This article is about the poker game. For other uses, see Texas hold 'em
(disambiguation)
Variation of the card game of poker
Texas hold 'em Texas hold 'em
involves community cards available to all players. Alternative names Hold 'em Type
Community card poker Players 2+, usually 2–10 Skills Probability, psychology, game
theory, strategy Cards 52 Deck French Rank (high→low) A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 (A
when used in a Straight) Play Clockwise Chance Medium
Texas hold 'em (also known as
Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card
game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and
then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages. The stages consist of a
series of three cards ("the flop"), later an additional single card ("the turn" or
"fourth street"), and a final card ("the river" or "fifth street"). Each player seeks
the best five-card poker hand from any combination of the seven cards: the five
community cards and their two hole cards. Players have betting options to check, call,
raise, or fold. Rounds of betting take place before the flop is dealt and after each
subsequent deal. The player who has the best hand and has not folded by the end of all
betting rounds wins all of the money bet for the hand, known as the pot. In certain
situations, a "split pot" or "tie" can occur when two players have hands of equivalent
value. This is also called "chop the pot". Texas hold 'em is also the H game featured
in HORSE and HOSE.
Objective [ edit ]
In Texas hold 'em, as in all variants of poker,
individuals compete for an amount of money or chips contributed by the players
themselves (called the pot). Because the cards are dealt randomly and outside the
control of the players, each player attempts to control the amount of money in the pot
based on the hand they are holding,[1] and on their prediction as to what their
opponents may be holding and how they might behave.
The game is divided into a series
of hands (deals); at the conclusion of each hand, the pot is typically awarded to one
player (an exception in which the pot is divided between two or more is discussed
below). A hand may end at the showdown, in which case the remaining players compare
their hands and the highest hand is awarded the pot; that highest hand is usually held
by only one player, but can be held by more in the case of a tie. The other possibility
for the conclusion of a hand occurs when all but one player have folded and have
thereby abandoned any claim to the pot, in which case the pot is awarded to the player
who has not folded.[1]
The objective of winning players is not to win every individual
hand, but rather to win over the longer term by making mathematically and
psychologically better decisions regarding when and how much to bet, raise, call or
fold. Winning poker players work to enhance their opponents' betting and maximize their
own expected gain on each round of betting, to thereby increase their long-term
winnings.[1]
History [ edit ]
Johnny Moss, Chill Wills, Amarillo Slim, Jack Binion, and
Puggy Pearson outside Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas in 1974
Although little is known
about the invention of Texas hold 'em, the Texas Legislature officially recognizes
Robstown, Texas, as the game's birthplace, dating it to the early 20th
century.[2]
After the game spread throughout Texas, hold 'em was introduced to Las
Vegas in 1963 at the California Club by Corky McCorquodale. The game became popular and
quickly spread to the Golden Nugget, Stardust and Dunes.[3] In 1967, a group of Texan
gamblers and card players, including Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo
Slim were playing in Las Vegas. This is when "ace high" was changed from the original
form in which aces were low.[4] Addington said the first time he saw the game was in
1959. "They didn't call it Texas hold 'em at the time, they just called it hold 'em.… I
thought then that if it were to catch on, it would become the game. Draw poker, you bet
only twice; hold 'em, you bet four times. That meant you could play strategically. This
was more of a thinking man's game."[5]
For several years the Golden Nugget Casino in
Downtown Las Vegas was the only casino in Las Vegas to offer the game. At that time,
the Golden Nugget's poker room was "truly a 'sawdust joint,' with…oiled sawdust
covering the floors."[6] Because of its location and decor, this poker room did not
receive many rich drop-in clients, and as a result, professional players sought a more
prominent location. In 1969, the Las Vegas professionals were invited to play Texas
hold 'em at the entrance of the now-demolished Dunes Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
This prominent location, and the relative inexperience of poker players with Texas hold
'em, resulted in a very remunerative game for professional players.[6]
After a failed
