Hold'em poker rules for beginners. Poker rules texas hold'em

We will try to tell you the rules of Texas Hold'em poker as quickly and simply as possible 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 Holdem is the most popular type of poker. Therefore, it is worth starting to study the rules of the game with Holdem. We offer you several simple steps to make learning as useful as possible.

Poker rules for beginners

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

Texas Poker Hands

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

★ Start

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

• In an offline game the dealer's position is usually determined as follows: each player is dealt 1 open card 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, a deuce is the lowest card, and an ace is the highest card). In the event that several cards of equal value were dealt, for example, three players received Aces, these players are dealt one more open card each. The process continues until the result is clear.
• Online the dealer's position is determined in a similar way. The only difference is that the cards are dealt automatically.

More about the position of the player at the table

The player's position 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 decision-making on how to act in specific game situations. To find out what position you are currently in, you first need to determine what position the dealer is in.

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

The rules of poker for beginners say: to begin with, you should determine in which positions regarding the dealer you are. Positions change as the dealer's chip moves clockwise. Learning to determine the position is very easy, but at the same time, the position in poker is an important element of the game and greatly affects the drawing of certain hands. Positions are distributed as shown in the figure below:

SB, BB - Blinds. The player sitting first to the left of the dealer takes the position of the small blind, ref. 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, when playing with two players (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.

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

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

The next 3 players are counter-clockwise.

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

Directly the dealer himself, ref. BU (Button), and the player sitting to the right of the dealer, ref. CO (cut-off). Sometimes instead of BU and CO there are designations LP2 and LP1 (Late Position).

According to poker rules, position count starts from the big blind counterclockwise - 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 from the earliest. 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.

Trading rounds

The game consists of four betting rounds:

• 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.
• Turn - a fourth community card is added.
• river the last, fifth community card is revealed.
  

Preflop - the first round of betting.

What actions can be taken during trading?

Trading is carried out 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 previous opponents' bets. That is, all players remaining in the bank, by the end of the betting round, must invest the same number of chips in it.

During trading, depending on the current situation, you have the following options:
Fold (Fold) - if the strength of your cards seems to you insufficient to continue the fight for the pot, you say "fold" and discard your cards. By doing so, you refuse further participation in the draw and no longer claim the bank.

Someone has already placed a bet before you:
Call (Call) - if you think your cards are strong enough to claim the pot, but not strong enough to show aggression, you can simply call the opponents' previous bets. Sometimes this action is also called "limp into the game" . Don't forget that the blinds are also bets and they also need to be called to stay in the pot.
Raise - if you feel confident and your hand is strong enough, you can raise the previous bet, putting pressure on your opponents. In this case, you call the previous bet and increase it by an amount that is a multiple of the big blind.

There have been no bids before you:
Check (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 preflop and all the players before you have entered the game with a limp.
Bet - if no one has bet before you, then you can be the first to bet.

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

Before the cards are dealt, players in the SB and BB positions make mandatory blind bets. The name of these bets is the same as the names of the positions - small and big blinds. Size The small blind is usually equal to half the big blind - SB = 1/2 BB. After the blinds are posted, each player receives 2 own cards and the first round of betting begins.

Preflop, the player in the earliest position, to the left of the BB, starts the betting. 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 hand in the next rounds of betting, and, based on this, the players place bets and fight for the pot, or, conversely, refuse further game 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 the second betting round - flop . The board cards are called common because all players can use them when making their combinations. If in the first round of betting (preflop) only 2 own cards are evaluated, then on the flop players can already evaluate their cards, taking into account the opened community cards, and also determine the possibility of their strengthening on the next streets (rounds of betting).

On the flop, as well as on subsequent streets - the turn and the river, the player who sits first to the left of the button position starts trading.
In terminology, flop, turn and river are not only the names of betting rounds, but also the names of their corresponding community cards. For example, when they say "see the flop", they mean to see 3 community cards being dealt on the flop.

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

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

★ Ending

Showdown - showdown and determination of the winner.

