Texas Hold’em basic information

Texas Hold’em more commonly known as Hold’em, and is one of the world’s most popular poker game. It popularity is attributed to World Series of Poker tournament. The origin of the game is not clearly stated but is believed to have originated from Texas in a town known as Robstown in the early 1900s. It was later introduced to Las Vegas in 1967. Playing Hold’em in casinos made it even more popular.

The game has two cards known as ‘hole cards’ that are held face down hence its ‘hold’em’ name. Five community cards are dealt face-up. Players have the option of bet, fold, or check after every deal. The game allows players to make any combination of seven cards to make a winning five card poker hand. At the end of one hand, the pot is given to the winning hand. In cases of a tie the pot is divided between the two winners. There are four major variations of playing online poker
• The Limit Texas Hold’em- each round of betting is pre-determined
• No-Limit Texas Hold’em- the amount of bets depends with the player. The player is allowed to bet all his chips
• Pot Limit Texas hold’em-just like the no-limit, a player can bet any amount up to the size of the pot.
• Mixed Texas Hold’em- the game is a combination of switching between Limit and No-limit.


In playing the game, small and big ‘blind bet’ schemes are used. The big blind is usually two times bigger than the small blind. Antes are not normally used at the beginning of the game but may be used in the last stages of the tournament. A dealer button is used in the game. The betting is done by the two players to the left of the dealer. The player to the immediate left bets half of the small blind while the player to the left of the small blind posts a big blind, usually equal to a minimum bet. The enforcement of the blinds gradually changes as the game continues. All this happens while the betting options of ‘fold’, ‘raise’, ‘call’ or ‘check’ apply. The options usually depend on the previous players. If the first player bets, then the rest of the players have an option of either to check, call or raise. In an event that one player bets and the rest of the players fold, the pot is normally awarded to the remaining player. A new game of Hold’em then begins.