How to Play Texas Holdem Poker?

Texas Holdem Poker is the most famous poker variant in Australia. It is as great as its fame. Holdem became popular in the golden ages of the 2000s, thanks to TV, popular culture, popular fiction, and of course, the internet. Due to its immense popularity, many people are drawn towards it, and many guide-books and strategy books on how to play it have been released, But you do not need a guidebook; this article is there for you.

How does Texas Holdem Poker Works?

It is better to have a basic knowledge of poker at first because that will make playing Holdem easier. That is okay if you do not have basic knowledge of poker; this article has you covered.

It should be mentioned that the complexity of Holdem increases as the level gets higher.

Peter Burton, an expert on casino and gambling explains:

• Every player is dealt two cards ( “Hole cards” or “pocket cards”). A betting round occurs after that.
• There are three community cards known as the “Flop,” which are then dealt with, and then another round of betting happens.
• There is another fourth community card ( the “Turn”), and after it has been dealt (as you have guessed by now), the third round of betting is the rule.
• The last community card, “The River,” is dealt, and the last betting round occurs.
• Now it is time for Showdown, and each player will have to make their five-card. The best of the cards are to be chosen. Five of them from the two pocket cards and another set of five from the five community cards.

Here are some things to know about:

Players

There are two to ten players on a table. The table containing only four players is known as “short-handed,” while a table with two players is called “Head’s Up.”

First Dealer

To start the game, every player gets handed a high card, such as Ace, followed by; K, Q, J, 10, etc. A white chip, known as the button, marks the ‘dealer’. After a round, this button moves clockwise so that everyone has equal opportunity.

Forced bets

Before the players start dealing with the cards, “forced bets” are played. They are called the Big Blinds\ (BB) and Small Blind (SB) (also called Little Blind). 

Small Blind is situated at the Dealer's left, and the Big Blind is at the left of the Small Blind. The amounts are always determined beforehand. Small Blind is half the equivalent of Big Blind.

How to Play?

Shuffle and Start Dealing

The deck needs to be shuffled, and the dealer will give two cards ( face down) to each player (one at a time). That will start from the Small Blind or left of the dealer and move clockwise.

These cards are called Hole Cards or Pocket Cards, as mentioned previously. The game has started now, and players will look at their cards.

Betting

Now it is time for betting. Players will bet the sum of money or chips. The money or chips betted are known as the Pot. All the betting money goes into the Pot until it's time for Showdown.

Acting

The players can either :

• Check - not bet
• Bet
• Call - to raise or match the bet
• Fold - that is throwing away the hand and forgoing the Pot
• Raise- raising the current ongoing bet
• Re-raise - when someone makes another raise in the same round.

When a player has raised the current bet, each player must call even those who haven’t before. The once-raised player cannot raise unless someone else reraises them.

The Flop

The Dealer will deal three cards raised face up. Players now need to make the best hand possible using those cards and the pocket cards. Another betting round takes place. Small Blind (SB) now can whether Bet, Fold or Check.

Before the game starts, the dealer will “burn” or remove a card from the top of the deck; to avoid cheating.This round only ends if all the players have decided to Check, Fold or Call.

The Turn

It is time for the fourth community card and another betting round.

The betting will go on as before with the same rules. Once again, the betting starts from Small Blind, and the round ends when all the players have either Checked, Folded, or Called.

The River

It is time for the fifth community card, faced up. The dealer will “burn” another card to avoid cheating. If all the players fold save for one, they win in this betting round. 

If that is the case, the player will have to “Muck” their hand. That is, discarding it without letting any players know. That will avoid cheating.

The Showdown

The Showdown is the end of the game. 

If more than one player is left by the end of the game, all of them will have to show their hands to decide the winner.

The Showdown can happen between two players or every one of the players, depending on who stays till the end.

If that is the case: the last one to bet will show their cards first. After this, the other players can/ may muck their cards away to agree on who the winner is.

Tie

If there is a tie, they will split the money (chop the pot) or if the board contains the five highest cards.

Winner(s)

The winner or winners are the ones with the best five-card hands and win the Pot.

Where to play?

If you are looking to play poker for real money in Australia you have a small set of choices. One option is by attending a local poker tournament. The other option is playing poker online. This is what most Aussies prefer and it’s legal for Australian citizens to play some online poker games. One thing to keep in mind is making sure to only play it in the best online casinos for Australians which have the correct licenses like Curacao eGaming license or one from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

Conclusion

Texas Holdem is notorious for being such an enjoyable poker. Hopefully, this article has taught you how to play Holdem. There are different combinations of forming a good hand and winning the game. Practicing Holdem will make you better at it, just like chess. Learning Holdem poker will be easier if you are already familiar with any other poker variant.

Remember that it is not necessary to have the best hand to win. You can make sure to bet such an amount that others will have no way but to Fold.