community card will be revealed, which could theoretically strengthen their hand. At this point, without a strong hand, it’s better not to continue, unless you’re going to play a risky bluff and win all the money at stake.

   Open the last general map river, make the last round of betting. Now the hand will not become stronger in any way, so if you have no strong cards, fold. Again, if no one calls the player's bet, he wins the hand.

   Show your cards. If at least two players have reached the end and have not folded, then they open their cards, starting with the aggressor and then counterclockwise, and see whose hand is stronger. Everyone calls their hand, and the player with the strongest hand wins the pot (all chips bet in the hand).

   Move the button one space to the left, shuffle the cards and play on. Hold'em usually continues until most of the players are knocked out or out of the game.

   Poker hands

   1. In poker, every hand has a certain value. Below you can see a table of hands from weaker to stronger.

      Senior card. When there is no combination, the value of the hand is determined by the highest card. Ace is the oldest, two is the youngest.

      Pair. Two cards of the same rank. For example: 3 (♠) - J (♣) - J () - 2 () - 5 (♦) - a pair of jacks.

      Two pairs. For example: 4 () - 4 (♦) - 9 (♠) - 9 (♣) - A (♠) - fours and nines.

      Troika. Three cards of the same rank. For example: 6 (♣) - 6 (♦) - 6 (♠) - 3 (♠) - J (♣) - three sixes.

      Straight. Five cards of any suit in order. For example: 5 (♣) - 6 (♠) - 7 (♣) - 8 (♦) - 9 ().

      Flash. Five cards of the same suit. For example: 5 () - 7 () - 9 () - J () - Q ().

      Full house. Three and a pair. For example: 7 () - 7 (♣) - 7 (♠) - Q () - Q (♦).

      Caret. Four cards of the same rank. For example: J () - J (♠) - J (♣) - J (♦) - 5 (♣).

      Straight Flash. Straight of the same suit. For example: 3 () - 4 () - 5 () - 6 () - 7 ().

      Royal Flash. A straight flush with ace, king, queen, jack and ten. For example: 10 (♣) - J (♣) - Q (♣) - K (♣) - A (♣)

   2. Comparison of hands. If two players have the same combination, the winner is determined as follows:

      • A pair of nines beats a pair of fours.
      • Two pair jacks and deuces beats two pairs of sevens and fives.
      • A straight with a high card with a queen beats a straight with a ten.
      • The ace flush beats the king flush.
      • If the combinations are equivalent, then the winner is determined by additional card... A pair of eights with an ace beats a pair of eights and ten.

We will try to tell you the rules of Texas Hold'em poker a so that you can start the game in 5 minutes. A video lesson will help to consolidate the information visually.

Texas Hold "em or Texas Hold'em is the most popular form of poker. Therefore, learning the rules of the game should start with Hold'em. We offer you several simple steps to make the study as useful as possible.

Poker rules for beginners

When playing Texas poker, a standard poker deck is used. 52 cards (from deuce to ace, no jokers). Play from 2 to 10 people. The two-player version of the game has a special name - Heads Up. At the start, each player is dealt 2 cards face down. These cards are called native cards. Next, 5 more cards are laid out on the table in a certain order, which are called community cards. Purpose of the game- collect the best poker combination from your own and community cards, or force all opponents to fold their cards.

Texas poker card combinations

For a better understanding, let's divide the whole game process(round) into three stages: start, middle and end. And we will analyze each of them separately.

★ Start

The first priority is determining the position of the dealer's chip.

• In offline game the dealer's position is usually determined as follows: each player is dealt 1 card face up and the dealer's chip is received by the player whose card value is higher, while the suit of the card is not taken into account ( For information: In poker, Deuce is the lowest card and Ace is the highest card). If several cards of equal value were dealt, for example, three players received Aces, these players are dealt one more open card. The process continues until the result is clear.
• Online the position of the dealer is determined in a similar way. The only difference is that the cards are dealt automatically.

More about the player's position at the table

Player position for poker table is one of the defining concepts in Hold'em. Not only the course of the game itself depends on it. Position greatly influences your decisions about how to act in specific game situations. To find out what position you are in now, you first need to determine what position the dealer is in.

The dealer's position is indicated by a special chip - the button (the chip with the letter “D” in the picture). The button is passed to the next player clockwise after each rally. That is, in each new hand, the player to the left of the previous dealer becomes the dealer, and, along with this, all other positions are also shifted one clockwise.

The rules of poker for beginners are: first, you need to determine which positions regarding the dealer you are. Positions change as the dealer's chip moves clockwise. It is very easy to learn how to determine the position, but at the same time, position in poker is an important element of the game and greatly influences the playing of certain hands. Positions are allocated as shown in the figure below:

SB, BB - Blinds. The player sitting first to the left of the dealer takes the small blind, denoted. SB (Small Blind). The second player in the blinds takes the position of the big blind, ref. BB (Big Blind). These 2 positions are always present at the poker table. For example, in a two-player game (heads-up), there will be only 2 positions - SB and BB (the position of the dealer in this case will coincide with the position of the big blind).

UTG, UTG + 1 - Early position. UTG is the English abbreviation for Under The Gun "at gunpoint".

The three places to the left of the dealer are called early positions. They are considered the most inconvenient positions, since the players make a move before the others and do not know how the rest of the players will behave. Sometimes there are EP (Early Position) designations

MP, MP + 1, - Middle position. MP is an English abbreviation for Middle Position.

Next 3 players counterclockwise.

CO, BU - Late position. CO is an English abbreviation Cut off "cut off" and BU - button "dealer's button".

Directly the dealer himself, designation. BU (Button), and the player to the right of the dealer is denoted. CO (Cut-off). Sometimes, instead of BU and CO, there are designations LP2 and LP1 (Late Position).

