How the Does the Game Proceed?
In Texas Hold’em play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down. These cards are for his eyes only and are often called ‘hole cards’ or ‘pocket cards’.
After a single round of betting three cards are dealt face up on the table, to be used by all players in the hand. These three cards are called ‘the flop’. All cards dealt face up on the table are known as ‘community cards’.
Once the flop has been dealt there is another round of betting, after which a fourth card is dealt face up on the table; this is called ‘the turn’ or ‘fourth street’. There follows another round of betting after which a fifth and final community card is dealt face up on the table; this last card is known as ‘the river’ or ‘fifth street’.
After the river there is one last, final, round of betting, after which the players still remaining in the hand turn their hole cards face up to determine who has the best five card hand.
How to Make a Five-Card Hand in Texas Hold’em?
After the winning player has collected his money the cards are shuffled and dealt again, with the dealer moving round in a clockwise direction. If there is no dealer (online) or if there is a house dealer (in a casino) a small chip called ‘the button’ is used to represent the dealer. Action (betting etc) will always start on the left of the dealer button and continue in a clockwise motion and the dealer button will keep moving round clockwise after every hand.
Example One: you have Ks-Qh.
Flop:
Jh-Tc-5d
Turn:
4d
River:
As
Your best hand is a straight: As-Ks-Qh-Jh-Tc (using both your hole cards).
Example Two: you have 8h-3c
Flop:
8d-As-2c
Turn:
8c
River:
2s
Your best hand is a full house: 8h-8d-8c-2c-2s (using just one of your hole cards).
Example Three: you have Jh-Td
Flop:
As-Ks-Js
Turn:
Ts
River:
Qs
Your best hand is a royal flush: As-Ks-Qs-Js-Ts. None of your hole cards are used in this hand.
NB: as a royal flush is the best possible hand in poker it is impossible for any player to have a better hand than this – so all players still active in the pot will be using the five community cards to make the same hand. When this happens it is called a split pot and all the money in the pot will be divided equally between those players who have not folded their cards.
Bluffing
No Limit Texas Hold’em is the form of poker in which bluffing has the most influence. More than in any other game pots are won before a hand ever reaches showdown, meaning five-card hands are often never made and hole cards frequently remain hidden.
Bluffing is one of poker’s hardest skills, and you would do well to remember that there is a lot more to it than simply pretending to have a good hand. The first thing to note about bluffing is that it should be done sparingly. New players seem to think they should be bluffing every other hand but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You’d be surprised at how infrequently professional poker players bluff. It’s quality, not quantity that counts when it comes to bluffing.
The key to successful bluffing is timing. Of course it helps if you are difficult to read, but it wouldn’t matter if even the CIA couldn’t figure out what your holding if you bluff when your opponent has an unbeatable hand: he’s going to call you anyway and you’re gonna lose!
So it’s crucial when you bluff that your opponents have relatively weak hands. A great bluffer’s most important weapon is his ability to sense weakness in his opponents. His next greatest weapon is his ability to exploit it.
Exploiting weakness by bluffing means betting just the right amount. This is another crucial skill. It’s no good sensing weakness in an opponent and betting so little that they call you anyway. Neither do you want to bet so much that it’s obvious you’re bluffing.
Betting the right amount to succeed in a bluff is a very delicate art. At its heart there are some basic principles, such as not giving your opponents the right odds to call you, but ultimately it requires a deep understanding of the game you are in and the particular players you are trying to get to fold. This will come with time as you grow more familiar with the game.
Don’t be disheartened if the first bluffs you try don’t come off – it is a vital skill to learn and you’ll only get better with practice. But equally don’t go rushing into it head first bluffing every time you don’t pair your hole cards on the flop. That’ll be an expensive habit. It might sound boring, but in the long run folding is a better way to earn money than bluffing. And remember the first objective of poker? Oh yea: to make money!