How does a player learn to play Texas Holdem? The simple answer is to watch some TV tournaments or buy and read some of the very good books that are out on how to play this most popular poker game. A short lesson for the game is it is a seven card game for each player and the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.



The play of a Holdem hand is fairly simple. Each player is dealt two cards face down. A round of betting follows. Three cards are then dealt face up in the center of the table. These are common to all players. A round of betting then follows. A single card is then dealt face up and another round of betting follows.

A final card is dealt face up and another round of betting completes this hand. The player with the best poker hand out of the five-card flop and the two cards in their hand wins the pot. As with other poker games, the best five-card hand will take down the money. During the betting that follows any of these dealings, each player has an option of calling, raising or folding their hand.









The best starting hands are pairs starting with aces and going down to pairs of queens. Other starting hands of merit are ace king suited and ace king not suited. Lower ranking hands may be played at the discretion of each player. If the player is on a rush, the starting-hand can be almost any two cards. Luck has taken over and good play is coming in second.



Holdem forces all players to gamble on the cards yet to be dealt. Either the next cards dealt will make the players hand or make their hand a loser to another player. The only time a player usually knows they have a sure winner is after the last card is dealt.



Holdem lends itself to the bluff. The reason this can work is the amount of money bet and the face up cards on the table. If a player is willing to carry the bluff bets forward then the other player is put in a bind since they do not know for sure what you have and they can guess, due to the flop cards that are face up. A good player must learn how to bluff and when to do it. The second best hand and not the best hand win many a Holdem pot. Bluffing does work.

By: Andy Fullard

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