Texas Hold’em Poker

Driven by the popularity of televised poker, Texas Hold’em (more commonly, ‘Hold’em’) has become the world’s most popular poker game, both in live casinos and online at SupremeKing. We’ll go into more detail below, but here are the key points you need to know:

• Every player is dealt two cards, for their eyes only
• The dealer spreads five cards – three at once, then another, then another – which can be used by all players to make their best possible five-card hand
• Before and after each card(s) is revealed, players take turns to bet. To stay in the hand and see the next card, all players must have put the same amount of chips in the pot as each other
• The best poker hand wins the pot

It’s a simple game to learn, yet has the potential to be played with a seemingly infinite variety of strategies, tactics and nuance.

The Rules of Texas Hold’em

Before you begin playing Hold’em, you’ll want to learn the rules. In Hold’em, each player is dealt two private cards (known as ‘hole cards’) that belong to them alone. Five community cards are dealt face-up, to form the ‘board’. All players in the game use these shared community cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to each make their best possible five-card poker hand. In Hold’em, a player may use any combination of the seven cards available to make the best possible five-card poker hand, using zero, one or two of their private hole cards.

The four major variations of Hold’em are distinguished from each other by their betting limits:

• Limit Texas Hold’em: There is a pre-determined betting limit on each round of betting.
• No Limit Texas Hold’em: A player can bet any amount, up to all of their chips.
• Pot Limit Texas Hold’em: A player can bet any amount, up to the size of the pot.
• Mixed Texas Hold’em: The game switches between rounds of Limit Texas Hold’em and No Limit Texas Hold’em.

How to Play Texas Hold’em

The Blinds

In Hold’em, a marker called ‘the button’ or ‘the dealer button’ indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise from the button posts the “small blind”, the first forced bet. The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the “big blind”, which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played.

Trong các trò chơi Limit, cược lớn cũng giống như đặt cược nhỏ, và cược nhỏ thường bằng một nửa số cược lớn nhưng có thể lớn hơn tùy thuộc vào tiền đặt cược. Ví dụ, trong trò chơi Limit $ 2 / $ 4, tiền mù nhỏ là $ 1 và tiền mù lớn là $ 2. Trong trò chơi Limit $ 15 / $ 30, tiền mù nhỏ là $ 10 và tiền mù lớn là $ 15.

In Pot Limit and No Limit games, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Hold’em game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2).

Depending on the exact structure of the game, each player may also be required to post an ‘ante’ (another type of forced bet, usually smaller than either blind, posted by all players at the table) into the pot.

Now, each player receives his or her two hole cards. Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind).

Các tùy chọn cá cược cho người chơi

In Hold’em, as with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or ‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the previous players. If nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it.

Pre-Flop (Vòng đặt cược đầu tiên)

After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play his or her hand by calling or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.

Lưu ý: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and Pot Limit Hold’em can be found below.

Cược tiếp tục trong mỗi vòng cược cho đến khi tất cả những người chơi đang hoạt động (chưa fold bài) đã đặt cược bằng nhau vào tiền cược.

The Flop (Vòng chia 3 lá bài đầu tiên)

Now, three cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is known as ‘the flop’. In Hold’em, the three cards on the flop are community cards, available to all players still in the hand. Betting on the flop begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. The betting options are similar to pre-flop, however if nobody has previously bet, players may opt to check, passing the action to the next active player clockwise.

The Turn (Vòng chia lá thứ 4)

When the betting action is completed for the flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in Hold’em (and is sometimes also called ‘Fourth Street’). Another round of betting ensues, beginning with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.

The River (Vòng chia lá bài thứ 5)

When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ or ‘Fifth Street’ is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in a Hold’em game. Betting again begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button, and the same betting rules apply as they do for the flop and turn, as explained above.

The Showdown - Thời điểm kết thúc ván bài

If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands. Hold’em rules state that all suits are equal.

After the pot is awarded, a new hand of Hold’em is ready to be played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player, blinds and antes are once again posted, and new hands are dealt to each player.

Limit, No Limit, Pot Limit and Mixed Texas Hold’em

Hold’em rules remain the same for Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit poker games, with a few exceptions:

• Limit Texas Hold’em
  Betting in Limit Hold’em is in pre-determined, structured amounts. Pre-flop and on the flop, all bets and raises are of the same amount as the big blind. On the turn and the river, the size of all bets and raises doubles. In Limit Hold’em, up to four bets are allowed per player during each betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap (final raise).
• No Limit Texas Hold’em
  The minimum bet in No Limit Hold’em is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all of their chips.Minimum raise: In No Limit Hold’em, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).

  Mức raise tối đa: “Kích thước” của chồng chip (các chip của bạn trên bàn).

  In No Limit Hold’em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.

• Pot Limit Texas Hold’em
  The minimum bet in Pot Limit Hold’em is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet up to the size of the pot.Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).

  Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the total of the active pot plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.

  Ví dụ: Nếu kích thước của tiền cược là 100 đô la và không có hành động nào trước đó trong một vòng cược cụ thể, người chơi có thể đặt cược tối đa là 100 đô la. Sau lần đặt cược đó, hành động chuyển sang người chơi tiếp theo theo chiều kim đồng hồ. Người chơi đó có thể fold, call 100 đô la hoặc raise bất kỳ số tiền nào từ mức tối thiểu (thêm 100 đô la) đến mức tối đa. Đặt cược tối đa trong trường hợp này là 400 đô la - người chơi đầu tiên sẽ gọi 100 đô la, nâng quy mô tiền cược lên 300 đô la, và sau đó tăng thêm 300 đô la nữa, đặt cược tổng cộng là 400 đô la.

  In Pot Limit Hold’em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.

• Mixed Texas Hold’em
  In Mixed Hold’em, the game switches between rounds of Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em. The blinds are typically increased when the game switches from No Limit to Limit, to ensure some consistency in the average pot size in each game. The betting rules on each round follow the rules for that game, as described above.

Chi tiết liên quan: