Texas hold 'em

Texas hold 'em (or simply hold 'em or holdem) is the most popular of the community poker card poker Texas hold’em games. It is the most popular poker variant poker played in casinos in the western United States, and its no-limit form is used in the final event of the World Series of Poker (abbreviated WSOP), widely recognized as the world championship of the Texas hold’em game.

In 2003, holdem exploded in popularity as a spectator sport in the United States. This was due to several factors, including the introduction of lipstick cameras that allowed the television audience to see the poker players' hidden poker cards. ESPN's coverage of the WSOP featured the unexpected victory of Internet poker player Chris Moneymaker (his real name), an amateur poker player who gained admission to the tournament by winning a series of online tournaments. Two additional holdem series debuted in 2003, the "World Poker Tour" (abbreviated WPT) and "Celebrity Poker Showdown". Both of these shows are still currently in production and garner a large and loyal viewership. Holdem is commonly poker played in the rest of the world as well, but seven-poker card stud, Omaha hold 'em and other Texas hold’em games may be more popular in some places.

Although it can theoretically be poker played by up to 22 poker players, it is generally poker played with between 2 and 10 people. It is one of the most positional of all poker variants, since the order of betting is fixed throughout all betting rounds.

Rules

The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general Texas hold’em game of poker, and with poker hands. For a general introduction to these topics, see Poker, Poker hand, Poker probability, and Poker jargon.

Betting structures

We make no assumptions about what betting structure is used on Texas hold’em. In casino poker play, it is common to use a fixed limit and two blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called a small bet, while the limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is called a big Texas hold’em bet and is generally double the small bet. The small blind is usually equal to half of a small bet, and the big blind is equal to a full small bet. (In some cases, the small blind is some other fraction of a small bet, e.g. $10 is a common small blind when the small Texas hold’em bet is $15; this occurs mainly in brick and mortar rooms where higher-denomination chips are used. The double-blind structure described above is relatively recent; until the 1980s, a single-blind structure was most common.)

Occasionally, the fourth Texas hold’em bet is larger still (a big river bet), and the big blind is sometimes less than the small bet, in which case it is treated the same way a sub-minimum bring-in is treated in stud poker. Antes may be used instead of or in addition to blinds; this is especially true in tournament poker play. The Texas hold’em game also poker plays very well at the no-limit level, and many tournaments (including the above mentioned World Series championship event) are poker played with this structure.

Poker play of the hand of Texas hold’em

Poker play begins with each poker player being dealt two poker cards face down. These are the poker player's hole poker cards. These are the only poker cards each poker player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown, making Texas holdem a closed poker Texas hold’em game. The hand begins with a "pre-flop" betting round, beginning with the poker player to the left of the big blind (or the poker player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. After the pre-flop betting round, the dealer deals a burn poker card, followed by three face-up community poker cards called the flop. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the poker player to the dealer's left and continue clockwise. After the flop betting round ends, another poker card is burned, and a single community poker card called the turn (or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final burn poker card is followed by a single community poker card called the river (or fifth street), followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.

See also: Texas hold 'em hands

The showdown in Texas hold’em

If a poker player bets and all other poker players fold, then the remaining poker player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole poker cards. If two or more poker players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each poker player poker plays the best five-poker card hand he can make from the seven poker cards comprising his two hole poker cards and the board (the five community poker cards). A poker player may use both of his own two hole poker cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-poker card hand. If the five community poker cards form the poker player's best hand, then the poker player is said to be poker playing the board.

If the best hand is shared by more than one poker player (e.g. if no poker player is able to beat the board), then the pot is split equally amongst all remaining poker players. However, it is common for poker players to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked hands. In particular, kickers are often needed to break ties. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand, because often the board nullifies kickers. (See the second example below.) Straights often split the pot, and multiple flushes may occur. In the case of flushes, the flush is awarded to the poker player with the highest flush poker card which completes a flush and beats the board's flush poker cards. If there is a flush on board, (i.e. if all the board poker cards are the same suit), then under poker cards in that suit do not poker play, and if no one has a poker card in the flush suit beating the board, then the pot is split. The sole exception to this rule is the case of a straight-flush.

