TEXAS HOLD ‘EM ONLINE: RULES OF THE GAME

Even though little is known about the actual invention of Texas hold ’em variant of poker, it is known that the rules of the game were introduced to Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan gamblers and card players. Today, this is one of the most popular forms of poker, being the most common card game in U. S. casinos. It is widely played online, and it’s also a widely televised main event of many worldwide poker tournaments.

General Rules

Texas hold ’em is counted among the simpler forms of poker, and the basic rules of the game reflect this. At the beginning of the game, two cards (known as the hold cards) are dealt to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages. These stages consist of a series of three cards – the “flop”, the “turn” and the “river”. As with other forms of poker, players have the usual betting options of raising, calling, checking or folding. The first betting phase occurs before the flop is dealt, and additional betting rounds take place after each consecutive deal.

The entertaining part about these rules is that each player strives for the best five-card poker hand by combining their own cards (the hold cards) with the community cards. Players can also resort to combining poker hands using only the five community cards and none of their hold cards. This is colloquially known as “playing the board”.

This is where the true appeal of Texas hold ’em really lies: even though the rules of Texas hold ’em are easy to learn, they are quite difficult to master – so much so that the game often serves as a research model in the fields of artificial intelligence, statistics and game theory.

Online Poker

It can be said that the invention of online poker is in fact one of the factors that contributed to the popularity of Texas hold ’em in the first place. The game of poker, especially the Texas hold ’em variant, remains one of the most popular forms of today’s online gambling. In fact, some estimates even claim that one in every four dollars gambled is gambled online. Online hold ’em rules are pretty much the same as those of a Texas hold ’em game you’d play in any actual casino. However, there are still a few differences. When playing online, the players obviously don’t physically sit at the same table, removing the possibility of studying others’ body language and psychological reactions, an important element of poker. Still, it is a fairly practical concept, and many new players often start playing their first proper games via online gambling rooms and websites. This is often because the atmosphere of actual casinos can be intimidating for beginners, thus discouraging them from playing.

Tips and Strategies

No limit and fixed limit games are quite common in online poker rooms, with pot limit games being less frequently played. Players are thus often advised to play aggressively, playing few hands, but raising and betting often within the hand which is played. Still, strategies and rules for different tournaments and Texas hold ’em forms can vary greatly.