Shall we go all-in? Texas Hold'em is a very popular variation of poker, in which each player is dealt two cards, which he must combine with the five community cards (sails) arranged in the center of the table to make the best possible five-card hand. Betting and bluffing attempts are the main components of the game, as players raise the stakes and decide whether to continue a hand based on their chances of winning, which they can calculate as the sails are uncovered. Hold'em is the most played poker variant in casinos and is made famous by televised tournaments, such as the World Series of Poker. The online versions of the game are also very popular, but all you need is just a few friends and a deck of cards.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Playing a Hand
Step 1. Determine who will be the dealer
A trusted player, or a person who does not participate in the game, should collect and count the money, or whatever currency you decide to use, so that they can be exchanged for poker chips for each player. If you are not playing for real money, the dealer should simply assign the same number of chips to all players. There are a few different ways to organize a match.
- Unlimited Buy-in, Winner Takes All. In this version, each player enters the game by paying a predetermined amount, perhaps € 5 for a challenge between friends, or a few hundred euros for a more important tournament. There is no limit to the number of chips that a player can bet (it is always possible to go "all-in"), but those who run out of stakes are excluded from the game, as long as they are not allowed to re-enter by paying another stake. ticket. In this type of tournament, players are usually eliminated one by one, until only the winner is left to take the entire stakes.
- Limited, no buy-in. In games of this type, the stakes cannot exceed certain limits, but players have the possibility to buy back more chips at any time. This means that instead of playing until eliminated, participants keep betting until they decide to stop investing any more money. Often players have the option to exchange their chips for real money and leave the game at any time.
Step 2. Decide who deals first
That player will be assigned a placeholder, "the button" and a standard French 52-card deck (no jokers). The dealer shuffles the cards and always deals them starting to his left, clockwise. At the end of each hand, the button passes to the player to the left of the dealer, who will have the task of dealing the cards in turn.
Step 3. Bet the ante
Each player must put "the ante" into the pot, the minimum bet to participate in each hand. The ante is an optional rule, but it keeps the game lively and ensures that the pot is always big.
Step 4. Deal two cards face down to each player
They must be dealt one at a time, starting from the left of the dealer, who will assign the last card to himself. Players can look at their cards and must keep them hidden from others. These are the personal cards of the participants, who will try to combine them with the community cards to obtain the best score.
Step 5. Bet the small and big blinds
In each hand, the player to the left of the dealer is the small blind and must put half of the game's minimum bet into the pot. The next player is the big blind and must bet the full minimum amount. Betting begins with the player to the left of the big blind.
Step 6. Call, raise or fold, considering your cards
Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player must tie or raise their current bet to participate in the current hand. If someone decides to raise, the next player must tie or raise that bet and so on. Often, the raises must be multiples of the minimum bet (big blind). If you don't feel like you have good cards, you can fold your hand and forfeit the pot. Betting is played clockwise until all players have folded or called. If one of the players bets an amount that none of the other participants are willing to tie, the hand ends with that player's victory.
When the word goes back to the players who placed the small and big blinds in the pot, they must subtract the chips already placed in the pot from the current bet. Consequently, if no player bets more than the minimum, the big blind has the option to raise or participate in the hand without putting any more chips into the pot
Step 7. Reveal the "flop", the three face up cards that all players can see
Players participating in the hand will use these common sails to try to make the best possible hand.
Before revealing the flop, or one of the community cards that follow, the dealer must discard or "burn" the top card of the deck, without revealing it, in order to prevent attempts to cheat
Step 8. Bet, check or fold
After the flop, a second round of betting begins, this time starting with the player to the left of the dealer. All participants bet considering the two personal cards face down and the three sails face up in the center of the table.
If no player has bet before you, you have the option to "check" to pass the word without betting. If no player bets, the hand continues at the end of the round, but if one of the participants places a bet, everyone who checked must call to stay in the hand
Step 9. Reveal the "turn" and initiate another round of betting
The turn is the fourth community card dealt face up by the dealer in the center of the table. Players will have to evaluate their chances of winning on the basis of the best possible combination of five cards, made up of their personal cards and common sails. It is important to remember that the dealer has yet to reveal a card. Anyone who does not have a good hand at this point in the hand should fold, as long as they are not trying to bluff to win the pot.
Step 10. Reveal the "river", the last community card, and start the last round of betting
Since the river is the last card to be revealed, players place their bets with the best five cards out of the seven available. Your combination cannot improve, so fold if you feel you have no chance of winning. Again, if one of the players places a bet that the other participants are unwilling to call, he wins the pot and can do so without revealing his cards.
Step 11. Discover your "showdown" hand
Assuming that at least two players are still in the hand after the last betting round, they must now reveal their cards, starting with the last player who bet and proceeding clockwise. Each player announces his five-card hand. Whoever has the highest combination wins the pot (the sum of all chips wagered).
Step 12. Spin the button, shuffle the cards and play another hand
Usually, the Hold'em version of poker continues until all players have been eliminated or left the table and only one winner has taken all the chips in play, or ends when the remaining participants decide to split the stakes in. proportional to their chips.
Part 2 of 4: Understanding the Poker Points
Step 1. Learn about the ten basic poker hands
Poker points are made by assigning a value to the different combinations of cards. The hand with the best combination is the winning one. Below you will find the Texas Hold'em points, from lowest to highest.