The best possible hand given the five community poker cards are referred to as the nuts. The lowest possible nuts is three queens (this occurs with a 2 3 7 8 Q on the board, with no more than two poker cards of any one suit).

Examples

Here's a sample showdown at Texas Hold’em:

Alice's best five-poker card hand is 8♠ 7♠ 6♦ 5♦ 4♥, making an 8-high straight. The best hand Bob can poker play is 4♣ 4♥ 4♦ A♣ K♠, for three 4's with A and K kickers. Carol can poker play A♠ K♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ for an A-high flush. Finally, Ted can poker play K♠ K♥ K♦ 4♣ 4♥, for a full house, which wins.

Here's a sample deal. The poker players' individual hands will not be revealed until the showdown, to give a better sense of what happens during poker play. Alice is the dealer. Bob, to Alice's left, posts a small blind of $1, and Carol posts a big blind of $2. Alice deals two hole poker cards face down to each poker player, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Ted must act first because he is the first poker player after the big blind. He cannot check, since the $2 big blind poker plays as a bet, so he folds. Alice calls the $2. Bob adds an additional $1 to his $1 small blind to call the $2 total. Carol's blind is "live" (see blind), so she has the option to raise here, but she checks instead, ending the first betting round of Texas Hold’em poker game.

Alice now burns a poker card and deals the flop of three face-up community poker cards, 9♣ K♣ 3♥. On this round, as on all subsequent rounds, Bob begins the betting. He checks, Carol opens for $2, and Alice raises another $2, making the total Texas hold’em betnow facing Bob $4. He calls. Carol calls, putting in an additional $2. Alice now burns and deals the turn poker card face up. It is the 5♠. Bob checks, Carol checks, and Alice checks; the turn has been checked around. After burning, Alice deals the final river poker card, the 9♦, making the final board 9♣ K♣ 3♥ 5♠ 9♦. Bob bets $4, Carol calls, and Alice folds (Alice's holding was A♣ 7♣; she was hoping the river poker card would be a club to make her a flush). Bob shows his hand of Q♠ 9♥, so the best five-poker card hand he can make is 9♣ 9♦ 9♥ K♣ Q♠, for three 9's, with K and Q kickers. Carol shows her poker cards of K♠ J♥, making her final hand K♣ K♠ 9♣ 9♦ J♥ for two pair, K's and 9's, with J kicker. Bob wins the showdown and the pot of the Texas Hold’em poker game.

Here's another situation that illustrates the importance of breaking ties with kickers and poker card ranks, as well as the use of the five-poker card rule. After the turn, the board and poker players' hole poker cards are as follows (though none of the poker players know another poker player's hole poker cards):

At the moment, Bob is in the lead with a hand of Q♠ Q♣ 8♠ 8♥ K♥, making two pair, Q's and 8's, with K kicker. This just beats Carol's hand of Q♥ Q♣ 8♠ 8♥ 10♦ by virtue of his kicker. Both Alice and Ted are hoping the final poker card is a club, which will make them both a flush, but in that case, Ted would have the higher flush and win the showdown. For example, if the final poker card was the 7♣, Ted's flush would be Q-J-7-4-2, while Alice's would be Q-10-9-7-4. Alice could still win, though, if the final poker card were the J♦, as that would give her a Q-high straight. On this deal, however, the final poker card was the A♠, which didn't help either of them. Bob and Carol still each have two pair, but notice what happened: both of them are now entitled to poker play the final A as their fifth poker card, making their hands both two pair, Q's and 8's, with A kicker. Bob's K no longer poker plays, because the A on the board poker plays as the fifth poker card in both hands, and a hand is only composed of five poker cards. They therefore split the pot of the Texas Hold’em poker game.

