The Basics of Texas Hold'em
Texas Hold 'em is the most popular
type of poker both in casinos and in online poker rooms, especially
in North America and Europe. It is classified as a community card game
since there are five so-called community cards that players combine
with their two hole cards to form their hand. The player with the best
combination wins the game.
Beginning
in 2000, the game grew by leaps and bounds all over the world thanks
to the magic of television. TV coverage for poker tournaments like the
World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour demonstrated how the
good players played the game and how exciting a hand can be. This inspired
many fans to try Texas Hold 'Em out for themselves.
Texas Hold'em
table at VCPoker
The object of Texas
Hold 'Em, like all poker, is to win the pot, which consists of money
that the players bet themselves. The game proceeds on a series of hands
or deals, and each hand ends when one of the players wins the pot. There
are two ways a player can win the pot: when he reveals the strongest
hand during the showdown or when all the other players have folded their
cards.
Each hand of Texas
Hold‘Em Poker consists of a series of bets in each hand, starting
with the pre-flop. This is followed by the flop, during which the dealer
reveals the first three community cards and players enter a second round
of betting. Then a single community card known as the turn is laid on
the table followed by a third round of betting. Finally, the fifth community
card or the river is dealt, followed by a fourth and final round of
betting.
The hand ends with a showdown
during which players reveal their hands. During any betting round, players
have the option to fold their cards if they feel their chances of winning
the hand are slim. This spares them from further betting but forfeits
their chances of winning the pot.
Many players are turning to
the internet to play their favourite games, Slots, Roulette and Blackjack
online are always popular, but playing Texas Hold 'Em online is about
competing against other online players.
The flow of the game is basically
the same as regular Texas Hold 'Em. However, bets are much lower and
players can play anonymously. Moreover, since they are not face to face
with the other players, it is less intimidating
In online poker, players have the option
of playing a few hands or joining a large tournament. There are also
so-called satellite tournaments that provide winners entry into the
biggest poker tournaments around, such as the World Series of Poker
(WSOP).
The winners of the 2003 and
2004 WSOP championship -- Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer -- both qualified
for the tournament by winning satellite tournaments online.
Moneymaker's championship run in 2003
was so dramatic that poker analysts credit him with further boosting
the popularity of Texas Hold 'Em on the Internet. After the tournament,
Moneymaker quit his job as an accountant to become a full-time poker
professional and has been quite successful. All of a sudden everyone
felt that they could follow Moneymaker's footsteps and make it big in
poker -- and they can.
