Rules of Poker Texas Hold'em

Rules

Aim of the game

The purpose of Texas Hold'em is quite simple. Each player is dealt 2 cards face down. This is called the hand (note that the hand is also the name given to a round of the game). In the middle of the table, up to 5 more cards are added face-up, allowing players to make the best possible 5-card combinations. The winner is either the player with the best hand or the player who manages to get their opponents to discard their hands. He or she then wins the total amount of bets in the game, known as the pot.

One of the special features of Poker is that players can bluff (i.e. make their opponents believe that they have better hands than they do) by using different strategies. Sometimes it's just a matter of determining whether we think our opponent is bluffing us. It is possible to win a hand without having the best hand, only by forcing other players to discard their cards.

Required equipment

To play Poker you will need a pack of 52 classic cards as well as chips of the value of your choice. These chips can be replaced with anything of value to the players. It is not recommended to play without tokens as the game will become less complex and less interesting. You may also need something that allows the players to recognize the dealer (poker dealer), who will rotate turn after turn (hand by hand). Usually, poker chips come with a special token for this purpose, but you can use any item you like. This item is called the button.

It can be interesting to use a baize, but this is only for the comfort of the game, it will not change the course of the game in any way. It is possible to use applications or sites to assist you in your game: they tell you when to increase the number of blinds (if you don't know what a blind is, please read on). We have also developed a timer for you, don't hesitate to use it during your games with your friends.

Sequence of a hand

The process of playing poker consists of a series of hands until one player collects all the chips at the table. Now let's take a look at one of them. Below is an example of a hand that is explained in detail.

Player roles

Dealer / Button

Initially, the dealer's role is, as the name implies, to deal the cards. This is probably still true when you play a game with friends, but in today's tournaments dealers are hired to deal the cards and handle the tokens. The dealer is represented by a button and rotates clockwise between players between each hand. It is used to indicate the players in Small Blind and Big Blind, and also to designate the first player to speak between each phase of play.

How is the Dealer's starting position chosen?

There are several ways to determine the initial position of the button at the beginning of the game. Each casino is free to choose the way they prefer. Most of the time, at the beginning of the game, the dealer or a player will deal a card face up to each player. The player with the highest card becomes the first Dealer. To avoid complicating your task if two players are dealt the highest card, we offer an alternative solution. In the same way, deal each player a card, the first player to be dealt an Ace becomes the dealer.

Small Blind

Located to the left of the button, the player must pay a set amount that keeps increasing throughout the game. This amount is called the Small Blind. It is also the first player to speak after the flop if he hasn't folded, otherwise, it's the turn of the next player to his left. This is one of the two mandatory bets.

Big Blind

This is the second mandatory bet. He is to the left of the Small Blind, and as with the latter, he must pay an amount that also increases during the game. This is generally twice the SB.

Ante

Not much used in tournaments between friends, it is very often found in online or casino tournaments. It is usually a percentage of the Big Blind that each player must pay, including the two players who paid the blinds. It serves to speed up the game and makes the starting pot more attractive.

More recently, tournament directors have found that this has been a problem for many players who forget to pay the ante before the start of the hand, forcing dealers to remind players of this rule, which is still little known to amateur players. To alleviate this problem, only one person will pay the ante by paying the full amount. This is called the Big Blind Ante.

A round explained

The best way to understand the rules of Texas Hold'em is to explain a hand. You will play a lot of them during each of your games, so you must learn to master them to play them correctly.

The game is played in a clockwise direction and in several phases:

Preflop

The preflop is the phase that follows the distribution of cards. This is the first phase of the game where players can place their bets. It is up to the player to the left of the Big Blind to start talking. Here we are talking about the player sitting in Seat 2. He then has several options: pay the blind (call), raise (there is a minimum amount for this action), or drop and discard his cards (fold).
The last player to speak is the player in the Big Blind (seat 1). He can perform the same actions as the previous players, except that he can also check if no one has raised. All players before him may have folded. He then wins the pot - this is called a walk.

