Holdem for Beginners

A Hand in Texas Holdem Written by: Cathy Roberts AKA LadyHoldem Muck Happens Ladies of Holdem

Texas Holdem has quickly become the most popular poker game in the United States today! It's pretty easy to learn, which deffinately is a plus in itself, not quite as easy to master, as a matter of fact, it has beeen said that Texas Holdem takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. So shall we spend a minute here learning? Then we can wander over to the forum, and begin working on that lifetime of mastering.

In an average game of Texas Holdem, there are 6-10 players. When you see the game referred to as "short handed" this is usually 6 players or less. Each of the players is dealt 2 cards face down. These two cards all called the players "hole cards".

In each hand of Texas Holdem there are two "blinds" a Big Blind and a smile blind posted by the first two players, sitting to the left side of the dealer. The dealer is indicated by a button that moves clockwise after every hand.

The big blind must place the minimum bet, before being dealt his or her cards. The small blind must place half of that bet. This creates action on the table, and forces players to be involved themselves in hands that they may have normally tossed. Placing blinds also keeps tournaments moving along as they rise with each round of the tournament. Watch here for a future article regarding tournament play!

Each player is now dealt their two "hole cards". It is a good habit to wait for your turn to bet to look at your cards, this gives you an opportunity to watch your opponents as they look at their cards. Now the players decide whether or not they want to become involved in this hand. When your turn comes around, you can "call " meaning bet an amount of chips equal to the big blind. You can "raise" by announcing your intention to raise, and then placing the amount of chips you would like to raise the bet up to in front of you, or you can fold (toss your cards face down into the center of the table and wait for another hand, and better cards).

After this betting round, the "Flop" is dealt, this is 3 cards, dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards are shared by everyone involved in the hand. All players again now have the opportunity to check (hang on to their cards, but place no bet) or bet. Once anyone has bet, any other player wishing to continue on in this hand must meet that bet. The other option is to fold your cards, by tossing them into the middle of the table, or into the "muck".

Next is the "Turn" another card dealt face up on the table, followed by another round of betting, and then the river.. the last card face up on the table for all players, and the last round of betting.

Next if we still have 2 or more players left involved in the hand, is the showdown, the last player to bet is generally the first player to show his or her hand, at that point you can either "Muck" your hand, meaning you are acknowledging that you are beat, or show your cards. Even if you believe you are beat, it is a good idea to show your cards until you are used to the game, let the dealer call the winning hand.

Later on this changes, and you will want to show as few hands as possible, but in your early stages, while you are still learning, it is easy to throw away a winner.

A few other important things you should know when playing No Limit Poker, is that you can at any time (during your turn) bet ALL of your chips (Thats what makes it NL, and what makes it so much fun ) ! You can't be bet out of a hand because you don't have enough chips to call. If another player bets more chips than you have, and you want to call the bet, you can go "all in" meaning bet all of your chips, in this case, you are then in the pot for the amount that you have, and anything bet over and above that by the other players, goes into a sidepot amongst those left in the hand. __________________