Overview
Texas Hold'em is a betting game where players try to get the best five-card-hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards. Texas Hold'em can be played by 2 to 12 poker players. Texas Hold'em is one of the most popular poker games in the United States and the online poker community. At CardzMania, all poker games are for fun without a pot limit, and there is no real money involved.
Ranking of Cards
Aces are high and 2s are low. Ties can be broken by the kicker, the players' next highest card.
Ranking of Hands
Low
High Card – If there are no pairs or kinds in play, the player with the highest card wins
One Pair – Two cards with matching pip numbers
Two Pair – Two sets of two cards with matching pip numbers
Three of a Kind – Three cards with matching pip numbers
Straight – Five sequential cards that are not of the same suit
Flush – Five cards that are in the same suit
Full House – Three of a kind and a pair
Four of a Kind – Four cards with matching pip numbers
Straight Flush – Five sequential cards that are of the same suit
Royal Flush – 10 through Ace of the same suit
High
Play Multiplayer Texas Hold'em Online
The Deck and the Deal
Texas Hold'em is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Player left of the dealer is called the left blind, also known as the small blind; they make the initial bet in the game. The player left of the left blind is called the right blind, also known as the big blind; they double the bet of the left blind. The positions of the dealer and the two blinds rotate clockwise after each game. The dealer is identified by the small black dealer button with D next to one of the poker players.
After the blinds make their bets, the dealer passes out two cards to each player; these are called the hole cards. The cards are dealt face down clockwise starting with the player next to the dealer. After players look at their cards, the game proceeds in the following five rounds: Pre-flop, Flop, Turn, River, and Showdown.
How to Play
Pre-flop
After players receive their two cards, a round of betting occurs, beginning with the player left of the right blind. In rounds of betting, players can either call (match the previous bet), raise (make a higher bet than the previous one), fold (resign from the deal / round), or check (pass on betting).
Flop
After the Pre-flop, the dealer burns one card (discards one card face-down on table) and places the next three cards face up in the center of the gameplay area. These are community cards. A round of betting occurs based upon the best combination players can make with their hole cards and the community cards.
Turn
After the Flop, the dealer burns another card and follows that by placing a fourth card face up on the table. A round of betting occurs in similar fashion.
River
After the Turn, the dealer burns another card and follows that by placing a fifth and final card called river face up on the table. A final betting round occurs in a similar fashion.
Showdown
After the River, any remaining players must reveal their hole cards. The player with the best possible five card hand rank wins the pot. If only one player is left, they automatically win the pot and don't have to reveal their cards.
Scoring
Player with the best possible five card hand rank (or the last player left if everyone folds) wins the pot every round.
Winning
All players start with the same points balance and compete over deals / rounds to amass as many coins as they can or eliminate other players (when they run out of points). The player with the highest number of points or the last player standing wins the game.
Variations
CardzMania supports several customizable rules and options so you can play Texas Hold'em exactly how you like or how you grew up playing with your friends and family. In addition to the classic way of playing, we often have new creative options for you to try to spice up the game if you are interested in trying different spins for fun.
Points
Players start the game with a set amount of points. If they run out of points, they are out of the game.
Rounds
Players determine a set amount of rounds (also known as hands or deals) that the game will go to (instead of the points selection above).
Timer
Players only have a set amount of time to make their turn after which a turn is automatically played for them and the game proceeds: Fast is 7 seconds, Standard is 15 seconds, Slow is 30 seconds, and Very Slow is 60 seconds. Players can also choose to disable the timer, but that is only for private tables.
Betting Types
Players can choose to add either blinds or an ante to the game.
Ante
Players add a predetermined amount to the pot before the game starts.
Limited Betting
Players have a limit to the max they can bet.
Reraise
Players can raise multiple times.
Sit out
Players can choose to sit out for a round.
Buyback
Players can buy back points if they are almost out.
Jokers
Players can choose whether to play with jokers in the deck. Jokers act as wildcards and are automatically chosen to reflect the best possible hand.
