Natalya Shibanova

Among all types of poker, Texas Hold'em is the most popular. One of the reasons is that the rules of playing Texas poker are accessible even to dummies. This is probably why most poker tournaments in the world are held exactly according to the rules of Texas poker.
From this article you will learn about the rules of Texas Hold'em poker.

Texas poker - rules: basic nuances

To play Texas Hold'em, a deck with a set of 52 cards is used - from deuces to aces. Up to 10 poker players sit 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 occurs, the game participants use a round chip called a “button” to determine the dealer. It is needed for the player sitting to his left to make the first bet. The dealer also deals the cards when playing at home (in a tournament this is done by a special person, and in online poker the deal is automatic).

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

So, the first player makes the SB, and to the left of him, the second, respectively, makes 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 the SB and BB buttons for a while.

When the blinds are set, according to the rules of the Texas Hold'em poker game, each poker 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 betting on the game, which is made clockwise by all participants in the game. They can do things like:

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

The first round of betting ends when the largest bet of that 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 poker rules in Texas Hold'em, the second round begins with the poker player sitting to the left of the dealer. If a player makes a “pass”, then the turn goes clockwise to the next one. Player applications are similar to those in the 1st round. They only add the opportunity to bet (be the first to raise bets in a given round) and check.

The third round of betting is called the turn.

Turn - third round of the game

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

River - final round of the game

As a result, each of the tournament participants has 7 cards (2 pocket and 5 community 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 at showdown (cards shown), the player whose card combination includes the kicker (higher card) wins. The kicker is possible in combinations - pair, 2 pairs, three of a kind (set) or four of a kind. In other poker hands the kicker rule does not apply.

For more information about card combinations in poker, read another article on our website “Card Combinations in Poker”.

Rules for playing Texas Hold'em poker - video:

No-limit Texas Hold'em (Texas hold'em) is the most popular type of poker. In order to start playing Texas Hold'em, you need to learn simple rules. As in other types of poker, the game begins with sitting at the table. The number of players at it can be different, from two to ten participants, and you can choose any free seat. In poker, the positions of the players at the table move clockwise. To avoid confusion, a special marker is used, called “. Button" or " Dealer" is a nominal position in both online poker and casinos, it is used to subsequently determine the positions of players at the table and passes each hand to the next player in a clockwise direction.

Actions at the table

All poker hands begin with mandatory bets. Before the cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the button are required to post the small and big blinds. The small blind amount is half the big blind. These bets are needed so that the participants in the distribution have something to fight for. If we are talking about cash games, then the size of the blinds is determined by the selected limit with which they play at a given table. Traditionally, the table limit is designated as 100 big blinds, i.e. at the NL10 ($10 No Limit) table the blinds will be 5c and 10c. Thanks to mandatory betting, there is always money in the bank.

Each player then receives two cards face down, and the game begins from then on. In Hold'em, as in most other forms of poker, a player can do several different things:

CHECK– if there are no bets in the current round, the player can check. In this case, the turn passes to the next active player sitting on the left. Checking does not mean giving up the fight for the pot, it is only giving up the opportunity to bet in the current round.

FOLD– refusal to continue fighting for the pot in response to a bet or raise from an opponent. In this case, the player's cards are removed from the game. The player who folded can no longer bet or participate in the current hand.

BET– if there are no bets in the current round, the player can make a bet (bet). In this case, he sets the price for continuing the game. The players sitting behind him can throw away the cards (fold), equalize the bet (call) or raise (raise). The minimum bet in the game is equal to the big blind.

CALL– if a bet was made in the current round, the player can accept it by calling and adding the same number of chips to the pot equal to the last player’s bet or raise.

RAYZ– if a bet is made in the current betting round, the player can raise it by raising. To do this, he must place a bet higher than the last player's bet. To qualify for the pot, all subsequent players must accept or raise (reraise) this raise. Otherwise, they can only discard their cards (that is, fold). In No Limit Hold'em, the size and number of raises are unlimited.