Starting hand terminology and notation at Texas Hold’em

There are (52 × 51)/2 = 1,326 distinct possible combinations of two hole poker cards from a standard 52-poker card deck. However, since suits have no relative value in poker, many of these hands are indistinguishable from the point of view of pre-flop strategy. In fact, ignoring suits, there are precisely 169 distinct possible starting hands in holdem. [1] (http://www.math.sfu.ca/~alspach/art3.pdf)

As an example, although J♥ J♣ and J♦ J♠ are distinct combinations of hole poker cards, they are indistinguishable as starting hands. Any starting hand comprising two jacks is called pocket jacks and is denoted JJ. Similarly, any starting hand comprised of two aces is called pocket aces and is denoted AA, and any starting hand comprised of two sevens is called pocket sevens and is denoted 77. Each of these starting hands is called a pocket pair.

The starting hands which are not pocket pairs fall into two classes – the suited hands and the unsuited hands. An example of a suited hand is 8♠ 7♠. Any starting hand comprised of an 8 and a 7 of the same suit is called 8-7 suited and is denoted 87s, where "s" is an abbreviation for "suited". An example of an unsuited hand is Q♣ 9♦. Any starting hand comprised of a Q and a 9 of different suits is called queen-nine offsuit and is denoted Q9 (or sometimes Q9o, where "o" is an abbreviation for "offsuit"). Remember, an "s" always denoted a suited starting hand, while the absence of an "s" always denotes an offsuit starting hand.

There is one other matter of notation which should be mentioned. In almost all poker writing, the rank of "10" is abbreviated with the letter "T". The main reason for this is so that all the ranks can be written with a single character stroke. If poker cards are featured pictorially, "10" is often used rather than "T", but within text, the standard notation for the rank of ten is "T". For example, pocket tens is denoted TT, while ten-nine suited is denoted T9s.

Basic Strategy

Poker strategy is highly complex — an aspiring poker player would be wise to buy a book on poker strategy before poker playing in a casino. Nevertheless, some of the basic factors that influence good poker play can easily be explained. One of the most significant considerations is the number of poker players at the table: in a large Texas hold’em game with 8 or 9 other opponents, you need to have a strong hand to win the pot, so you should fold most hands before seeing the flop. In a smaller, "short-handed" Texas hold’em game you can afford to poker play more hands, since you are facing fewer opponents. (In fact, if you fold too often, you will be penalized because you are paying the blinds so often.) Other important factors include:

• The style of poker play of your opponents: how often they raise, how inclined they are to call, and so on. This falls into two general categories: "tight/loose" and "passive/aggressive". Each poker player (and each Texas hold’em game) can be characterized based on these two dimensions. A tight poker player poker plays premium hands, has high standards for calling raises; conversely, a loose poker player often limps in (calls before the flop without raising) and cold-calls (calling a raise without raising) more often than is correct. A passive poker player frequently checks and calls or checks and folds after the flop and does not push the betting with an advantage; conversely, an aggressive poker player often raises for a variety of reasons after the flop with an advantage. In general, tight/aggressive poker players have developed the best style of poker play and should be avoided, while loose/passive poker players have developed a weak style of poker play and should be attacked when vulnerable.
• Your position in the hand. The poker player in the "dealer" position (or "button") is always the last poker player to act in every betting round. (The sole exception to this is the first pre-flop round, in which the big blind has the last "option".) Therefore, that poker player has the most information about the other poker players and is in the best position. The earlier the position you are in, the greater your disadvantage. (The sole exception to this rule is with regard to bluffing.) Therefore, you should be inclined to poker play more hands in late position, and fewer hands in early position.
• Your "table image": how other poker players at the table perceive your poker play alters the way they poker play. If they think are you a tight poker player, they will be less inclined to call your raises; if they think you are an overly-aggressive poker player who frequently raises with marginal hands, they will be more inclined to call. Good poker players are able to vary their style in poker play to take advantage of the present situation and to make their poker play less predictable.