Betting Basics
Betting games are played with a group of people circled around a table. After being dealt a hand of cards, players bet that their hand is the highest among the group.
Betting games typically center around having the highest ranked hand in a group of players. Before the hands are dealt, betting games normally require an ante, or an initial bet that starts the pot, or the winner's prize. After receiving their cards, players make bets over who has the highest ranked hand. Players do not need to bet according to their real hand; they can bluff, or lie, in hopes that other players fold from the game rather than challenge their hand. Either the last player betting or the player with the highest hand between the last players betting, wins the pot of bets.
All players start with the same points balance and compete over deals / rounds to amass as many points as they can or eliminate other players (when they run out of points). The player with the highest number of points or the last player standing wins the game.
Ranking of Cards
In most betting games, Aces are high and 2s are low. In the event of a tie, suits are then ranked from (Low) Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs (High). Instead of looking at the suits, players can break ties using the kicker.
Ranking of Hands
Low
High Card – If there are no pairs or kinds in play, the player with the highest card wins
One Pair – Two cards of the same rank
Two Pair
Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same rank
Straight – Five sequential cards that are not in the same suit.
Flush – Five cards that are in the same suit.
Full House – Three of a kind and a pair
Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same rank
Straight Flush – Five sequential cards that are of the same suit
Royal Flush – 10 through Ace of the same suit.
High
Terms and Definitions
Ante: A bet made to start the pot before the actual game begins. Everybody pitches the same amount for the ante.
Blinds: The blinds are the two players left of the dealer. The player left of the dealer is called the left blind, also known as the small blind; they make the initial bet in the game. The player left of the left blind is called the right blind, also known as the big blind; they double the bet of the left blind. Blinds also determine the minimum amount of bet a person can make. The blind amount is usually increased after a few rounds to help speed up the game.
Bluffing: Making a bet despite not having a good enough hand to bet on. This is done in the hope that someone with a good hand will fold instead of continuing with the game.
Buyback: Players can buy back points if they are almost out.
Call: To make an equal bet to the previous bet. This is the minimum amount you need to bet to stay in the game.
Check: To pass on making a bet. This can only be done if no bets have been made thus far.
Double Down: In Blackjack, players can 'double down', or double their bet, if they are confident that they will win.
Flop: In Texas Holdem, the Flop round is the second round in which the dealer reveals 3 community cards.
Fold: To resign from the game, giving up the bets you have made in the pot. Once you fold, you forfeit from any winnings even if you end up having the best hand.
Hitting: In Blackjack, players can 'hit' and request an additional card for their hand.
Kicker: The Kicker is the second highest card (after the hand rank). It usually only comes to play as a tiebreaker when you have the same hand rank as another player.
Limited Betting: For this variation, players have a limit to the max they can bet in each round of betting.
Raise: To make a bet more than the amount of the previous bet.
Re-raise: A re-raise is when a player raises a previously raised bet.
River: In Poker games, the River is the round in which the dealer reveals the last card.
Showdown: In Poker games, the showdown occurs after the river and when multiple players are still actively betting. During the showdown, players must reveal their hand. The player with the highest hand wins the game.
Sit Out: In this variation, players can choose to sit out for a round.
Splitting: In Blackjack, players can split their hand if they are dealt two identical cards. After splitting, their bet is doubled and they receive two more cards.
Standing: In Blackjack, standing means that you do not want any more cards dealt to you.
Pot: The total amount of bets made.
Pre-Flop: In Texas Holdem, the Pre-Flop is the first round in which the dealer passes out two cards to everyone and in which initial bets are made.
Push: In Blackjack, to push means that your hand and the dealer's hand are equal. Nobody wins or loses when there is a push.
Turn: In Poker games, the Turn is the round before the River in which the dealer reveals an additional community card.
Card Game Basics
A deck of cards consists of 52 cards, with 4 distinctive subgroups. Each of these subgroups is recognised by a symbol and are referred to as suits. They consist of Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. Each suit contains 13 cards which, generally, are considered in this order, Ace (A), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jacks (J), Queen (Q) and King (K). Some games include the two Jokers found in a standard deck but most games don't.
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