The Popular Texas Holdem
Texas Holdem may be the most popular poker game to date as it has appeared in Matt Damon's Rounders and Doyle' Brunson's Cadillac of Poker. The new James Bond film Casino Royale will have Texas Hold'em as their centerpiece game instead of Baccarat. Texas Hold'em's no limit betting form is the main event of the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour.
The game can be played with as many as 22 players, but on the average, it is played by 2 to 10 people. Like most poker games, the objective is to win the pot money.
Pots are won at the showdown or if all other opponents have folded after all the betting rounds have ended. Dealers of the game rotate clockwise to players. There are two blinds in the game. The small blind is posted by the player on the left of the dealer and is usually half of the big blind. The big blind is posted by the player left of the small blind, which is equal to the minimum bet.
There are three variations of texas hold-em: the limit hold'em, no-limit hold'em and pot limit hold'em. Amongst the three, limit hold'em has been the most popular in the U.S.
In limit hold'em, the bets and raises in the first two betting rounds should be equal to the big blind. The next two rounds of betting, must either be equal or double the big blind. In no-limit hold'em, players can bet or raise any amount he has at his table (also called an all-in bet); while in pot-limit hold'em, the maximum raise cannot exceed the amount of the pot.
Play of the Hand
The play begins when each player is dealt two card each facing down. These are called hole cards. They are the only cards players receive individually and they are only be revealed after the showdown.
Then a "pre-flop" betting begins rounding clockwise. Afterwards, the dealer flops three face up community cards, which follows another round of betting.
Now, a single card is flopped open to commence a third betting round. This is followed by a fifth community card and the last round of betting.
The Showdown
If all but one player have folded, then the remaining player wins the pot. When two or more players remain, then the showdown begins.
Using the five community cards and their own individual cards, players have to build the best hand possible in order to win the pot. If the community cards itself form as the best hand in all of the remaining players, they all split the pot. On the other hand, the one with the best hand, using 3 community cards and 2 hole cards would be declared the winner and thus gets the pot. The best players will use time-tested betting strategies that help grow the pot for the maximum payday.