How to Play Texas Hold Em Poker
By PD Laughlin

Pot Limit Texas Holdem - A player can bet what is in the pot.

No Limit Texas Holdem - A player can bet all of his chips at any time.

There are many important Texas Holdem rules that you need to be aware of. We will cover them on this page. The first one you need to understand is that Holdem Poker uses what is called a dealer-button to indicate the dealer of each hand.

After each hand is completed, as with standard poker rules, the button moves clockwise to the next active player. This player will be considered “the dealer” for that hand.

Now let’s get into the nitty griddy of how to play Texas Holdem and some of the more specific Texas Holdem rules. Please remember that this page is designed for Texas Holdem beginners. But then again we can all use a little refresher every now and again.

How to play Texas Hold em Poker - Round One: before the Flop
A fresh table starts off with the first person sitting on the table becoming the dealer and the next player posting the small blind. A new game on an active table starts with the button moving clockwise to the next player. The player next to the button / dealer is required to place the small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower stake. This is a guideline for determining the blinds and not a strict rule.

The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind, equal to the lower stake limit. All the blinds in Holdem poker are considered live bets and the players who posted them will have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting returns to their position.

After the blinds have been placed, the down cards / hole cards are dealt to each active player. In Holdem, 2 cards are dealt to each of the players, after which the first betting round starts.

The player to the left of the player who placed the big blind starts the betting for this round. Each player will now have the option to place his or her bets in the first round, which is set at the lower limit of the stakes structure.

For example in a $10/$20 Holdem game, value of each bet is $10 for the first round. When we say the bets are limited to $10, it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of the value of $10, so when a user places “BET” then it is $10, “RAISE” would be $20 – includes one additional bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]