Texas Hold’Em is a simple game, but getting started online can be difficult for novices. You always have to learn some rules just to make sure you don’t make a bad figure in front of the green table and you also have to choose the right virtual place to play among the thousands and thousands of internet sites that offer online games.
I have chosen to describe the poker room that you can find on Popyeah.com and try to teach you some quick rules that you can apply to become a Texas Hold’Em God! Popyeah.com is a very popular multiplayer online gaming site and it is very well done. You can find there a wide community of online games and many opponents to play with in one of the 100 (and more) games with high quality graphics and sound.
You can save your game scores and climb rankings and charts; you can join tournaments playing against other players and become part of a large community. What I want to stress is that Popyeah.com is NOT an online casino and you cannot win real money. There you can play real SPORTING POKER to have fun and savor the challenge. Also, and I can say that this is really good, in Popyeah you can play for free and you can also insert your personal profile, upload your photos, manage your personal blog, create your friends list and communicate with many other people. All of our games have a built-in chat subsystem that allows for real-time communication between players as they play. Players can also talk to each other on Skype during gameplay.
And now to the rules…
Texas Hold’Em Poker is a variation of poker in which each player is dealt two cards and then uses a combination of those two cards and the five community cards to make a hand. The player with the best hand wins.
Below is a ranking of the types of poker hands from worst to best.
A PAIR – occurs when a player has two figures of the same value in his hand, for example, two kings, two tens, two aces, etc.
TWO PAIRS – happens when a player has a pair of the same figures twice, for example, two kings and two aces, two thirds and two tens, etc.
THREE OF A KIND – as the name says, it happens when a player has three cards of the same value, for example, three aces.
LADDER – five cards (of different suits) that are stacked one after another, for example 7,8,9,10,J.
FLUSH – five cards of the same suit, for example A,J,10,7,2.
FULL HOUSE: A set of EVEN and THREE OF A KIND, meaning for example K, K, A, A, A.
FOUR OF A KIND – As the name suggests, it happens when a player has four cards of the same value, for example four kings or four aces etc.
STRAIGHT FLUSH – the strongest flush in the game. They are five cards of the same suit that are grouped one after another, for example A,K,D,J,10 of spades.
At the beginning of the game, two cards are dealt to each player. This is followed by the first round of betting between the players. All bets go into a pot. The dealer then reveals three community cards. This is followed by a second round of betting. A fourth community card is then revealed, followed by another round of betting. Finally, the fifth community card is revealed and there is one last round of betting. After the final round of betting, the player with the best five-card suit wins the pot.
During each of the four betting phases of the game, players can perform a number of actions:
Bet: The first player to bet money and put that money into the pot has placed a bet. In Texas Hold’Em there is no limit to the amount of money players can bet. A bet is only called a bet when the player is the first player to bet. Otherwise, it is called a call or a raise.
Call: When a player is NOT the first player to bet, and calls the previous players’ bet, their bet is called a call. If a player does not call, he must raise or fold.
Raise: When a player is NOT the first player to bet, and raises the bet of previous players, their bet is called a raise. When a player raises, he increases the amount of money in play by increasing the bet. In Texas Hold’Em, there is no limit to how much a player can raise the bet.
Check: Check means not to put any money into the pot. If the players before him have checked (they don’t put any more money into the pot), then the player can also check. But if the players before him have bet, called or raised, then the player cannot check. You must call, raise or fold.
Fold – The player gives up on this round of betting, losing all the money they have put into the pot this round.
The basic rule is that all players must have the same amount of money in the pot. If a player does not want to put at least the same amount of money into the pot, that player must fold.
That is all! You are ready to start playing Texas Hold’Em Poker and have fun!