Trading Circles (Streets)

All of these actions are taken by Hold'em players during each of the four betting rounds or, as they are also called, four "streets":

• Preflop
• Flop
• Turn
• River

In each round, betting continues to the person to the right of the last player to bet or raise. When the turn returns to him, the next round begins or the hand ends if all players before him chose to fold.

Preflop

After the players have received their cards, each of them can give up the fight by folding, continue the game by making a call of one big blind or a raise of at least two big blinds. The player to the left of the big blind speaks first. The word then passes to the next player clockwise. If no raise was made preflop, then the big blind acts last. If one of the players raises, then the game will develop according to the scenario described above until all players have their say.

At the end of the betting round, all bets made by players are collected into one common pot, for which the fight will continue on the next street.

Flop

This round of betting begins as soon as preflop ends. Three community cards are laid out on the table, called the flop. These cards can be used to make your own combination, but you cannot take them into your hand or change your cards to the flop cards - they are available to all players who continue to fight in the hand.

Betting on the flop begins with the first active player clockwise from the button. The last action on the flop (as opposed to preflop) is the button. Players have the same actions available to them as preflop, however, if no one has bet before, the player can check, passing the move to the next player and not putting anything into the pot.

After all players have had their say, all bets made are added to the current pot.

Turn

After the end of betting on the flop, the fourth community card is dealt - the turn, which is also used by players to make their combinations. Another round of betting occurs, similar to the flop. It starts with the first active player clockwise from the button.

River

After bidding on the turn is completed, the fifth and final card, the river, is placed on the table. The betting round begins again with the first player clockwise from the button, and the same betting rules apply as on the flop and turn.

All money deposited by players into the bank is added to the current bank, and the game enters the final stage.

Showdown

Those players who have equalized all bets on the previous streets take part in the last round of the game - the showdown. This is where it is determined who will win the pot. All players show their combinations.

The best five-card hand that can be made from all the cards available to the player wins. In other words, to create your combination, you can use all five community cards, one of your cards and four community cards, or two pocket cards and three table cards.

Remember: the winning combination is always determined by five cards

You can view all poker combinations on this page.

If two players have the same combinations on four cards, the so-called kicker comes into play - this is the highest unpaired card. For example, if the players have A K and A Q on the table A 6 2 8 7, then the combination A A K 8 7, which is higher than the opponent’s five-card hand with a queen (A A Q 8 7), wins.

If the combinations and kickers completely match, then the pot is divided equally between the players. An example of such a situation would be on the A K T T 2 board, where two players show A J and A 9 respectively - in this case their common hand is two pair of aces and tens with a king as kicker.

This is the second part of a series of articles on the rules of the game of poker, or rather its most popular variety - no limit texas hold'em(on the Internet it is sometimes called classical or regular poker). Article data on poker rules will be extremely useful for beginners (dummies) in poker.

You can find the first part at the link How to play poker (Texas Hold'em) - Part 1. This article describes in detail the course and sequence of actions at the poker tables.

Texas poker game progress

Each player at the table when playing Texas Hold'em receives two pocket cards (pocket cards are often called one word - “hand”). After the cards are dealt, each player has the opportunity to place a bet or leave the game. Exists 4 betting rounds- preflop, flop, turn and river, which will be discussed in more detail later in this series of articles. Trading rounds also called "street". During betting, 5 community cards are laid out on the table in three stages: first the first three, then one, and then one more. Since these are community cards, they can be used by any player at the table to make a poker hand. It turns out that each player has seven cards (2 of his own and 5 common ones), from which he must choose those five cards, the combination of which will give him the strongest possible combination of cards. Depending on the strength of the cards on the table, each player can use one pocket card and 4 community cards, both pocket cards and 3 community cards, or none of the hole cards at all, but only the community cards of the table. Common table cards are used only to make combinations. None of the players can take them, but at the same time, for example, 3 players can use the same common card.

For example. There were 3 players in the hand with absolutely identical cards - . Let's imagine that Player 1 has - , Player 2 has - , and Player 3 has - . General cards – . Thus, each player will take community cards, thereby making identical combinations - two pairs: kings and queens (more details about combinations will be written a little later in this article).

