How to play Texas Hold’em Online
If you are looking to find out how to play Texas Hold'em online, look no further than this article which is courtesy of Wass Poker now offering a 100 percent signup bonus up to $500.
Texas Hold'em has fast become the most popular game of Poker being played. The game involves players being dealt a number of cards which can be used by any player to make a winning hand!
The Dealer
Texas Hold'em has a ‘dealer button' to indicate the dealer of each hand. Once a hand is completed the button moves clockwise to the next player. This method ensures that each player has the chance of playing early or late and that every player gets to place a ‘blind bet'
The Blind Bets
When learning how to play Texas Hold'em, you must have a basic understanding as to how the blind bets work.
The player who is left of the dealer button is required to place a ‘small blind' which is usually equal to half the lower stake. The next player to the left is now required to place a ‘big blind' which has to be equal to the lower stake limit. Once all the blind bets have been made the cards are dealt and the next player to the left starts the betting round.
Both the small and big blinds are considered live bets, therefore the player has the option to either check, call, raise or fold when the betting comes back round to them. After the flop and after each consecutive betting round, the first player to the left is the first to play.
If a player sits down at the table they will be forced to post equivalent to the big blind. Players are also required to post the small blind and the big blind upon re entry to the table if both blinds are missed (only the big blind amount is posted as a live bet and the remainder is added to the pot). All players have the option of sitting out and waiting for the button to rotate to their position before starting play.
Posting this blind will ensure fairness to all players and prevent players from constantly switching seats to gain a positional advantage or from entering games in a late position and then leaving before they are required to post the big blind.
The First Betting Round
Betting starts with the player on the left of the ‘big blind'. They now have the option to bet, raise or fold. All remaining players in the game can then call, raise or fold. ‘Calling' is to bet the same as the previous player. If the first player folds then the next player will have the option to bet while the remaining players can call.
The bets in the first betting round are set at the lower limit of the stake structure, so in a $10/$20 game the value of the bet is $10 while the raise is $20 (a raise includes a call of the previous bet plus an additional bet)
After the flop (when the first 3 community cards have been dealt), the second betting round begins.
The first player to the left of the dealer button is the first to act (bet, raise, check or fold). Checking is to refrain from betting and is only available if no bet has yet been made in the betting round. Once a bet has been made, remaining players will only have the option to call, raise or fold. Like the first round, the second also limits the bets and raises to the lower limit of the structure.
The Third Betting Round
The third betting round starts after the Turn (when the fourth community card has been dealt)
Once again, the player to the left of the dealer begins the betting (bet, check or fold). However, this time the bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stakes structure. Each subsequent player then call, check, raise or fold (a player can only check if no bet has been made)
The Final Betting Round
The final betting round occurs after the ‘river card' (the final community card) has been dealt.
The player to the left of the dealer button can bet, check, raise or fold. Bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stake structure. Players remaining in the game can then call, check, raise or fold (a player can only check if no bet has been made)
The Showdown
Any remaining players will now display their two cards and the player who has the best hand wins.
Players can use a combination of their own cards and the community cards (2 player cards + 3 community cards or 1 player card + 4 community cards) or all 5 community cards (known as playing the board).
If two or more players have the same hand then the pot is split equally between them.
Betting Exceptions
In Limit Texas Hold'em a maximum of four bets are allowed per player in a betting round
Bet
Raise
Re-raise
Cap
In No limit and Pot Limit Texas Hold'em the number of times a player can raise is unlimited. However, a player can not raise themselves*
* If a player raises and then all the remaining players either call or fold, then the player who raised would not get an option to raise because they were the last to do so.
A player is declared ‘All in' if they do not have enough chips to call. This player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of their final bet. All further bets by other players go to a ‘side pot' which any ‘All in' players are excluded from.
Now that you have some idea how to play Texas Hold'em online, be sure to open an account with Wass Poker where you can hone your skills and play in real live tournaments.
Ace King, Gambling911.com