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

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

Video Lesson of Texas Hold'em Poker Rules

Betting systems

The rules of Texas Hold'em poker may 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. In limit hold'em, there is a distinction between a big bet and a small bet, for example, at a $1/$2 table, the small bet is $1 and the big bet is $2. In the initial rounds of betting (preflop and flop), the size of the bet and raise is limited to the size of the small bet, and in the following rounds (turn and river) - to the size of the large bet.

pot-limit Other names: PL, Pot Limit

• Pot Limit is a poker variant in which the maximum bet is limited by the current size of the pot. The minimum bet is determined by the previous bet (pre-flop - the size of the big blind). Thus, the player can make a bet of arbitrary size, but limited from below by the value 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 size of the player's stack. A player in any betting round can bet or raise any size, or even bet all their chips (all-in). The minimum bet size is the size of the bet made by the previous player (for example, in Texas Hold'em preflop, 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 on it were held in Robstown, Texas, at the beginning of the 20th century. Hold'em gained its current popularity thanks to the largest World Tournament Series of Poker (WSOP), which has been held annually in Las Vegas since 1970.

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

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

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

Texas Holdem Poker - Table Rules

The rules of 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 game conditions. This should be taken into account, since knowledge of these features will be useful to you later when choosing tables and strategies. Hold'em tables may differ in the following parameters:

Number of players - can be from 2 to 10, while at the table a ceiling can be set for the number of empty seats. For example, only two people can play at a 2-max table, while two to nine can play at a 9-max table. The minimum number of participants is always two! If you are seated at a 6-max table with three players, more poker players can join you at any time until all the seats are filled.

Betting limits – the format of the table may differ according to the betting rules. Therefore, there are three types of betting format - no-limit, pot-limit and limit Hold'em, the rules of 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 auctions and more than two blinds in the next. In a no-limit game, the maximum bet can be any size, and in pot-limit - no more than the size of the pot.

Required rates – at cash tables, the size of mandatory bets does not change during the game. In tournaments, they gradually increase, with the exception of some exotic formats.

These rules are changeable - they may differ for two different tables. They should be taken into account when choosing a table, as the game conditions affect the strategy. In online poker rooms, it is easy to sort the tables by the size and format of bets, as well as by the number of participants.

Compulsory Bets and the Dealer

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

Dealer - This is the participant in the game who distributes the cards. However, if the cards are dealt by the croupier or automatically, as in online rooms, the position of the dealer is still indicated by a special chip - Button, which moves clockwise.

The player who sits closer to the dealer makes a mandatory bet of a smaller size - the small blind, and the participant in the distribution sitting to his left - the big blind twice as large. In the next hand, the obligation to post the small blind passes to the poker player who previously placed the big one, 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 made by all participants every hand. But it is rarely used at cash tables, but it can be present in tournaments, especially at high levels.

Texas Hold'em Rules - Dealing Cards

The Texas Hold'em poker rules provide for several streets of card distribution, for each of which bidding is carried out. But let's focus on the maps for now, so you don't get confused. They are distributed in four stages, each of which has its own name:

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

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

Turn - the fourth card is added to the common ones;

river - The fifth card is added to the common ones.

As a result, if the game has reached the last street, five community cards will be open on the table, plus two more will be in each player's hand. However, the showdown may not go as far as the pot can be played out earlier in any of the four betting rounds, which you will learn about later if you read the Texas Poker for Dummies Rules.

Hold'em hand rules

If you have memorized the objectives of the game of Holdem, which were described at the beginning of the article, then you should remember that one of the ways to get the pot in the hand is to make a winning combination. The rules of Texas Hold'em poker include only classic high combinations, 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. From the available set of cards, the strongest possible combination is made! 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. You can understand this with an example:

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

Combinations are compared with each other only at the showdown! If the distribution ends earlier, they do not carry any meaning and do not affect the determination of the winner. If a showdown occurs, the pot is won by the player with the highest hand. In the table above, they are arranged in ascending order of precedence. So, Pair is under Three, and Three is over Two Pair, and so on.