The winner is the one whose combination of five cards turns out to be the best, or the one who can “knock out” other players from the game with the help of bets and will be left alone at the showdown. After each hand is completed, all players discard the cards and they are shuffled, i.e., each hand begins with the distribution of new cards into their hands.

Texas Hold'em (poker) rules

In short, Rules for playing Texas Hold'em look like this (details will be below):

• Two players to the left of the dealer post blinds: a small blind and a big blind.
• Each player receives 2 cards face down;
• A round of betting follows (preflop);
• Three community cards are placed face up on the table in front of all players (flop cards);
• A round of betting follows (flop);
• Another community card is placed face up on the table (the turn card);
• A round of betting (turn) follows.
• The last community card is placed face up on the table (the river card). Thus, there are 5 community cards face down on the table.
• The last round of betting (river) follows.
• If, as a result of betting on the river, more than one person remains in the game, then a showdown follows. Players must use any cards from their two hands and the 5 common multiples to make 5 card hands. The player with the strongest combination takes the pot.

And now more about the rules of playing Texas Hold'em for beginners…

Turn order in the game

Texas Hold'em has its own specific rules for the order of actions of players at the poker table:

• Trading at the table always proceeds clockwise.
• After any player takes one or another action (you will learn about possible actions below in the text from this article), he cannot cancel his decision and the right to move passes to the next player after him (again, clockwise), i.e. .e. to the player sitting to his left.
• In the first round of betting (preflop), the player to the left of the big blind is the first to speak.
• Starting from the second round of betting (i.e. flop, turn and river), betting is always “opened” by the player to the left of the dealer (small blind).
• The bets made in each betting round are added up to a bank (it is often called the word “pot” - from the English Pot - a set of bets), for which there is a fight.
• The betting round ends when all opponents have made equal bets or folded their cards. Then the game moves to the next phase of the game - flop, turn, river or showdown.
• If one of the opponents (let's call him Player A) made a bet and his bet was increased by another opponent (let's call him Player B), then Player A will have another opportunity to take action in this betting round: fold, call the bet, or raise again .
• If one of the players on one of the streets has less money than the opponent’s bet, then it is considered that he went all-in (from the English All-in - all-in). In this case, two banks are created - the main and third-party. Both banks are played separately from each other between those players who participated in their formation. Example: on the flop Player A has $10, Player B and Player C have $15. Pot on flop = $20. Player B bets $15 and gets called by Player B. If Player A also calls this bet, there will be 2 pots: main = money that was already in the pot + bets of players within the money of the player with the least amount of money: in our case - Player And those. $20 + $10 (Player A) + $10 (Player B) + $10 (Player C) = $50. The additional bank is formed from the difference between all bets and the main bank, i.e. additional pot (side bank) = money that was already in the pot + players' bets - main pot. In our case = $20 + $15+ $15 + $10 – $50 = $60 – $50 = $10. Player A will only claim the main pot (i.e., he invested money only in it), and Player B and Player C will claim the main pot and the additional pot. First, the side pot is played between Player B and Player C, and then the main pot is played between Player A, Player B and Player C.
• If more than one player has reached the showdown, then the cards are revealed and the combinations of the players are compared with each other. The player who has the stronger combination takes the pot.
• If only one player reaches the showdown, then he takes the entire pot.
• If two or more players have the same combination strength, the pot is divided equally between these players. (This situation is called sharing - from the English split pot - to divide the bank).

In poker there is rule, according to which the player participates in the game only with the money that he has on his stack ( stack– the number of chips this particular player has at the table). You can only replenish your stack between hands. You cannot take money from the stack - you can only leave the table with this money. As mentioned earlier, if a player runs out of money in the stack during the trading process, he continues to participate in the hand, but does not take part in further trading and thus an additional or side pot (or pots) is formed on the table.

