Holdem Poker
Holdem poker, or Texas Holdem as it is commonly known is one of the best poker games for a beginner to learn first as it does not require complicated calculation of odds or card counting. It can be learned quite quickly, but as with most things in life you will only get really good at it with lots of practice! A game of holdem poker starts with a process known as posting, where depending on the betting structure players place out blinds and antes in order to establish an amount of money to start off with. Antes are a set amount committed to the pot by each player before any cards are dealt. This amount does not count towards your first bet. Posting blinds involves a player on the left of the dealer (the small blind) and the next player after that to the left of the dealer (the big blind) putting up mandatory bets before any cards are dealt. These bets do count towards the total of your first bet in the first round of betting. The amounts placed are based on pre set limits.
Once posting is complete a dealer shuffles a standard deck of 52 cards and each player is dealt two cards or `hole cards`, or `pocket cards` face downwards. Betting then begins, starting with the player to the left of the blinds. This is known as a preflop betting round where each player can raise a bet or fold. When this round ends the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This burn card is discarded to prevent cheating. The dealer goes on to put three cards face up on the table, known as a flop. Any player can use these with their own two pocket cards to create a poker hand. Then another betting round begins with the player to the left of the dealer. Once everyone has placed a bet or folded the dealer resumes with another burn and flipping one more communal card called a turn. Another round of betting ensues, often with the size of the bets doubling at this stage. The dealer burns another card and flips another card, called a river. The players can now use any of the cards on the table and their two private cards to form a five card hand. Another round of betting ensues followed by the showdown where any player who hasn`t folded reveals their hand to the rest of the group.
The player with the best hand wins, although sometimes the pot may be split. So you may feel pretty confident once you have read the rules and had a go, but a great holdem poker player only gets there with practice and that is easily achieved with UK poker. One of the best things about playing holdem poker online is that most sites will let you practice for free until you feel ready to move onto playing for money. The online environment is also an ideal place to build confidence without an impatient pro getting you in a fluster from across the table! |