Trading in Hold'em

Bidding takes place on every street and has similar names: preflop, flop, turn and river. The meaning of bidding is that players compete with each other to see the next card or make a showdown for an acceptable price. All bets become part of the pot. During the bidding process, poker players can announce the following decisions:

Check - the absence of a bet, which can take place if the player acts first or no one has bet before him. You can also check in the big blind if no other opponent has bet higher than the big blind. After a check has been decided, the player can only bet if one of the opponents has raised;

Beth - offer a 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 that exceeds the size of the bets offered by previous opponents or a bet. Raising back is also sometimes called a re-raise, although these actions can be considered similar;

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

fold - the only decision after which the player ceases to participate in the distribution. He folds and loses all the chips that are already in the pot, ceasing to qualify for his draw.

Comparing the decisions of other players and their prospects for winning, a poker player can exit the hand to avoid losses, try to increase the pot by raising the stakes, or get to the showdown with minimal investment. Some decisions can be made as a bluff, showing a weak or strong hand when there is none. However, we are studying the rules of Texas Hold'em poker 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 repeatedly. For example, if he bet Bet, and the opponent offered to raise, he again needs to make a decision. In this case, he can fold, raise or even. Classic Rules Texas Hold'em poker games only allow one player to make three raises in a single betting round. On all streets before the river, after the players are compared, a new street begins - additional community cards are opened. On the river, after the bets are compared, a showdown is made.

Rebuying chips

An important aspect of the rules of Texas Hold'em is the purchase of chips. For example, Hollywood movies often show how gamblers grow the pot limitlessly by putting money into 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 hole cards have already been dealt. In addition, there are restrictions on the number of chips that a poker player can take into play when he sits down at the table. True, players can have stacks of different sizes - one has more, and the other has less. This situation is easily solved! That the player with fewer chips must not buy more chips if the stack is not enough to equalize the opponent's bet. He can simply bet his entire stack and, if he wins, he will take a pot commensurate with his size, and the opponent will get back the extra chips.

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

Determination of the winner

The rules of Texas Holdem Poker allow you to win the pot, both at the showdown and without it. You can get a win before the showdown if all other opponents have declared fold. If the bidding reached the river and all opponents equalized the bets, the pocket cards are opened and the combinations are compared. The pot gets the poker player who has the strongest hand. The rest are the losers, and a new distribution begins.

Poker Rules Texas Hold'em - Controversial Situations

You definitely need to thoroughly study the rules of Texas Hold'em poker for beginners if you plan to play at home with friends or in an offline poker room. 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, disputes cannot arise. The fact is that the poker room program just technically cannot allow players to break the rules and strictly observes 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 the auction, it is wrong to assess the strength of your combination or simply not notice it!

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

Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular of all poker variants.. All tournaments around the world (including those played on the World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, European Poker Tour and others) offer a no-limit version of this game.

Learning how to play Texas Hold'em poker is not that difficult, but don't let the simplicity of the game fool you. The number of possible game situations is so large that the game can be very difficult when playing on high level. Remember the famous saying about Texas Hold'em: "You can learn in one moment, but you can improve throughout your life."

Texas Holdem Rules

So how to play texas hold'em? In hold'em, players try to make the best five-card hand according to poker hands.

In hold'em, each player is dealt two cards face down, then five more cards are dealt during subsequent rounds. These open cards are called "community cards" because each player uses them to make a hand.

Five community cards are dealt in three rounds. The first three community cards are called the flop. Then only one card is dealt, called the turn. Finally, another card is dealt, the fifth and last community card is the river.

Players make combinations using the best five cards available out of seven community cards (two face-up cards and five community cards). This can be done by using both open cards in combination with three community cards, or with one card in combination with four community cards, or by using all five community cards.

Button

Playing Texas Hold'em standard deck- 52 cards.
The round chip is called the Button and it indicates which of the players is the dealer. After each hand is completed, it passes clockwise from one player to another.
When playing online poker, you do not have to worry about this, but in a game with friends - the dealer, in turn, will be all involved in the game.

The object of the game is to make the best combination of two of your cards and five other community cards that will be on the table. Such a combination can consist of two of your cards and three community cards, one of your cards and four community cards, or even all the community cards on the table. The player who has collected the best combination takes the entire pot, that is, the sum of all bets.

Blinds

In Hold'em, there are two mandatory bets called blinds (blind bets).
The game begins with the two players to the left of the Button betting a predetermined amount before the cards are dealt.