Pre-flop at Texas Hold’em

• High Pocket Pairs: Pairs from Aces (AA) to Tens (TT) are always a good starting hand. They often begin as the best hand and hold up. They also have the opportunity to complete high flushes and straights, and they show a large profit when they "flop a set" (hit a third poker card of the same rank on the flop, to make three-of-a-kind).
• Middle Pocket Pairs: Without improvement, a middle or small pocket pair is a weak hand in a full Texas hold’em game. Its value increases as the number of poker players decreases. The usual strategy is to try to see the flop cheaply with a hand like this --- if you flop a set, you now have a very strong hand. If you miss the flop, you should usually fold. Since the odds of flopping a set are about 7.5:1 (or 12%), try to avoid calling too many bets pre-flop, since you will be folding most of the time on the flop.
• High Poker cards: Two suited high poker cards (Ten or higher) are strong and usually poker playable, especially in late position. They have the combination of all three attributes of high poker card value, and high straight and flush possibility. The value of two unsuited high poker cards is considerably less. Unsuited high poker cards, unless they are strong hands like AK or KQ, should generally only be poker played in late position for a single bet. Calling with KT or even AT in early position in a full table is a common beginner error.
• Suited connectors: If your two poker cards are suited, don't overrate them. Suited connectors, such as 9♥ 8♥, are good drawing hands: they have a chance to make both a straight and a flush. These types of hands poker play well against many opponents. Also, suited aces and kings poker play well against many opponents, but require caution because they are easily dominated. However, random suited hands, such as J♣4♣ or 9♠6♠ rarely show a profit.
• Other: If a hand is not listed in one of the above types, it is almost never correct to poker play it voluntarily. The most common mistake beginning poker players make is to pay to see the flop too many times with bad hands, which costs them plenty of money over hundreds of hands. Yes, any hand such as 72 (which is the worst possible hand) can get lucky, but much more often than not, these hands will miss the flop and require a fold. Marginal hands are possibly even worse, as they are easily dominated (e.g. A7 against AQ) and will often go all the way to the river paying off the best hand.

For more information on the strategy of starting hands, see Starting hands strategy.

After the flop at Texas Hold’em

• Drawing hands, such as 4-poker card flush or straight draws, are some of the most difficult hands to poker play. There really is no simple accurate advice. You must always take into account your position, the previous action, the texture of the board, the style of poker play of your opponents, and the size of the pot.
• If you don't have at least a drawing hand or a pair after the flop, it is almost always correct to fold. The sole exception to this might occur if you find yourself heads-up (2 poker players) or with 2 opponents and you have an opportunity to bluff. Even in this case, some kind of draw is good, because then you can semi-bluff.
• If the flop goes against your high pairs, and if there is a coordinated board, i.e. possible flush or straight draws, it is often correct to fold, especially if there is heavy betting. Marginal hands with little drawing potential do not poker play well if there is a lot of action.
• When you hit a flush or straight, be aware of the possibilities of other poker players having the same type of hand but higher. If there is heavy betting, it is probable that someone else has you dominated.
• The strongest possible hand given the currently shown poker cards is known as the "nuts" and is clearly the most desirable position to be in. In this case, the objective of betting strategy is to maximize return from the hand, which can include subtle poker play designed to misrepresent the strength of the poker player's poker cards.
• If you have a strong hand (e.g. top pair, excellent kicker; 2 pair; or 3 of a kind after the flop), it is often good to try to protect your hand. However, there is no simple accurate advice for how to achieve this. Sometimes, a Texas hold’em bet is warranted, while at other times, it is correct to go for a check-raise. A very good hand may even warrant a slow poker play. Again, decisions such as these are very complicated and involve taking into account a number of factors, such as the number of remaining poker players, previous action, your position, and knowledge of poker players' tendencies.