attempt to establish a "Gambling Fraternity Convention", Tom Moore added the first ever
poker tournament to the Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention held in 1969. This
tournament featured several games including Texas hold 'em. In 1970, Benny and Jack
Binion acquired the rights to this convention, renamed it the World Series of Poker,
and moved it to their casino, Binion's Horseshoe, in Las Vegas. After its first year, a
journalist, Tom Thackrey, suggested that the main event of this tournament should be
no-limit Texas hold 'em. The Binions agreed and ever since no-limit Texas hold 'em has
been played as the main event.[6] Interest in the main event continued to grow steadily
over the next two decades. After receiving only eight entrants in 1972, the numbers
grew to over one hundred entrants in 1982, and over two hundred in
1991.[7][8][9]
During this time, B & G Publishing Co., Inc. published Doyle Brunson's
revolutionary poker strategy guide, Super/System.[10] Despite being self-published and
priced atR$100 in 1978, the book revolutionized the way poker was played. It was one of
the first books to discuss Texas hold 'em, and is today cited as one of the most
important books on this game.[11] In 1983, Al Alvarez published The Biggest Game in
Town, a book detailing a 1981 World Series of Poker event.[12] The first book of its
kind, it described the world of professional poker players and the World Series of
Poker. Alvarez's book is credited with beginning the genre of poker literature and with
bringing Texas hold 'em (and poker generally) to a wider audience.[13] Alvarez's book
was not the first book about poker. The Education of a Poker Player by Herbert Yardley,
a former U.S. government code breaker, was published in 1957.
Interest in hold 'em
outside of Nevada began to grow in the 1980s as well. Although California had legal
card rooms offering draw poker, Texas hold 'em was deemed to be prohibited under a
statute that made illegal the (now unheard of) game "stud-horse". But in 1988 Texas
hold 'em was declared legally distinct from stud-horse in Tibbetts v. Van De Kamp,[14]
and declared to be a game of skill.[15] Almost immediately card rooms across the state
offered Texas hold 'em.[16] It is often presumed that this decision ruled that hold 'em
was a game of skill,[17] but the distinction between skill and chance has never entered
into California jurisprudence regarding poker. [18]
After a trip to Las Vegas,
bookmakers Terry Rogers and Liam Flood introduced the game to European card players in
the early 1980s.[citation needed]
Popularity [ edit ]
Texas hold 'em is now one of the
most popular forms of poker.[19][20] Texas hold 'em's popularity surged in the 2000s
due to exposure on television, the Internet and popular literature. During this time
hold 'em replaced seven-card stud as the most common game in U.S. casinos.[21] The
no-limit betting form is used in the widely televised main event of the World Series of
Poker (WSOP) and the World Poker Tour (WPT).
Hold 'em's simplicity and popularity have
inspired a wide variety of strategy books that provide recommendations for proper play.
Most of these books recommend a strategy that involves playing relatively few hands but
betting and raising often with the hands one plays.[22] In the first decade of the
twenty-first century, Texas hold 'em experienced a surge in popularity worldwide.[21]
Many observers attribute this growth to the synergy of five factors: the invention of
online poker, the game's appearance in film and on television, invention and usage of
the "hole card cam" (which allowed viewers to see hole cards played in the hand as a
means of determining strategy and decision-making during gameplay), the appearance of
television commercials advertising online cardrooms, and the 2003 World Series of Poker
championship victory by online qualifier Chris Moneymaker.[23]
Television and film [
edit ]
Prior to poker becoming widely televised, the movie Rounders (1998), starring
Matt Damon and Edward Norton, gave moviegoers a romantic view of the game as a way of
life despite the poker portrayed being often criticized by more serious
players.[citation needed] Texas hold 'em was the main game played during the movie and
the no-limit variety was described, following Doyle Brunson, as the "Cadillac of
Poker". A clip of the classic showdown between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel from the
1988 World Series of Poker was also incorporated into the film.[24] More recently, a
high-stakes Texas hold 'em game was central to the plot of the 2006 James Bond film
Casino Royale, in place of baccarat, the casino game central to the novel on which the
film was based. In 2008, an acclaimed short film called Shark Out of Water was released
on DVD. This film is unique in that it deals with the darker, more addictive elements
of the game, and features Phil Hellmuth and Brad Booth.