The player after the button posts the small blind and the next player posts the big blind. The big blind is usually twice the size of the small blind. In tournaments, the blinds go up after a certain amount of time, which ensures that players are eliminated.

First betting round: preflop

The first betting round begins immediately after the cards are dealt. The first player to bet is the player immediately to the left of the player who posted the big blind.
First player:

• must take a bet call
• up the ante Raise
• or fold your cards Fold

Accept a bet call- place a bet that will be equal to the big blind.

Raise the bet Raise- the player bets a larger amount of money than the previous player's bet. The size of the amount by which the player can raise the bet, depending on the type of game: in Limit games, this amount is fixed and can be limited after several rounds; in Pot Limit games, this amount cannot exceed the current amount of the pot; finally in No limit games this amount can be any and is limited only by the number of player's chips.

discard cards Fold- the player places the cards face down and moves them to the middle of the table.
After that, the player does not take part in the game until the next cards are dealt, and loses all bets made by him.

The following players have the choice between the same three actions: accept a bet (Call), raise (Raise), or fold (Fold). Players can re-raise the bet (Reraise), the amount of which must be at least the size of the last raise.

Second betting round: flop

Three community cards are dealt to the table.

The second round of betting and all subsequent rounds begin with the first player to the left of the dealer who has not yet folded. In addition to accepting a bet (Call), raising the bet (Raise), or re-raising the bet (Re-Raise), the player can now check (Check), while not folding or betting until his turn again comes up.

In the event that a bet has been made, the player can accept it (Call), raise the bet (Raise) or re-raise the bet (Re-Raise). Otherwise, the player must discard the cards (Fold). Thus, at the end of the round, all players will make the same number of bets, except for the players who did not have enough chips. In this case, he can put all the chips (All-In), and then one or more additional pots (Side Pots) appear, which limits the amount that he can win.

Third round of betting: turn

The fourth community card is dealt.

In limit games, the betting limit is doubled and remains the same in the last betting round.

Final Betting Round: River

The last, fifth community card is dealt on the table.
This is the last round of betting, after which the players reveal their cards and the winner is determined.

Opening

If two or more players have the same combination, then the player whose combination contains the second highest card (Kicker) wins. If no one has such a card (Kicker), then the pot is divided between these players.

• Royal Flush- five cards of the same suit from ace to ten - A K Q J 10
• Straight Flush- five cards of the same suit in order - 9♣ 8♣ 7♣ 6♣ 5♣
• Kare- four identical cards of different suits - Q ♣ Q Q ♦ Q ♠ 4♦
• Full house- three identical + two identical cards - J ♣ J J ♠ 8♦ 8
• Flash- any five cards of the same suit - A ♠ J ♠ 8♠ 5♠ 2♠
• Straight- five cards in order - Q ♣ J ♦ 10 9♠ 8♦
• Set- three identical cards - 8♣ 8♠ 8♦ K ♣ 4
• Two pairs- two identical cards + two identical cards - A ♠ A ♣ J ♦ J ♣ 7♠
• One pair- two identical cards - 10 10♣ 9 4♦ 2♦
• Supreme Map- five different cards A ♣ J ♦ 10♠ 5♣ 2

Remember that players build their hands by choosing five best cards of the seven available (two pocket cards and five community cards).

For example, if the board comes out 9♣ 5♠ K ♦ 3♠ A , the player with two pocket cards A ♦ 9♠ collects two pair (aces and nines) and loses to a player who has 9♦ 9 for a set (three nines).

Learning to hold 'em starts with understanding how hands are dealt and how to play, as described above. Of course, learning the rules of Texas Hold'em is only the beginning, as the next step is to learn strategy, which involves understanding what constitutes a good starting hand choice, the odds and probabilities involved in playing, the meaning of position, and getting the last action during those betting rounds. post-flop and in many other aspects of the game.

Learning the rules of Texas poker will help you navigate the online game x, or rather in poker rooms. In such games, nuances are very important, but it is not at all difficult to delve into them, as it might seem at first glance. For a clear assimilation of the rules, after the material studied in this article, it is worth trying to play with free chips.

