Poker School

HOW TO PLAY TEXAS HOLD’EM

Welcome to the Playwinpoker Free Poker Training School

During this poker training you will be taught to learn how to play Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo. Amongst which Texas Hold’em is world’s most popular five card game played all over the world.

To play these games, you need a lot of skills, strategies and experience and only practice will make you a better pro player. However, poker is a lifetime study to master on.

DECK OF CARDS

A pack of cards is called a deck. It consists of 52 cards, which are divided into a group of 13 cards, and each group is of a particular suit. The highest card in a deck starts with an Ace following with King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. There are four suits – Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

Texas Hold’em is a five card game wherein the players need to bet in certain amount and the player with the best five card hand wins the pot. Poker is usually played with 10 players but can also be played with minimum two players. Before starting the game there are some terms that you need to know:

1. BUY-INS
One should buy-in a minimum amount of chips when sitting down at the table. The minimum buy-in limit is equal to ten times the lower bet limit of the game. For example in a $10-$20 table the minimum buy-in is $100 and in the $20-$40 table, the minimum buy-in is $200.
In short, buy-in is the amount with which you sit at the table.

2. STAKES
Stake is limit of the game. It gives a fair idea of the minimum and the maximum betting that could take place at the table. Stakes are divided into three:

• Fixed Limit – In fixed limit, the betting take place within the given stake.
• Pot Limit – In pot limit, the maximum bet is the size of the pot.
• No Limit – In no-limit, there is a limit on betting. The player can bet in all the chips he has on the table.

3. DEALER BUTTON
A small round disk placed on the table is known as dealer button. After each hand, the dealer button shifts to the left. Dealer button is used to indicate where the cards are to be dealt from.

4. BLINDS
Blinds are the required bet that starts the action in the first round of poker hand. They are compulsory bets that the players have to make before seeing their hole (pocket) cards. The player left to the dealer button post the small blind and the player left to the small blind post the big blinds. Blinds are put in by players seated immediately to the left of the button.

• Small Blind – Small blind is the player who sits left to the dealer. Small blind is equal to half of the minimum bet (e.g. in a $10-$20 table, small blind is $5 i.e. half of $10 which is the minimum bet).
• Big Blind - Big blind is the player who sits left to the small blind. The big blind has to put in the amount of the minimum bet (e.g. in a $10-$20 table, big blind is $10 which is the minimum bet).

5. HOLE (POCKET) CARDS
After placing the big blind, each player active on the table is dealt with two personal hole (pocket) cards face down which only the respective player can see. After seeing the hole cards, the player gets the fair idea of making his winning hand.

6. COMMUNITY CARDS (BOARD)
Community cards are the cards placed at the center of the table face up. They are divided into 3 categories.

• Flop: The first three cards dealt at the table.
• Turn: The card after the flop.
• River: The last and final card at the table.

7. BET : Bet is the amount, which is voluntarily put into the pot by the player.

8. CALL : Call is the amount needed to equal the biggest bet on the table.

9. RAISE : Raise is the amount to increase the previous bet.

10. CHECK : Check is to abstain from betting. In simple words, the player does not have to put any money into the pot.

11. FOLD : Fold is to withdraw from further participation in the current hand.

12. ALL-IN : The players can go "all-in" when they bet all their remaining chips or money. They can go all-in either by compulsion or by wish. Side pot is created for the players going all-in.

13. SHOWDOWN : At the end of the fourth betting round, showdown of cards takes place wherein the active players show their best five card hand and that decides the winner.