Flop

The first betting round is now over, the dealer will then burn a card (set aside the next card) before dealing the 3 cards that make up the flop, face-up on the board, in other words, in the center of the table.
The remaining players will be able to start a new round of betting. Unlike the preflop, the first player is not the one to the left of the player in the Big Blind, but the person to the left of the button. In our example, here, this is the player sitting in Seat 1.

Turn

Once again, the dealer will burn a card before dealing the 4th card which is called the turn. It is therefore a complement to the 3 cards already on the board. A betting round starts with the player to the left of the button, in the same way as during the flop.

In our example, the player sitting in seat 1 decides to bet. But he could also simply check as in the previous phase. Note that nothing prevents a player from throwing away his cards at this point (by being the first to speak), but it is a very unwise action that would damage your reputation on the table. If you do not wish to go further at the turn, it is best to check and let the others bet, at this point, you will have the opportunity to discard your cards without appearing to be a bad player.
The other players have decided to follow Player 1's bet, but they would have had the opportunity to discard their cards or raise. Here the minimum raise amount would have been 10.

River

The river is often a moment that can completely change the course of a hand and sometimes even the course of a game. As with the flop and the turn, the dealer burns one last card before placing the last of the 5 community cards on the board.

The players then have all possible cards at their disposal to form the best possible 5-card combination.

Once they have taken this information into account, they can start the final betting round and make one last attempt to either have their opponents discard their cards or convince them to go to the showdown. The actions are the same as in the previous phase: check, bet, raise or fold. In our example, the player in seat 1 decided to check, the next player in seat 4 did the same. As for the player in seat 5, he decides to bet and invest all his chips, we say is in All-in. He may be eliminated if someone pays, has a better hand, and has more chips. Players 1 and 4 will then pay.

Showdown

Once all players have agreed on the final round of betting, it's time to reveal your cards. The player who starts to show his or her cards is the player who has been paid. It is said that the other players have paid to see his or her cards. This is the case in our example, player 5 went All-in and got paid by the other players, so it's up to him to show his cards first. Then the players reveal their cards in a clockwise direction. They then have the choice to reveal them or fold them to preserve the mystery. If the player does not reveal his cards, he can’t win the pot, it is called a muck. If he does reveal his cards, he may or may not win the pot depending on the strength of his hand.
In our example, players 1 and 4 reveal their cards. Player 1 makes a good deal since he has a better hand than Player 5. Player 4 could have chosen to muck his hand since he has the weaker hand.

It is also possible to muck your hand when you win the pot, this is only possible when all other players have thrown down their hands first. It's very common to do this. You can also choose to reveal your hand to let others know that you are bluffing or not. It's a strategy, and it's up to you to use it wisely.

Side pot

It is important to note there is a somewhat complex situation that occurs when a player goes all-in and is paid by several players with more chips than him. We create what we call the side pot.

The player with the fewest number of chips can only claim the side pot, which contains the blinds and the amount paid by the other players.
The other players are entitled to the full amount of the pot.

Example
We are at the river, 3 players left. The current pot is 150.
The first player goes all-in at 50, the second raises all-in at 200, the third pays the 200 (he could also go all-in and push 400, but then 200 would be returned to him since there is an excess of 200).

So we have 2 pots: a side pot at 300 (150 + 50 + 50 + 50 + 50) and the main pot at 600 (side pot + 150 + 150).
If player 1 has the best hand, he only wins the side pot of 300, and if he doesn't have the best hand, he is eliminated.
Let's say he has the best hand, it has 300 left in the pot. If player 2 has a better hand than player 3, he wins the remaining 300, otherwise, he is eliminated and player 3 wins the rest.

In another configuration, player 1 does not have the best hand, he is eliminated. Player 2 wins the entire pot this time, 600. Player 3 stays in the game with 200.