In the family of card games, poker is one of the most popular games. Combining strategy, decision making and a little bluffing, this game has many versions. These vary according to the number of players, the cards dealt and the value of the winning hands. Among the different versions of poker, there is No Limit Texas Holdem, which is by far the most popular, the most played and also the oldest. It's a very special game, and you will learn the rules of the game.
No Limit Texas Holdem: The Rules
Texas Hold'em is a variant of poker that is found almost everywhere and is played quite easily. As the expression "No Limit" indicates, this game has no limit to the bets and no limit to raises. For a beginner, it only takes a few minutes to master the simple rules of the game. In this game, each player is dealt two cards that are hidden.
On the poker table, there are five cards that are common to all players. The objective is to obtain the best possible hand (best five-card combination) by combining the hidden and community cards. The hands obtained are the same as in other types of games. The values also remain the same.
From the highest hand to the lowest, you have: Straight Flush Royal, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush or Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Double Pair, Pair and High Card. Hands with Aces in good positions usually win. For example: the pair of Aces in a pair or double pair, the four of a kind Ace in a four of a kind, or three Aces in a three of a kind.
How to play it ?
A No Limit Texas Holdem Poker game is played in 4 steps: the blinds, the deal, the betting rounds and the community cards, and then the knockout.
Step 1: The blinds
The blinds, also called "forced auctions", mark the start of the game. Here, the dealer is called the button and represents one of the players. He plays last. The player just to the left of the dealer posts the small blind, the player on the right posts the big blind. The big blind is usually double the amount of the small blind.
Step 2: The deal
After placing the bets, the dealer shuffles a deck of 52 cards. Then all players (maximum 10) are dealt two cards each, which is the deal. This is known as a hidden card, because no one but you can see it at the beginning of the game. After that, the dealer places 5 cards face down on the table. These are the cards that are still "community cards".
Step 3: The Betting Rounds
The first round of betting is initiated by the player to the left of the big blind. Each player can pay, raise or drop the bet, each in turn. Players who give up leave the game. The end of the first betting round is marked by the equalization of the highest bet.
The second round of betting begins with the unveiling of three visible cards in the middle of the table: this is the flop. These are three of the 5 community cards. The player to the left of the button goes first. Each player can bet, raise or fold. However, a player may decide to bet "zero", i.e. make a "check", if no player has bet before.
If all players decide to check, or if the highest bet is tied, the game moves to the third round. This round begins with the turning over of the fourth community card: the turn. At the end of this round, the fourth round begins with the unveiling of the last common card: the river.
4th stage: the felling
At the end of the fourth betting round, the players still in the race proceed to the showdown. This consists of revealing each player's hands. The showdown begins with the last player to bet. If no one has bet in the last round, then the player to the left of the button shows these cards first.
The showdown is clockwise. The winner is the player with the highest hand. In the event that more than one player has strong hands, the reward or pot is shared equally among them. Another game can then start.