According to the rules of poker, position counting starts counterclockwise from the big blind - BB, SB, BU, CO, MP3, MP2, MP1, UTG3, UTG2, UTG1. If there are less than 10 players at the table, then the positions are removed one by one, starting with the earliest one. That is, if there are 9 people left at the table, the UTG1 position is removed, if 8 - the UTG2 position is removed, if there are 7 players left, then there are no early positions at all, and so on.

Betting rounds

The game consists of four rounds of betting:

• Preflop - the first round of betting, when there are no community cards on the table yet.
• Flop - three community cards are dealt face up on the table.
• Terne - a fourth community card is added.
• River the last, fifth community card is revealed.
  

Preflop is the first round of betting.

What actions can you take while trading?

Trading is conducted according to the following principle: in order to stay in the pot and continue to fight for it, the player must at least equalize all the previous bets of his opponents. That is, all players remaining in the pot by the end of the betting round must invest in it the same number of chips.

During trading, depending on the current situation, you have the following options:
Fold - if the strength of your cards seems to you insufficient to continue the fight for the pot, you say "fold" and fold your cards. By doing this, you refuse to further participate in the drawing and no longer apply for the bank.

Someone has already placed a bet before you:
Call - if you think your cards are strong enough to qualify for the pot, but not strong enough to show aggression, you can simply call the previous bets of your opponents. This action is sometimes also called "limp into the game" ... Remember that the blinds are also bets and must also be called to stay in the pot.
Raise - if you feel confident and your hand is strong enough, you can raise the previous bet by putting pressure on your opponents. In this case, you equalize the previous bet and increase it by an amount that is a multiple of the size of the big blind.

There were no bets before you:
Check - sometimes you have the opportunity to enter the game for free. This situation is possible if no one has bet before you, or you are in the big blind position preflop and all the players limped into the game before you.
Bet - if no one has bet before you, then you can be the first to bet.

Special situation:
All-in - an all-in situation occurs when you put all your chips into the pot. In this case, in any case, you will remain in the bank until the very end.

Before the cards are dealt, the players in the SB and BB positions make mandatory blind bets. The names of these bets coincide with the names of the positions - small and big blinds. The size of the small blind is usually half the big blind - SB = 1/2 BB. After the blinds have been posted, each player is dealt 2 of their own cards and the first round of betting begins.

The player in the earliest position to the left of the BB starts preflop. The right to the next move is transferred clockwise. Each player evaluates the potential of his cards, with what probability they will make the best poker combination in the next rounds of betting, and, based on this, the players place bets and fight for the pot, or, conversely, refuse further play with weak cards.

★ Middle

Flop, Turn and River - five community cards.

After finishing first betting round (preflop) 3 community cards are dealt face up on the board and second betting round - flop ... Board cards are called common cards because all players can use them when making their own combinations. If on the first betting round (preflop) only 2 own cards are evaluated, then on the flop players can already evaluate their cards taking into account the community cards that have opened, and also determine the possibility of their strengthening on the next streets (betting rounds).

On the flop, as well as on the following streets - the turn and river, the first player to the left of the button position starts the trade.
In terminology, the flop, turn and river are not only the names of the betting rounds, but also the names of their corresponding community cards. For example, saying "see the flop" means - to see the 3 community cards laid out on the flop.

On the turn ,third round of betting, another community card is laid out. In total, there are four of them. The trade continues in the same way as on the flop.

On the river reveal the last, fifth community card. In the last round of betting, players can finally judge whether they have collected the best combination among their opponents.

★ End

Showdown - showdown and determination of the winner.

After the fourth round of betting, the final stage of the game begins - showdown ... At this stage, all players remaining in the pot compare the collected combinations. The one with the higher combination wins. A draw is also possible if the players have made exactly the same combinations. In this case, the bank is divided equally.

Before talking about combinations, it should be said that the game may not reach showdown. If the player has managed to "knock out" all the other opponents from the bank with his bets, then the game stops, and the only player remaining in the bank takes all the chips. This player retains the right not to show his cards to opponents, but, if he wishes, he can show them.

Texas Hold'em Poker Rules Video Lesson

Betting systems

The rules for playing Texas Hold'em Poker can also differ in terms of the betting system.

Fixed limit - Other names: FL, Fixed Limit, Limit poker

• Limit poker is a variant of poker where the size of the bet or raise is limited to a certain amount. Limit hold'em distinguishes between high and low bets, for example, at a $ 1 / $ 2 table, the small bet is $ 1 and the big bet is $ 2. In the initial betting rounds (preflop and flop), the size of the bet and raise is limited to the size of the small bet, and in the following rounds (the turn and river) - the size of the large bet.

Pot limit - Other names: PL, Pot Limit

• Pot Limit is a poker variation in which the maximum bet is limited to the current pot size. The minimum bet amount is determined by the previous bet (preflop - the size of the big blind). Thus, the player can declare a bet of an arbitrary size, but limited from below by the amount of the previous bet, and from above - by the size of the already formed bank.

No limit - Other names: NL, No-Limit, no-limit poker

• In no-limit poker, the maximum bet size is not limited by anything other than the player's stack size. A player in any round of betting can bet or raise any size, or even bet all his chips (all-in). The minimum bet size is the size of the bet made by the previous player (for example, in preflop Texas Hold'em, if there were no raises, then this is the size of the big blind).

Almost nothing is known about the history of Hold'em. According to legend, the first games based on it were held in Robstown, Texas, at the beginning of the 20th century. Hold'em has gained its current popularity thanks to the largest tournament, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which has been held annually in Las Vegas since 1970.