Step 2. High card
If there are no combinations in the five cards, the value of the hand is assigned by the highest card, from 2 to ace.
Step 3. Couple
The combination of two identical cards. For example: 3 (♠) - J (♣) - J (♥) - 2 (♥) - 5 (♦) is a pair of Jacks.
Step 4. Double pair
The combination of two pairs of identical cards. For example: 4 (♥) - 4 (♦) - 9 (♠) - 9 (♣) - A (♠) is a double pair of 4 and 9.
Step 5. Tris
The combination of three cards of the same rank. For example: 6 (♣) - 6 (♦) - 6 (♠) - 3 (♠) - J (♣) is a set of 6.
Step 6. Scale
Five consecutive cards of different suits. For example: 5 (♣) - 6 (♠) - 7 (♣) - 8 (♦) - 9 (♥) is a straight to nine.
Step 7. Color
Five cards of the same suit. For example: 5 (♥) - 7 (♥) - 9 (♥) - J (♥) - Q (♥) is a suit of hearts.
Step 8. Full
The combination formed by a three of a kind and a pair. For example: 7 (♥) - 7 (♣) - 7 (♠) - Q (♥) - Q (♦) is a full house.
Step 9. Poker
The combination of four of the same cards. For example: J (♥) - J (♠) - J (♣) - J (♦) - 5 (♣) is a four of a kind jacks.
Step 10. Scale to color
The highest possible hand in poker. It is a straight made up of cards of the same suit. For example: 3 (♥) - 4 (♥) - 5 (♥) - 6 (♥) - 7 (♥) is a seven-heart straight flush.
Step 11. Royal Flush
It is a straight flush made up of ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit. For example: 10 (♣) - J (♣) - Q (♣) - K (♣) - A (♣)
Step 12. Compare the value of two equal scores
If two players arrive at the showdown with the same combination of cards, the winner is decided by the value of the cards in the hand. Here are the details of this rule:
- A pair of nines beats a pair of eights
- A two pair of jacks and twos beats a two pair of tens and fives
- A straight to the woman beats a straight to 10
- A flush with the ace beats a flush with the king
- If the combinations of the two hands are identical, the hand with the highest value high card wins. For example, a pair of eights with the ace beats a pair of eights with the king
Part 3 of 4: Knowing the Limit Cases
Step 1. Go "all-in"
If you are almost certain that your hand is a winner or if you believe that no other player is willing to match your bet, you can bet all your chips, which is a very bold move. If you have more chips than your opponent, your stake equals his total stake. If a player calls your bet, both of you will reveal the cards and the dealer will reveal the remaining sails.
Step 2. Divide the dishes
If a player goes all-in, participants who have called and have other chips at their disposal can still bet against each other. Their bets form a side pot. Set aside a pot equal to the bets placed by all players who have called all-in or who have already exited the hand. This is the total number of chips that can be won by the player who has wagered his remaining chips. The players remaining in the hand can bet against each other in a separate pot. At the time of the showdown, the main pot goes to the player with the best hand, while the side pot goes to the player with the best hand among the players who continued to bet after all-in.
Step 3. Play "heads up" (one on one)
The betting order changes slightly when there are only two players left at the table. The player with the button bets the small blind, while his opponent is the big blind. The small blind will be the first to bet before the flop, while after the first cards are revealed, the big blind will speak first in the following betting rounds.
Part 4 of 4: Mastering the Strategy
Step 1. Try a bluff
To bluff, you have to pretend that you have better cards than you have and place aggressive bets to discourage your opponents by winning the pot with a poor or mediocre hand. However, this is a risky strategy, as an opponent with a good hand might decide to call your bet.
Step 2. Learn to read your opponents
Poker is not just a game of luck, it also has a significant psychological component. Watch your opponents carefully for "tells" - involuntary ticks and other body language cues that indicate when a player is bluffing or has a good hand. Also learn about the habits and attitude of those who are at the table with you. Don't try to bluff players who always call all bets.
Step 3. Enlarge the plate
If you have a winning hand, you need to push other players to bet as much as possible. To do this, don't bet too high. Instead, try to make small raises to keep your opponents in the hand.
Step 4. Use the odds to your advantage
Poker is a game of statistics. If you can, calculate the odds that the next cards to be revealed are one of your "outs", ie cards that make your weak hand a winning combination. Also consider the possibility of your opponents improving their potential hands. Don't bet when the odds are against you.
Step 5. Come by often
If your cards are particularly bad (2-7 not suited is considered the worst hand) or if you haven't hit any relevant combinations after the flop, leave the pot right away. You should only play one hand out of four and the more players there are at the table the more cautious you should be during the game. Watching a game of poker on television, you might get the impression that the pros are playing every hand, but this is due to the magic of the montage. Hands in which almost all players fold are not shown to the spectators. Many players fold directly before the flop if they don't have a pair or an ace.
Step 6. Manage your bankroll
For serious poker players, spending their bankroll wisely - the amount of money they are willing to invest in the game - means having the ability to survive the ups and downs of fate without going broke. Start each game session by deciding how much money you are willing to lose. It is recommended that your bankroll be ten times higher than the stake price of the game you want to participate in.