Actions of players at the poker table

Each player, depending on the trading activity, can take one of the following actions:

• Put, or " make a bet"(from English bet) - place a bet;
• Promote, « make a raise"(from the English Raise - raise) - increase the bet - bet more than your opponents bet. In other words, increase the previous bid;
• Reraise, « re-raise"(from the English Reraise) is an action in trading that increases the bet already increased by the previous player.
• Answer, « make a call"or "to call" (from the English Call - to answer) - to bet the same amount as the opponent bet, i.e. call. In other words, it is the action during betting where a player delivers (matches) chips to the size of the previous player's bet;
• Check, make a check, “check”, “check” (English Check - check) - do not increase the bet, leave it “as is”. You can check only when the size of your bet is equal to the size of your opponents' bet, i.e. if in this round of bidding no one raised the bid before you. For example, you are sitting in the big blind, one player called, i.e. called your big blind and everyone else folded. In this case, you can make a check.
• Pass, fold, “fold” (English Fold - fold) - refuse further participation in trading and fold the cards. This is an action during one of the betting rounds when a player deliberately refuses to participate in a given hand by discarding cards. As a rule, a “pass” (“fold”) is made when the player has “weak” cards with a low probability of matching a winning combination. After discarding the cards, the player loses all the chips that he previously bet in this hand;

Bet sizes according to poker rules

In No Limit Texas Hold'em, players can bet any amount during each betting round. However, there is a limit on the minimum bet size. The size of the minimum reraise is calculated using the formula:

Size of previous raise + amount to call

For example, let's say you're playing $1/$2 No Limit Texas Hold'em. There have been no raises before you yet. The minimum raise in this case will be $4 ($2 (which we need to call) + $2 (a raise by the amount of the previous bet before us, in our example this is the value of the big blind).

There is no maximum bet limit. If the bet size is equal to the player's entire stack (stack is the amount of money the player has at the table) - this is called going all-in, or going all-in.

Poker rules for preflop, flop, turn and river. Determining the winner at the showdown

1. Rules for playing preflop poker in No Limit Texas Hold'em

Trading between the players participating in the hand begins immediately after the blinds are set and cards are dealt to the players. Preflop, players place bets based only on their own hole cards. The betting begins with the player immediately to the left of the player in the big blind position. Then the right to make a decision passes to the next players in a clockwise order.

Preflop, a player can perform the following actions:

• Refuse to play your pocket cards and discard the cards, i.e. click on the "Fold" button
• Call the big blind, i.e. click on the “Call” button and look at the actions of other players at the table
• Raise the bet, i.e. press the "Raise" button, i.e. bet more than the size of the big blind. Preflop, the players in the blinds are always the last to make decisions. However, on the remaining streets (betting rounds, i.e. flop, turn and river), they make the first decision.

The question most new players ask is: “Why can’t I check preflop if I don’t want to raise, call or fold?” The answer is simple - the blinds in No Limit Texas Hold'em are considered bets, and rules of playing No Limit Texas Hold'em, you cannot continue trading until you have matched the bets from the players.

Based on preflop trading activity, you can draw conclusions about the strength of your opponents' hands. The main task of the preflop game is to determine the strength of your hand relative to the hands of your opponents. Thus, players with strong starting hands need to play aggressively and raise preflop in order to “knock out” as many opponents with weaker hands as possible directly preflop and prevent them from looking at the flop cards. Playing your starting hands aggressively preflop will give you an edge, i.e. initiative. The initiative in Texas Hold'em always remains with the player who raised last preflop.

When all players call or fold their cards, the preflop betting round is completed. If no one bets and all players fold, then the pot (which will consist only of blinds) will be taken by the player in the big blind (denoted as BB). If one of the players makes a bet and no one wants to support it, then this player will take the pot (which will consist of the blinds and his bet). If one of the players makes a bet, and another player calls it, then the preflop betting round will be considered completed and the players remaining in the hand will move on to the next betting round - the flop.

2. Rules for playing poker on the flop in No Limit Texas Hold'em

After the end of the preflop betting round, the players remaining in the hand get the opportunity to see three community cards, i.e. flop cards. A round of betting with three community cards up is called the flop.

The second and subsequent rounds of betting begin with the player in the small blind position. Starting from the flop, the last word in the betting round always belongs to the dealer, i.e. the player on the button.

