How to play Texas Holdem

How to play Texas Holdem poker is a question that many beginners and even experienced players seek an answer to.

Beginners don’t know the Texas Holdem rules and they are hoping to learn how the game works.

Experienced players who already know how to play Texas Holdem poker are always looking to learn something new, and this guide will help to both type of players. So let’s begin!

Texas Holdem is a popular game among Canada players mostly because it is among the few live casino pokers that has several variations.

Canada boasts a decent selection of online casinos with fully equipped poker rooms and an attractive mix of tournaments and cash games. 

Being one of the most played game globally, we dedicate this article to teaching you the quickest way around the rules and start enjoying Texas Holdem online.

Texas Holdem rules

The 4 of a kind in poker.
Texas Holdem 4 in a row

In Texas Holden gameplay rules are simple, you and every other player deal two cards face down. As a first-round kick-off, one player is designated the dealer.

This position will rotate clockwise every hand, and the two players to the left of the designated dealer must put in 2 bets. The big blind and the small blind.

How to play Texas Holdem

The first cards dealt become your ‘hole cards’. Next is a pre-flop stage where these hole cards really count. This is a betting round that allows you to Check, Bet or Fold.

Here the knowledge about different values of various poker handy combinations comes significantly handy.

Once done with all the betting, 3 shared cards will be dealt face up at the centre of the table. We call this the flop. 

The Flop

This comes after each gamer has made his/her move pre-flop (before dealing with any community cards). At this point, the dealer lays out 3 cards (the flop)

three flop cards
Flop

During this stage, any active gamer closest to the blind takes another round of betting or checking before the 4th shared card is dealt with in what is known as the turn.

The Turn

At this stage, the dealer lays out the fourth shared card and betting go on. This pattern is repeated after the 5th shared card (the river) is dealt before bringing the hand to a close.

the turn in texas holdem
4th card dealt – The turn

The River

If a single gamer makes an uncontested bet at any point, the hand is over and this gamer scoops the pot. However, if the action gets the river with at least 2 gamers remaining active, they have to go to a showdown where the gamer having the strongest hand wins throughout the round. 

You’ll make your best Texas Holdem hands using your hole cards and the 5 cards in the middle to come up with the best possible 5 card poker hand.

If, for instance, you have 9-9 and 9-9-A-5-2 are the community or shared cards, you have 4 of a kind.

If the community cards were J-Q-K-7-2, 2 nines are all you would have.

Sometimes you can make the best Texas Holdem hand using 5 community cards on their own. If 10-10-10-10-A are the community cards and you have 9-9 there is already 4 of a kind show, so your hole cards would not play.

Texas Holdem hands ranking

Here we are going to show you all possible texas Holdem hand rankings from lowest to highest. To learn how to play Holdem poker is very important to know what are the possible hand rankings, so here we go!

#1 Highest card

If you did not make any hands listed below and you don’t have even a pair, that the highest card will determine the winner. In the image below the highest card plays King.

king as high card in texas holdem poker
King plays as the highest card

#2 Pair

The pair is when we have two cards with the same rank. In the example below, we have a pair of Queens.

example of pair of queens in texas holdem
A pair of Queens

#3 Two pairs

Two pair is when we have two different pair of cards with the same rank. See the example below.

example of two pairs in texas holdem
Two pairs

#4 Three of a kind

Three of a Kind is a combination when we make three cards of the same rank or value. In the example below, we have three aces.

example of three of a kind in texas holdem
Three of a Kind

#5 Straight

Straight is when we make five cards with different suits in a sequence.

example of straight in texas holdem
Straight

#6 Flush

A Flush is any five cards, not in sequence, but all of the same suit. You can see the example below.

example of flush in texas holdem
Flush

#7 Full House

A full house contains one combination of three of a kind and one pair. We can see the example below.

Full House

#8 Four of a Kind (Poker)

Four of a kind is a combination of 4 cards with the same value or rank.

four of a kind
Four of a Kind

#9 Straight Flush

Straight Flush is five cards of the same suit that come in sequence.

example of straight flush
Straight Flush

#10 Royal Flush

Royal Flus is 10, J, Q, K, A, all the same suit. See the example below.

example of royal flush
Diamond Royal Flush

And now we recap…

Let’s go over the essential Holdem steps to make sure you’re fully up to speed with the game:

  • To get started you’re dealt with 2 hole cards
  • Then comes the first round of betting
  • The remaining players see a flop
  • Then there is another betting round
  • Next is a turn card
  • And another round of betting
  • Then there is a final river card
  • One more betting round
  • And finally, the best 5 card hand wins

Texas Holdem variety

Most top Canadian online casinos offer Texas Hold’em. There are tournaments, cash games, Go games, and the table sits, which players can enjoy from just as little as $1 a game.

In addition to having access to a broad spectrum of Texas Holdem styles, popular Canadian online poker rules also provide 3 main betting styles: Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit. Each of these styles specifies the max bet you can place at any given round during the game.

With the No-Limit Hold’em option, for instance, you can stake your entire stack of chips at any time. Limit and Pot Limit Texas Holdem, on the other hand, restrict the amount you can wager on a hand either by a predetermined set limit earlier in the game or by the current pot amount.

Below we have listed top 3 Texas Holdem Casinos:

Wrapping it up

Why Texas Holdem?

Players in Canada have a special liking for Texas Holdem mainly because:

  • It’s pretty easy to learn
  • If offers a huge selection of free and paid tournaments
  • Easy to win with many new players coming up every day
  • Learn more about card games here!

FAQ

Where can I play Texas Hold’em online?

Many Canadian Texas Hold’em online platforms offer a great selection of games with various buy-ins. These sites cater to a wide range of Canadian poker players looking to have a good time with different variations of Hold’em poker online.

Is there a Texas Hold’em live dealer option?

Some online casinos offer a live dealer option although this remains an uncommon feature in the Hold’em world. Most of the dealing is automated using computer software.

Is Texas Hold’em recommended for beginners?

Texas Hold’em will give you as a beginner the easiest time to learn. The pretty quick learning is mainly because of the many new players available to go against every day. This makes Texas Hold’em easier to start with than any other less popular poker variant.

How do tournaments in Texas Hold’em work?

In a Texas Hold’em tournament, each player buys in for a specified amount so they all start out with an equal number of chips. Every player knocks out or every passing of a specified time period leads to an increase in blinds. This goes on until all the players but one has been knocked out. He longest surviving player thus walks away with the entire pool prize.

Source:

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hold_%27em
  • https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Texas-Hold%27em