3 Easy Steps to Learn Texas Hold'em
Personally, I think most books out there about Texas Hold'em are a waste of paper (read that: trees). While the ins and outs of winning the game can be very complex, they usually will spend at least one to two full chapters telling you the rules and how the game is played. It's not that tough, people. Texas Hold'em, called the "Cadillac of poker", is very straightforward and can be picked up in just a few minutes. The game, itself, can be broken down into three parts, cards, money and dealer. What I mean is how the cards are dealt out during the game, how the betting is done and who the dealer is.
Now, don't get me wrong. You can spend a lifetime studying and learning all the various strategies of the game and never discover them all, but you can learn to play the game with three simple concepts.
Let's look at the way the cards are played first. The sequence of dealing out the cards looks like this: 2-3-1-1. The first thing the dealer will do deal two cards to each player. These cards are dealt face down and are only seen by each individual player. They are called the hole cards. If you are dealt an ace as one of your hole cards you have an "Ace in the hole". This is where that expression came from.
The next three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. This is the "flop". One more card is dealt, face up, and is called the "turn" or "Fourth street". The last card, called "Fifth Street" or, more commonly, the "river", is dealt face up next to the turn. All the cards that are dealt face up are shared by all players.
Each stage is interrupted by a round of betting, so the sequence would look like this: (blinds) 2 (bet) 3 (bet) 1 (bet) 1 (bet). The blinds are placed before any cards are dealt by the two players to the immediate left of the "dealer". There are two blinds, small and large. The amounts are predetermined and the small blind is half the size of the large blind. The player next to the dealer posts the small and the next player posts the large. The first round of betting, after the hole cards are dealt, begins with the player to the left of the big blind. Every round after that begins with the player to the left of the dealer, the small blind.
The most confusing thing for most new players is trying to figure out who the heck the dealer is. The person who deals out all the cards is not the dealer. The "dealer" is designated by a button that moves around the table. At the beginning of each new hand the dealer button is moved one position to the left, meaning the small blind in the last hand is now the dealer. This ensures that no one is stuck posting the blinds any more than anyone else. It also changes your position of play for each hand giving you advantages at some times and disadvantages at others.
You can learn Texas Hold'em in a few minutes, but the mechanics of the game is not the end of it. This is not a game of luck. I enjoy two games, Texas Hold'em and chess, for pretty much the same reason. They make you think. This is not roulette. You need to study the psychology and deeper concepts if you want to win consistently.
Personally, I think most books out there about Texas Hold'em are a waste of paper (read that: trees). While the ins and outs of winning the game can be very complex, they usually will spend at least one to two full chapters telling you the rules and how the game is played. It's not that tough, people. Texas Hold'em, called the "Cadillac of poker", is very straightforward and can be picked up in just a few minutes. The game, itself, can be broken down into three parts, cards, money and dealer. What I mean is how the cards are dealt out during the game, how the betting is done and who the dealer is.
Now, don't get me wrong. You can spend a lifetime studying and learning all the various strategies of the game and never discover them all, but you can learn to play the game with three simple concepts.
Let's look at the way the cards are played first. The sequence of dealing out the cards looks like this: 2-3-1-1. The first thing the dealer will do deal two cards to each player. These cards are dealt face down and are only seen by each individual player. They are called the hole cards. If you are dealt an ace as one of your hole cards you have an "Ace in the hole". This is where that expression came from.
The next three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. This is the "flop". One more card is dealt, face up, and is called the "turn" or "Fourth street". The last card, called "Fifth Street" or, more commonly, the "river", is dealt face up next to the turn. All the cards that are dealt face up are shared by all players.
Each stage is interrupted by a round of betting, so the sequence would look like this: (blinds) 2 (bet) 3 (bet) 1 (bet) 1 (bet). The blinds are placed before any cards are dealt by the two players to the immediate left of the "dealer". There are two blinds, small and large. The amounts are predetermined and the small blind is half the size of the large blind. The player next to the dealer posts the small and the next player posts the large. The first round of betting, after the hole cards are dealt, begins with the player to the left of the big blind. Every round after that begins with the player to the left of the dealer, the small blind.
The most confusing thing for most new players is trying to figure out who the heck the dealer is. The person who deals out all the cards is not the dealer. The "dealer" is designated by a button that moves around the table. At the beginning of each new hand the dealer button is moved one position to the left, meaning the small blind in the last hand is now the dealer. This ensures that no one is stuck posting the blinds any more than anyone else. It also changes your position of play for each hand giving you advantages at some times and disadvantages at others.
You can learn Texas Hold'em in a few minutes, but the mechanics of the game is not the end of it. This is not a game of luck. I enjoy two games, Texas Hold'em and chess, for pretty much the same reason. They make you think. This is not roulette. You need to study the psychology and deeper concepts if you want to win consistently.
3 Easy Steps to Learn Texas Hold'em
![3 Easy Steps to Learn Texas Hold'em]()
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