A player can do the following on the flop:

• Skip the move and do not place a bet (i.e. click on the “Check” button). Postflop (i.e. on the flop, turn and river), each player has the right to do this, as long as none of the opponents makes a bet.
• Place a bet (click on the “Raise” button). In No Limit Texas Hold'em, the player chooses the bet size, but it cannot be less than the big blind. Once one of the players has made a bet on the flop, the others will no longer be allowed to pass. They must either call, bet larger, or fold their cards, refusing to play their hand any further.

After the players call the bets, betting on the flop is completed. All bets made are added to the total pot, and the players remaining in the hand move on to the next round of betting - the turn.

3. Rules for playing poker on the turn in No Limit Texas Hold'em

After the end of the second round of betting (flop), Rules for playing Texas Hold'em, the players remaining in the hand get the opportunity to see another community card - the turn card. A round of betting with four community cards exposed is called the “turn.”

You can also use the fourth community card, the turn card, to make your combination. Players who are still participating in the pot draw conduct another, third, round of betting. Turn Rules the same as on the flop.

Again, all bets made are added to the total pot, and the players remaining in the hand move on to the last round of betting - the river.

4. Rules for playing poker on the river in No Limit Texas Hold'em

After the end of the third round of betting (turn), according to the rules of the game in Texas Hold'em, the players remaining in the hand get the opportunity to see one more (last) community card - the river card. A round of betting with five community cards exposed is called the “river”.

The rules for trading on the river are the same as on the flop and turn.

River is the final, fourth round of betting in No Limit Texas Hold'em. All five community cards are on the table and each player must make one of the combinations using five cards. The player sees a total of seven cards (two “hole cards” and five “community cards” on the table).

After all players have placed their bets, a showdown occurs to determine the winner.

5. Determining the winner of the hand (showdown, showdown - from the English Showdown - revealing cards)

Showdown is the moment of truth when playing No Limit Texas Hold'em (or simply poker). At the showdown, players “reveal” their cards and determine who has the strongest combination of cards (strongest hand).

The player can use two of his own and three community cards lying on the table; the player can also use one of his pocket cards and four of the community cards, or even all five community cards. This does not change the essence of the matter. The main thing is that the final combination must include exactly five cards known to the player - no more, no less.

The player with the strongest combination wins the hand and takes the pot. If one or more players have equal combinations of cards, then these players divide the pot equally among themselves.

In the case when, when playing No Limit Texas Hold'em, none of the players supported the opponent's bet and everyone folded, the pot is automatically won by the player who bet last, regardless of the strength of his pocket cards, since he is the only player remaining in the hand. In this case, the player has the right not to show his cards, since not a single player supported him and there is no one to compare the strength of his cards with.

It is important to remember that in Hold'em no one suit has an advantage over another.

Once the winner of a given distribution is determined, the next distribution begins. The dealer button moves clockwise to the next player, and the next two players post the blinds and two new hole cards are dealt. That. everything goes back to the preflop stage.

This is the second part of a series of articles on poker rules you can finish. If you would like to continue understanding the rules of poker for beginners, please refer to the third part of this series of articles, Rules of Poker (Texas Hold'em) - Part 3: Poker Combinations

You can also find similar bonuses on our website in the section

Texas Hold'em is most popular variety of poker in the world. Therefore, in this article we will analyze the rules of playing this type of poker.

If we talk about the exact date and place of birth of this game, then it is unlikely that reliable figures and facts can be found anywhere. The most acceptable version is that it came to us from North America (in particular, from Alaska) in the form in which we know it now.

The rules of Texas Hold'em were first approved in 1900 in Texas (Robstown), which is where its name actually comes from. But its popularity really began to gain momentum with the holding of the first tournament in this poker discipline in 1969.

World Poker Tournament (WPT) commentator and poker professional Mike Sexton likes to say: " It only takes a minute to learn the rules of Texas Hold'em poker, and a lifetime to become a master.".

How to learn to play poker? Poker is like an onion - you peel back layers of knowledge one by one. As you travel through the world of poker, you will never stop learning something new.

