How To Play Poker Texas Holdem Style - Part I

How to play poker texas holdem style really isn't that complicated. It's pretty

easy to learn the basic structure of playing texas holdem. Of course, mastering

texas holdem poker and winning on a consistent basis is something else entirely.

But you have to master the basics before you can move on and make bucket loads

of cash from playing poker. So how do you master the basics?

Texas holdem poker, unlike some other poker games, doesn't take long to learn.

* The Texas Holdem Dealer

In texas holdem, the dealer rotates clockwise. When playing casino style poker,

where a professional dealer deals each hand, the dealer uses a white plastic

puck about 2 inches in diameter to indicate who the dealer would be if you were

switching dealers each hand like you would at a home game. This puck is called

the 'button.' This is what people mean when they describe a hand in holdem by

saying they were on the button. This means they were in the position of dealer

for that particular hand.

The button also helps determine the order of play each hand. The person to the

left of the dealer acts first (except during the first round of betting) and

the dealer acts last (again, except during that first round of betting).

Now lets look at those first round betting exceptions.

* Before the deal

Before any cards are dealt and before any betting takes place, the first two

players to the left of the button, post (place in front of them), what is referred

to as the blinds. They are called "blinds" because they are bets that the

two players to the left of the button must make, in preset amounts, before they

get any cards. They are betting blind.

The person directly to the left of the button posts what is called the small blind.

The person directly to his left then posts what is called the big blind. The size

of the blinds are determined by the name of the texas holdem poker game you are

playing. The small is usually half a small bet and the big blind is a full small

bet.

So, if you are playing in a $2 - $4 texas holdem game, the small blind would be

$1 (half the small bet) and the big blind would be $2 (the small bet).

Now, what do these bets mean? If you are playing $2-$4 hold'em, all bets and

raises during the first two rounds of betting, are made in $2 increments. All bets

and raises made during the final two rounds, are made in $4 increments.

* Dealing the Cards

Once the blinds have been posted, the dealer deals two cards facedown to each of the

players, one card at a time. These two cards are called the player's 'hole cards.'

These are your private cards and aren't to be shown to any one else.