Texas Hold'em Learning Handbook

Texas Hold’em Learning Handbook: From Basic to Advanced

by
5/5 - (1 vote)

Texas Hold’em is the most popular version of card games on online entertainment platforms and in every major casino worldwide. In particular, it is the preferred choice for the majority of real-money card players. In this article, No1jl will explore how to participate in and master this fascinating game.

Combining Cards to Win: Simple Rules for Beginners

Texas Hold’em is a variant of card games where each player is dealt two private cards (hole cards), face down. The entire table will collectively use five community cards that are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. The goal of each player is to create the strongest five-card hand from the combination of their two private cards and the five community cards.

Texas Holdem poker
Texas Hold’em – Simple Rules for Beginners

In this game, you have two ways to win a hand:

  • Possess the strongest five-card hand when the final betting round ends.
  • Convince other opponents to give up the hand (fold) through your betting rounds.

Mastering how to play Texas Hold’em might seem complicated at first, but in reality, its rules are surprisingly simple. You can absolutely start participating in tables after just a few minutes of basic learning. However, becoming a proficient and professional player requires a lot of time and effort in practice. Like any deep game, Texas Hold’em is easy to learn but contains incredibly rich strategies, enough to keep you engaged at the tables for a long time.

The Dealing Process in Texas Hold’em

The cards in Texas Hold’em are dealt in a specific sequence:

  • Each player is dealt two private cards, face down, one at a time.
  • Followed by the first betting round.
  • The first three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These three cards are collectively called the “Flop.”
  • Next is the second betting round.
  • A fourth community card is dealt face up. This card is called the “Turn.”
  • Next is the third betting round.
  • The fifth and final community card is dealt face up. This card is called the “River.”
  • Followed by the final betting round.

How to Build Your Hand

Each player will determine their best five-card hand by combining any five cards from the five community cards and their two private cards. You can use both of your private cards, only one, or even none of your private cards (using only the five community cards).

>> Baccarat NO1JL: Revealing Winning Tips with a 99% Success Rate

Examples and Common Hand Situations

How do you determine the strongest hand of each player and who the winner is? Let’s look at a few illustrative examples below:

  • Four of a Kind (Quads): Pay attention to an extremely strong hand that can form. For example, if Jono initially only had a pair of 6s, but after all the community cards were dealt, there were two more 6s on the board, then Jono would have four of a kind of 6s – this is a very strong hand.
  • Full House (Boat): Another example is a full house. If Mona has a pair of Queens and the community cards show another Queen along with a pair of 6s, then Mona would have a full house of Queens and 6s (three Queens and two 6s). This is a strong type of full house that can appear.
  • Flush: To get a flush, a player needs to have two suited private cards (for example, two diamonds) and combine them with three diamonds on the community cards to form five cards of the same suit.
  • The Value of the Fifth Card (Kicker): If there are four diamonds on the board, and Mary has a Jack of diamonds, she will have a flush. Look at Horace’s and Erin’s hands. They both have two pairs – for example, a pair of Aces and a pair of 6s. But Erin’s hand is stronger because she has a pair of Aces and a pair of 6s with a King as the kicker (the fifth card), while Horace has a pair of Aces and a pair of 6s with a Queen as the kicker. This situation happens very often in Texas Hold’em. The kicker (the fifth card not used to form the best hand) is often the deciding factor in who wins.
  • Using the Community Cards Entirely (Playing the Board): Note that the two weakest hands sometimes do not use any of the player’s private cards. Their strongest hand consists only of the five community cards on the board. They cannot improve their hand by using their two private cards. In this case, they are “playing the board.” If all five community cards form the strongest possible hand and no one can improve it with their private cards, then all remaining players will tie and split the total pot evenly.

Hopefully, with these instructions, you have an overview and are ready to begin your journey to explore Texas Hold’em.

Spread the love

Table of Contents

→ Index