How to play Texas Hold'em? Rules

Now we will analyze in detail all the stages of playing poker. You can also learn the combinations and rules of Texas Hold'em with the help of videos from the Poker Academy. Below video information about the rules of Texas Hold'em poker is described in more detail.

• Landing

Hold'em is usually played by nine or ten players. On Figure 1 shows a typical seating position for this type of poker. In this example, ten players are sitting at the table with identical banks (number of chips).

Picture 1

• Dealer's chip

Dealer chip, disc with inscription "Dealer" or "D", is a very important part of the game as it shows who is dealt and who is in position "button". Each player will have to be the dealer once per round. If you play in a casino, you will have a professional dealer at the table with you, dealing cards to everyone except himself. However, in this case, the dealer's chip passes around the circle from player to player.

First of all, cards are dealt to the player to the left of the button, and then clockwise. On Figure 1 Player 1 has the dealer chip. In the next hand, Player 2 will have it, and then Player 3, and so on. In a company without a professional dealer, players deal cards (they are dealers) in turns.

Dealer position (button) is the most favorable in the game. The player in this seat is the last to bet, after he has seen what decisions the others have made. The exception is the first round of betting, since the blinds come into play immediately after the dealer.

• Blinds ("blind bets")

Before players receive cards, according to the rules, the two players to the left of the dealer are required to bet so-called blinds– mandatory bets that are made by default in each hand. The player to the left of the button (Figure 1) bets half the required bet – small blind. The next player bets the full bet - big blind. In our example, the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2.

• Giveaway

After the small and big blinds have been posted, each player is dealt two cards face down and face up. These are pocket cards. The best starting cards, as the rules of the game in Texas Hold'em say, are two aces. The first round of preflop betting begins.

It would be useful to know when the most common (among many others) type of poker in the world appeared. True, there is no reliable information about the date and place of birth of Texas Holdem. There are only guesses and assumptions.

The most plausible version is that this variety in its modern form came to us from Alaska. The rules were approved in 1900 by the state of Texas, which is how the game got its name. But it did not gain its popularity immediately: only after 1969, when the first Texas Holdem tournament was held.

Basic rules of Texas poker: from the number of people to winning combinations

In Hold'em, there are usually from 2 to 10 people sitting at one poker table. A deck of fifty-two cards, familiar to all poker players, is used. Even before the first distribution, the dealer is determined who will receive the button (a large round chip) for the next distribution. By the way, the dealer player does not necessarily deal the cards. Online, for example, the system does this. Determining the nominal dealer is necessary to decide who will set the blinds - small and big (the size of the latter is usually twice the size of the former). These are the mandatory first bets made by players in the ripe, even before the players see their cards.

Mandatory bets are made by poker players sitting to the left of the dealer. The first one makes the small blind, the second makes the big blind.

All players at the table receive from the dealer or from the system, if we are talking about online poker, even before the start of the game, but after making left bets, two hole cards.

Bets are placed, cards are received - the game begins!

Preflop: First round of betting

Everything that happens in the game before the flop appears on the table, namely the first three open community cards, is called preflop. At this time, players look at the cards received and look for possible options for the development of events.

The player to the left of the big blind goes first. His position is called "under the gun." This name is easily explained by the player’s not very advantageous (one might even say very disadvantageous) position.

What should you do when trading?

• Place a bet. Usually the player with the “under the gun” position has this right. It sets a minimum price that other participants will have to pay in order to participate in the game in the future.
• Quit the game. Folding is easy, but there is no need to rush, weigh the pros and cons. If you really understand that you have nothing to count on with the cards you received, then discard them and do not participate further in the distribution.
• Call the bet. Call to put into the pot exactly as much as the previous player put in. For example, if they bet 10 chips before you, making a call, you can do the same to continue the game.
• Raise the bid. Raise to increase your opponent's bet and increase the price for other players.
• Pass the move. A check is a technique that players can use to pass a move to an opponent. But you can only check if there have been no bets yet.

Trade order

To keep the game running in an orderly manner, there are trading rules. Bets are placed clockwise.

In the first round of betting, the person to the left of the big blind starts betting. Starting from the second circle, the person sitting to the left of the dealer opens the trade.