This is a great way to practice the game without spending any money. This article does not explain how to win at poker, but only explains in detail to beginners the existing rules of Texas poker. In Texas Hold'em, the rules are similar to others. card games, but also partially differ. So having experience in other games will make it easier to understand, but it's still worth learning the rules below.

Winning the pot is the main goal of the game. The player can do this in two ways. Either knock out all rivals from the auction, or open more winning combination

Poker table rules Texas Holdem

The rules can be slightly modified directly within the game. Significant differences are visible on the tables and tournaments in this type of poker. Knowing about such features can be useful when you need to choose tables and strategies. Types of tables for Hold'em may differ:

• by the number of players. The minimum number of players is 2, and the maximum is 10. A limit on the number of free seats is set for each table. For example, a 6-max table can be played by two to six people. As long as there are empty seats, other players can sit at this table and join the game. The maximum allowed number of players at a 2-max table is two, at a 9-max table it is nine, and so on.
• by betting limit. There are three types of bets that differ from each other by the amount of the maximum allowed bet: no-limit, pot-limit and limit Hold'em. In no limit, you can bet on any amount. In pot limit, it cannot exceed the size of the entire pot. And in Limit Hold'em, it is not allowed to bet above the blind in the first two auctions and above two blinds in the next.
• By the size of the required rates. The size of the mandatory bet usually does not change throughout the game. And when there is a tournament, the stakes increase. An exception may be some exotic formats.

The above rules are subject to change. Two different tables will have different rules, which is important to consider when choosing a strategy for successful game. AT online poker room the number of players, the format and size of the bet affects the formation of a particular table.

Dealer and mandatory bid

Before the beginning new game or distribution, the players must make a mandatory bet - the blind. The size of this bet is discussed between the players in advance (offline game). In the poker room, the size of the required bet is set by the rules of the table. The blind cannot change after each hand. In addition, it is placed in turn, which equates all players to the same position (tournaments are an exception). The two players to the left of the dealer are the first to make a mandatory bet.

The dealer is a direct participant in the game who deals cards. If there is a croupier or automatic distribution in the game, the dealer is present and has a special chip - the button, moving clockwise around the table.

The participant of the game, sitting next to the dealer, must put the small blind (the mandatory bet is the minimum in size). And the player who is on the left hand of the dealer puts the big blind (double the small bet). This player will post the small blind next time. And the participant sitting on the left bets big, because he has not bet before.

There is also the concept of Ante bet. It's also a mandatory bet. It enlivens the game, adds dynamism and increases the bank. All players bet it with each new distribution. Ante is used most often in a tournament, but it is rare at a cash table.

Rules for Dealing Cards in Texas Hold'em

For every street where cards are dealt in Texas Hold'em poker, there must be an auction. The distribution of cards occurs in stages, and each stage has a specific definition:

• Preflop - each participant in the game has a pair of cards that no one else sees. These are the so-called pocket cards;
• The flop is three cards laid out on the table that all players can see. They are also called community cards or a board;
• Turn - another card laid out to the previous three;
• River - The fifth card added to the rest on the table;

All five cards will be open on the table when the game reaches the last street. And two cards are still in hand. The bank can be played in each of the auctions, so the game may not reach the showdown.

Hold'em combinations

Having understood the main goal of poker, it is important not to forget that the main way to win the pot is to make a winning hand. In Texas Hold'em poker, it is allowed to make high combinations that are classic. These combinations are based on seven cards (preflop and the main five cards).

Of all seven cards, the player must choose only five to make the strongest combination in his opinion. If such a combination requires five cards (Flush, Straight, etc.) this five card hand. When only two or three cards are needed, to complete the combination, the highest cards from the player's possession should be taken. For example:

The player has three Aces and four other cards that are not included in the Three of Aces. Let's say he has the highest cards Queen and eight. These cards are part of the hand. The queen is not included in the combination and is the highest card (kicker). If another player also has Aces, the winner will be determined by the seniority of the kicker.

You can compare the combinations of participants after the showdown. When the hand ends early, each player's combination is irrelevant and does not determine the winner. At the showdown, the winner is determined by the presence of the highest combination in hand. He takes over the bank.

