HOW TO PLAY TEXAS HOLDEM POKER

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HOW TO PLAY TEXAS HOLD'EM

Objective

Like most variants of poker, the objective of Texas hold 'em is to win pots, where a pot is the sum of the money bet by oneself
and other players in a hand. A pot is won either at the showdown by forming the best five card poker hand out of the seven
cards available, or by betting to cause other players to fold and abandon their claim to the pot.

The objective of winning players is not winning individual pots, but rather making mathematically correct decisions. As a result
of making such decisions, winning poker players are able to maximize their expected utility and win more money than they lose
in the long run.

A standard hold 'em game with the blindsHold 'em is normally played using small and big blind bets. Antes may be used in
addition to blinds, particularly in later stages of tournament play. A dealer button is used to represent the player in the dealer
position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the position of the dealer and blinds. The small blind is
posted by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player to
the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as
the tournament progresses. (In some cases, the small blind is some other fraction of a small bet, e.g. $10 is a common small
blind when the big blind is $15. The double-blind structure described above is relatively recent; until the 1980s, a single-blind
structure was most common.)

When only two players remain, special 'head-to-head' or 'heads up' rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently than
expected. In this case, the dealer posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind.

The three most common variations of hold 'em are limit hold 'em, no-limit hold 'em and pot-limit hold 'em. Limit hold 'em has
historically been the most popular form of hold 'em found in casino live action games in the United States. In limit hold 'em, bets
and raises during the first two rounds of betting (pre-flop and flop) must be equal to the big blind; this amount is called the
small bet. In the next two rounds of betting (turn and river), bets and raises must be equal to twice the big blind; this amount is
called the big bet. No-limit hold 'em is the form most commonly found in televised tournament poker and is the game played in
the main event of the World Series of Poker. In no-limit hold 'em, players may bet or raise any amount over the minimum raise up
to all of the chips the player has at the table (called an all-in bet). In pot-limit hold 'em, the maximum raise is the current size of
the pot.

Play of the hand

Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down. These cards are the player's hole or pocket cards. These are the
only cards each player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown, making Texas hold
'em a closed poker game. The hand begins with a "pre-flop" betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind
(or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise.

After the pre-flop betting round, assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a flop,
three face-up community cards. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin
with the player to the dealer's left and continue clockwise.

After the flop betting round ends a single community card (called the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting
round. A final single community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and the
showdown, if necessary.

The showdown

If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole
cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the
best five-card hand he can make from the seven cards comprising his two hole cards and the board (the five community cards).
A player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community
cards form the player's best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board and can only hope to split the pot, since the
other player can also use the same five cards to construct the same hand.

If the best hand is shared by more than one player, then the pot is split equally among them, with any extra chips going to the
first players after the button in clockwise order. It is common for players to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked
hands. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand; if the hand involves fewer than five cards, (such as
two pair or three of a kind), then kickers are used to settle ties (see the second example below). Note that the card's numerical
rank is of sole importance; suit values are irrelevant in Hold'em.

The best possible hand given the five community cards is referred to as the nuts. For example, on a board such as 2-3-7-8-Q,
with no more than two cards of any one suit, the nuts is three queens.

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