The bets are placed, they are collected in one large pile in the center of the table and form a bank, for which further competition is being waged. After which the game moves to the next phase - the flop.

Flop: three cards face up

The dealer opens a flop on the table: he places three community cards face down, which all players at the poker table can already see. They don't belong to anyone. They can be used by anyone in the future to create their own winning combination.

For example, you have a Five and a Ten in your hands. At the flop, the common King, Five and Ace appeared on the table. Now you have a combination of a pair of Fives in your hands. But don’t rush to conclusions, this is not a very strong combination. Perhaps the turn or river will change your position. Which is quite possible!

After the flop, the second round of betting begins. You already know how it goes. Money or chips are added to the existing pot. Game continues.

Turn: fourth card

This card is also placed face up on the table. It can also be used to create a combination.

Then bidding begins again. And again, all bets made are added to the total pot.

River: the fifth card that can change the course of the game

Thanks to the fifth (last) card, the game can turn in a completely different direction if it helps someone make a strong combination.

After the river comes the fourth round of betting, probably the most merciless of all. Since everyone probably already knows their winning combination. It remains to be seen whether it will be a winner or not.

The one who reaches the end in Hold'em participates in showdown - finding out the best hand.

Showdown - whose hand is stronger?

This is the culmination of the entire game when the winner is determined. The one with the strongest five-card combination wins. The winner takes the entire pot.

What combinations can you collect?

Having learned the rules of Hold'em poker, the player asks quite logical questions: “What combination needs to be collected to win the game?” A poker hand always consists of 5 cards. Not from three or eight, but from five. But you are dealt only two cards. The rest must be obtained from community cards. You can only use three of the open cards, or you can use all five. It doesn't matter. The main thing is that you know which combination you can win with.

There are many card combinations. It is impossible to remember them all. But there are ten basic ones that anyone who wants to build a successful gaming career must know.

1. Royal Flush. This is the strongest (one might even say authoritative!) combination in poker. A royal flush is Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit.
2. Straight flush. Five cards of the same suit, in ascending order of value. For example, Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen and King. If two players get a straight flush at once, then the one with the higher cards wins this dispute.
3. Kare. 4 cards of the same value. For example, four ladies. Or four eights. This is all Kare. In a situation where two players have the same Four of a Kind, the winner is determined by the Kicker - the fifth card in the combination (this is why the fifth card must be present in the combination).
4. Full house. Combination of Triplet and Pair (more on these combinations below). If two players have a Full House, the winner is determined by the seniority of the Triplet. If the Triplet is the same, the victory is determined by the dignity of the Pair.
5. Flash. 5 cards of the same suit. The order of dignity is not important. It is taken into account only when compiling a Straight Flush (you remember what cards it is made of?).
6. Straight. Five, which is a stack of cards, of increasing value, of different suits.
7. Triplet. To collect this combination, you need to get three cards of the same value.
8. Two pairs. Two pairs consist, oddly enough, of two pairs (read about the pair below).
9. Pair. 2 cards of the same value. For example, two Sevens or two Aces.
10. Senior card. This is the weakest hand in poker. When no one has a combination, the winner is determined by the highest card in the hand.

Varieties of Holdem poker

There are three types of Texas Holdem, depending on which variety you play, the rules will vary.

Hold'em Limit
The size of the bets here is limited to a pre-agreed limit. This type is suitable for beginners, since the intensity of passions at such tables is usually lower. And bluffing doesn't play an important role. When you enter the poker room, you will see tables where bets will have two numerical values. For example, at a $2/4 table, the bets are two dollars each in the first two rounds, and four dollars each in the third and fourth rounds. In limit poker, math is important.

Pot Limit Hold'em
As the name suggests, this is something between a limit and no-limit version of the game. Bets are limited by the current pot size.

No Limit Hold'em
The size of the bets is not limited by anything. You can go all-in at any time. Math is less important. Psychology plays a big role and how a person knows how to restrain his emotions and read the behavior of others. If you are a beginner, hold off on playing no-limit. Surely, you will not like the pace of the game and the passions that sometimes boil here.