Betting in Texas Hold'em Poker

In poker, betting is called the same as distributions (preflop, flop, turn, river). They are carried out on every street and the main goal of the participants in the game is to open the cards at an acceptable price, or to find out which one is next. Each bet increases the pot. While the auctions are going on, the players make decisions. They may announce:

• Check- when the bet is completely absent. This can happen when a participant in the game makes the first move or there were no bets before this move. It is also acceptable to check during the big blind, provided that other players have a lower bet than the blind. If a poker player has decided to Check, he will be able to bet only if one of the other players raises theirs.
• Beth is the minimum bet. The big blind in the first two rounds is equal to this bet. And in each subsequent round, Bet is equal to two blinds.
• Raise- a raise bet that is larger than the bets made by other players. In response to a raise, the opponent can make a response, the so-called re-raise.
• All-in– type of bet, equal to the stack of the participant in the game. The player can bet absolutely all his chips. At the same time, if another participant in the game equalizes the bet, they wait for the showdown to determine who won by the highest cards.
• fold- the participant of the game must stop participating in the distribution of cards. The player folds his cards and gives back his chips invested in the pot. He no longer claims to win.

Each participant in the game, having compared his abilities and the moves of his opponents, has the right to withdraw from the distribution so as not to incur losses. Also, the player can raise the stakes, thereby increasing the bank or reach the showdown, investing minimally. Very often, players make decisions by bluffing, demonstrating a winning or losing combination, in fact, they do not have one.

As soon as all participants in the game are equal in terms of rates, the auction stops. Each participant has the right to make a second decision on the same street. For example, one of the players bet Bet, and the other player raises. Then the first player must again make a decision.

He has the right to fold, equalize the bet with the opponent's bet or raise it. In Texas Hold'em, the rules allow a maximum of three raises per round per player. When all participants have equalized, additional community cards can be opened and a new street will begin. After that, all bets are compared, and all cards are shown.

Additional chips

Buying the required number of chips is an important part of the rules of poker. What people are used to seeing in films about mortgaging real estate, money, and other property is an absolute lie. There is no other way to increase the pot except for chips. This is a strict rule of any poker.

During the auction, players can invest the chips already in the game - the stack. The player does not have the right to increase the stack by dealing pocket cards. In addition, the rules limit the number of chips for players. But their stacks may differ in size. This situation can be easily resolved.

The player with fewer chips is not allowed to buy more to compare with the other player's bet. He has the right to bet completely with his stack and, if he wins, take a pot that is identical in size to his. In this case, his opponent will take back the remaining chips.

Buying additional chips is only allowed between hands. The same rule applies to tournaments, where during the rebuy, the player must pay an additional tournament fee.

How to determine the winner

According to the rules of Texas Hold'em, the pot can be won with or without a showdown. If all players fold, the only one who doesn't fold is the winner. Having equalized all bets, and when the bidding reaches the river, the players open their pocket cards and compare combinations to determine the winner. The one with the strongest combination wins. The remaining participants lost and can start a new game.

Controversial moments in Texas Hold'em

If you want to not only play poker, but also win, a beginner needs to study the existing rules and various nuances of the game as carefully as possible. The emergence of controversial situations - a common thing in any game. This is the difference between an online game and a regular one. Breaking the rules is simply technically impossible.

In addition, the program of the poker room itself follows them strictly. While this does not exempt players from learning existing rules. Indeed, in this case, it is possible to make an erroneous decision that will cost money. Ignorance of combinations will also entail a loss.

There is absolutely nothing complicated in poker, as it seems to beginners. Confusing and difficult to remember combinations are learned over time, and the game turns into a pleasure. In addition to self-reading the rules, there are special poker simulators, thanks to which you can hone your skills.

Learning how to play Texas poker is not that difficult. game mechanics quite simple, besides, this is the easiest and most popular option. The main goal of the game is to collect a strong combination of cards and take the pot.. It is more difficult for beginners to learn the nuances, terms, combinations, game progress, trading circles. A lot of questions often arise: how is the winning formed, who makes the first move, how many combinations and which one is older, how to resolve disputes, 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 “on the machine”.

