Learning Texas Holdum Rules

Want to know how to play Texas Holdum? Below is a general guide to playing Texas Holdum poker online. If you're looking for specific rules for the major Texas Holdum poker rooms visit their websites below:

Bodog Poker Website		Poker Stars Website
Full Tilt Website		Ultimate bet Website

Texas holdum rules - how to play

Here is a condensed guide to playing Texas Holdum online. The rules of Texas Holdum are pretty easy. Playing Texas Holdum well though is a bit more complicated. Under the simplicity of the Texas Holdum rules lies a complexity that can take years to master.

Texas Holdum basics

Texas Holdum is a poker game with the standard rank of poker hands. If you're not sure what the rank of hands are then click here for the rank of poker hands . The game is played with a 52 card deck between usually 9 or 10 players per table.

Kinds of betting limits

There are three variations of betting limits that can look like three different games of poker - which is not the case. The only difference between these games is the amount you can bet at each round. The 3 betting limit types are Limit Texas Holdum , Pot Limit Texas Holdum and No limit Texas Holdum .

In Limit Texas Holdum there is a specific limit in dollars to the amount that needs to be bet at each betting round. Pot limit means that bets or raises are limited to the total sum of money in the pot at any given moment. The pot value includes all bets made by others earlier in that round. Finally, there's No Limit Texas Holdum where anything goes. Regardless of which limit you're playing a Texas Holdum goes as follows.

About the dealer and placing blinds

Before a Texas Holdum round starts 2 players make a bet in advance to stimulate the Holdum betting action. These bets are called "blinds" - there is a small blind and a big blind. Each Texas Holdum player takes his or her turn to place their blinds moving in clockwise order around the table. Likewise the the dealer button passes around the table in the same way. The dealer position is important because it's the 2 players after the dealer that place the blinds. The first placing the small blind - which is equal to half of the lower stake and the second placing the full blind - which is equal to the full amount of the lower stake limit. The dealer position is also important because the dealer bets last - an important advantage.

The preflop - first round of betting

Starting with the dealer, each player is dealt 2 cards one at a time. These are called the hole cards. Following this a round of betting occurs. At this stage with only 2 cards to bet on most players will stay in the game in order to reach the next round where 3 more cards are revealed.

The Flop - second round of betting

Next, the three communal cards called the "flop" are dealt face up in the middle of the table. In the end your hand is the five best cards made up from a combination of the two private cards you hold and the communal cards in the center. At this point in the game you really need to decide whether you have, or think you can make a good enough hand. If the flop doesn't fit your hand you're best to fold and save your money for another round!

The Turn - third round of betting

After the Flop the 4th community card is dealt - often called the turn or fourth street - this is followed another round of betting.

The River - forth round of betting

The 5th community card is dealt - also known as fifth street or the river, and the players still in the game bet for the last time.

The Showdown - revealing the winner

Players show their cards beginning with the player who bet first and the winner is determined

The dealer buttons then moves on to next player and another hand commences.

There you have the basic rules of how a Texas Holdum game is played. As you see the rules are straight forward, the trick is in playing well. There are additional rules that vary between the online room you're playing at. We recommend that you visit one of the top rated poker rooms above for those details. There you can their software for free and play their play for fun tables - it's a good way to get a grasp of the game of Texas Holdum before wagering real cash.