How To Play The Great Game of...Texas Hold'em

How To Play

Cards

Hand Ranking

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Poker takes a lot of practice to become skilled, but it is still an easy and fun game to learn. Below, you will find hand rankings, rules of the game, and the order of play. If you want to learn more about how to improve your poker skills, you can contact bupc@binghamtonsa.org more information, or stop by one of our club meetings!

ROYAL FLUSH

An ace high straight (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten) in the same suit. This is the highest hand in the game.

STRAIGHT FLUSH

A straight of entirely one suit.

FOUR OF A KIND

Four of the same card, that is, all four kings as shown above.

FULL HOUSE ("BOAT")

Three of a kind and a pair. The above example would be called "tens over aces" or "tens full of aces."

FLUSH

Any five cards of the same suit.

STRAIGHT

Five cards in a row, where aces can be high or low.

THREE OF A KIND

Three of the same card, such as the three fives in the example above.

TWO PAIRS

Two pairs of the same card. The above would be called "aces and threes".

ONE PAIR

One pair of the same card.

Basic Rules

Start with a dealer by having everyone draw cards. The person with the highest card begins as the dealer, with the two people to the left being the small and big blinds. The dealer deals two cards face-down to each player, and that is each player's hand; this is known as "Pre-Flop", where everyone must call the Big Blind's stake.

Each player has three choices during his/her turn:

1) CHECK-this means you knock the table and don't put any money into the pot. If everyone checks, then the next card is dealt, but if someone bets, then everyone must call that bet.

2) BET/RAISE-if you want to put money into the pot, then this is a bet. The minimum bet is how much the big blind stake is. If you are putting in more money than the previous bet, then this is a raise, where the minimum raise is at least double the original bet.

3) FOLD-if your cards aren't good or you don't want to put in any money, then you fold your cards to the dealer and thus you are out of that hand.

After the Pre Flop, the first three cards of the community cards are dealt, where you burn one card before dealing out the cards. Then the round of betting starts again. Once play is concluded, then the fourth card comes out on the "Turn". After that round of betting, the final and fifth card comes out as the "river" and once the betting finally ends, the remaining players show their cards, where whoever has the best hand takes the pot.

Tournament Rules

Tournament Blinds Details

No helping from other players with betting/how to play
NO REBUYS
Start with 5000 chips (White=25, Red=50, Green=100, Blue=500, Black=1000)
Absent Players - All players must be dealt into the hand and their blinds/antes forced into the pot whether they are at the table or not. If the player is not present by the time his second card is dealt, his hand will be ruled dead.
All-in Bets - A player who declares himself all in plays for all of the chips in front of him. If the other player has more he is only entitled to an amount equal to his own stack. The same goes for an all-in player that has less than his required blind. He is only entitled to what he put in.
All-in confrontations - When two players are all in and the action is completed, both hands must be exposed face up before the rest of the board is run.
Having the "Nuts"- If you have the best hand during the round and there are no other hands that can beat yours, then you MUST show your cards first
Showing Cards - Intentionally exposing a card is illegal in tournament play and a hand can be ruled dead as well as a time penalty issued.
Inappropriate play- Inappropriate play such as repeateadly swearing and or throwing cards is punishable by a penalty

The Lingo

Bad Beat- this refers to losing a hand when you were the strong odds favorite to win. i.e. - an example of a bad beat would be holding pocket Aces against a player holding pocket 2's, and your opponent ends up beating you by hitting another 2 on the last card.
Bluff- To try to mislead opponents in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one.
Drawing Dead– A situation where an opponent cannot improve his hand enough to win the pot.
Kicker- the kicker refers to your tie-breaking card. For example, if I am holding an Ace and King, and the board shows Ace, 5, 8, 2, 6 - I would have a pair of Aces with a King kicker. My opponent may have an Ace also, but with a weaker kicker, in which case I will win the showdown.
Muck- the act of folding one's hand without showing your cards.
The "Nuts"- when you have the best hand in the round, but no other players know; at the end of betting, the person with the "nuts" must show their hand first
Pocket Rockets- also known as American Airlines or bullets, refers to holding two Aces as your private, pocket cards.
Position- What spot you are in as the button moves around the table.
UTG = Under The Gun, MP = Middle Position, HJ = HiJack, CO = Cut Off, BTN = Button, SB = Small Blind, BB = Big Blind
Slow-play- The act of intentionally under-playing a very strong hand in the hopes of tricking your opponent into thinking that he has you beat, which leads to your opponent betting more in later rounds. i.e. - holding pocket Aces and just checking or calling on the first round of betting to show weakness, in hopes of luring your opponent into more aggressive play later and a larger pot.

Game Variations

No-Limit Texas Hold'Em- Texas Hold'Em with no limit on how much betting there is, including all-in; it is the game that the club commonly uses in tournaments and meetings
Limit Texas Hold'Em- Unlike in No-Limit where you can bet all your chips whenever you want, Limit Hold'em plays with fixed betting limits. The size of the game is determined by the bet size. If you are playing in a $4/$8 game the small bet is $4 and the big bet $8. The blinds will be $2 and $4. The big blind is always equal to the size of the small bet.
Seven-Card Stud- Highest hand wins || Ace plays both high and low for straights || Lowest up card is a forced starting bet || Three raise limit per round || Cards speak
Omaha High/Low Mix- Each player makes a separate 5-card high hand and another 5-card low hand. The pot is split between the best high and low hands (which may be the same player).
Chinese Poker- Chinese poker is a 2-4 player poker game with thirteen cards. The idea is to make three poker hands with increasing rank : two with five cards and one with three cards. If one of the hands does not adhere to increasing rank (ie. is mis-set), the hand is declared dead and results in some sort of penalty.