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

• collection of winning combinations;
• placing initial bids;
• trading circles and bank formation;
• 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 analyze these rules of Texas Poker in more detail.

Hold'em combinations

The most important part, it is around the collection of combinations that the whole game is built, poker Hold'em rules they say that he who can collect the strongest combination, takes the whole bank. The combinations are listed below in ascending order of precedence.

1. senior card. In another way, a 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 linked to each other by the same denomination. Since any combination must consist of five elements, three more act as kickers, they are needed to determine the winner in disputable 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 combination is taken into account from the highest par value Pair. For example, two kings and two tens will beat two queens and two jacks.
4. Set. Three cards that have the same value. Two kickers complete the combination.
5. Straight. Opens combinations in which there is no kicker. Five cards in ascending order of denomination. All suits must be different (if they are the same, this is a different, stronger combination). Combination allowed ace,2,3,4,5.
6. Flash. Five cards of the same suit of any value. Seniority is determined by the face value of the highest card in hand. Suits in poker are all equivalent.
7. Full house. The combination is assembled from a Set and a Pair, that is, three cards of the same value and two more. The rules of Texas Hold'em state that the hand with the higher value of the Set is higher.
8. Kare. Four cards that have the same rank. There is also one kicker here.
9. Straight Flush. Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
10. Royal Flush. Royal set. Five cards from 10 to Ace of the same suit. Drops out extremely rarely.

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

Starting bets and start 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 remember the rules of the Texas poker game, how the draw goes, how much the winner is entitled to, who becomes the leader and other components.

It is allowed to sit at the gaming table from two to as many people as you like, the main thing is that everyone needs two pocket cards and five common ones on the field. The rooms accept formats of 2.5 and 9 participants.

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

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

All players must take turns posting the big and small blinds. The move in each round is passed in a circle, according to the clockwise movement, so as not to confuse the order, there is a button chip on the table - a special element with a pointer. Hold'em poker rules state that in the very first hand starting rates are made by two players sitting to the left of the croupier.

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

Trading circles and bank formation

The first bets are made, now the croupier starts the distribution. According to the rules of the game in 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 opponents, after looking at them, the participants decide on their further moves.

The player who made the small blind is the first to say his word, several actions are available to him:

• Call. In the rules of Texas Hold'em is the designation Col. That is, the player calls the bet to the big blind.
• Reset. Designation fold. Throw cards and exit the current hand, losing the small blind.
• Boost. Designation Raise. The player can increase the big blind by the amount stipulated by the table limit.
• All in. Designation All-in. Put all your chips on the line. Allowed only in the no-limit version of the game.

The last move belongs to the big blind, he is allowed one more action - Check, that is, to miss without betting anything in the pot, but on the condition that no one made a Raise.

First round - flop. The croupier puts three cards on the table, they are considered common, they can be seen by all participants and used to make combinations. AT Texas poker the rules of the game for dummies provide that a new round of betting begins, the possible actions of the players are described above.

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

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

Determination of the winner and disputes

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

1. Two or more poker players turned out to have the same combination in terms of strength. In this case, the rank of the cards that make up the combination is taken into account. For example, a Flush with a king will beat a Flush with a ten. A pair of nines will be stronger than a pair of threes, and so on. If the set base 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 for a situation where all five community cards on the table, if they form any combination, are counted by all players. In this case the bank is divided equally.
4. If one of the participants goes all-in, and the other cannot call him, then side pots are created. The point is that there will be several pots at stake. For the number of chips that the player could not equalize, he cannot claim. They go to the participant who has collected the second most powerful combination. It will not work 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 constantly practice at the gaming table, even if it is an ordinary simulator of interest.

Limits in Hold'em Poker

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

• Unlimited. This means that each player, regardless of the current round, bank and other indicators, has the right to put any amount on the line. It is allowed to go for broke at any stage, the other participants are obliged to support this move, or refuse to fight. Today it is the most popular version of the game.
• Limit. In Limit Hold'em, the rules limit the size of bets within a strictly allotted range. 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. There is no talk of any all-in here. The rarest 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, if there is $100 in the bank, then the participant can put up 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 it seems at first glance. The main thing is to keep practicing. And at first, carry a cheat sheet with you so as not to confuse anything.