Hold 'em tournaments had been
televised since the late 1970s, but they did not become popular until 1999, when hidden
lipstick cameras were first used to show players' private hole cards on the Late Night
Poker TV show in the United Kingdom.[25] Hold 'em exploded in popularity as a spectator
sport in the United States and Canada in early 2003, when the World Poker Tour adopted
the lipstick cameras idea. A few months later, ESPN's coverage of the 2003 World Series
of Poker featured the unexpected victory of Internet player Chris Moneymaker, an
amateur player who gained admission to the tournament by winning a series of online
tournaments. Moneymaker's victory initiated a sudden surge of interest in the series
(along with internet poker), based on the egalitarian idea that anyone—even a rank
novice—could become a world champion.[26]
In 2003, there were 839 entrants in the WSOP
main event,[27] and triple that number in 2004.[28] The crowning of the 2004 WSOP
champion, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, a patent attorney from Connecticut, further fueled
the popularity of the event among amateur (and particularly Internet) players.[29] In
the 2005 main event, an unprecedented 5,619 entrants vied for a first prize
ofR$7,500,000. The winner, Joe Hachem of Australia, was a semi-professional player.[30]
This growth continued in 2006, with 8,773 entrants and a first place prize
ofR$12,000,000 (won by Jamie Gold).[31]
Beyond the series, other television
shows—including the long running World Poker Tour—are credited with increasing the
popularity of Texas hold 'em.[32] In addition to its presence on network and general
audience cable television,[33] poker has now become a regular part of sports networks'
programming in the United States.[34]
Literature [ edit ]
The English journalist and
biographer Anthony Holden spent a year on the professional poker circuit from 1988 to
1989 and wrote about his experiences in Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker
Player. The follow-up book, Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom covers the period
2005–2006 and describes a poker world "changed beyond recognition".[35]
Twenty years
after the publication of Alvarez's groundbreaking book, James McManus published a
semi-autobiographical book, Positively Fifth Street (2003), which simultaneously
describes the trial surrounding the murder of Ted Binion and McManus's own entry into
the 2000 World Series of Poker.[36] McManus, a poker amateur, finished fifth in the
no-limit Texas hold 'em main event, winning overR$200,000.[37] In the book McManus
discusses events surrounding the series, the trial of Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish,
poker strategy, and some history of poker and the world series.
Michael Craig's 2005
book The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King details a series of high-stakes
Texas hold 'em one-on-one games between Texas banker Andy Beal and a rotating group of
poker professionals. As of 2006, these games were the highest stakes ever played,
reachingR$100,000–$200,000 fixed limit.[38]
Online poker [ edit ]
Poker revenues from
Party Gaming (2002–2006). The drop off in 2006 is due to the UIGEA.
The ability to play
cheaply and anonymously online has been credited as a cause of the increase in
popularity of Texas hold 'em.[26] Online poker sites both allow people to try out games
(in some cases the games are entirely free to play and are just for fun social
experiences) and also provide an avenue for entry into large tournaments (like the
World Series of Poker) via smaller tournaments known as satellites. The 2003 and 2004
winners (Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, respectively) of the World Series no-limit
hold 'em main event qualified by playing in these tournaments.[39][40]
Although online
poker grew from its inception in 1998 until 2003, Moneymaker's win and the appearance
of television advertisements in 2003 contributed to a tripling of industry revenues in
2004.[41][42]
Rules [ edit ]
Betting structures [ edit ]
A standard hold 'em game
showing the position of the blinds relative to the dealer button
Hold 'em is normally
played using small and big blind bets—forced bets by two players. Antes (forced
contributions by all players) may be used in addition to blinds, particularly in later
stages of tournament play. A dealer button is used to represent the player in the
dealer position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the
position of the dealer and blinds. The small blind is posted by the player to the left
of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by
the player to the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament
poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses.
After one round of betting is done, the next betting round will start by the person in
the small blind.
When only two players remain, special "head-to-head" or "heads up"
rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with
the dealer button posts the small blind, while their opponent places the big blind. The
dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last and continues
to do so for the remainder of the hand.
The three most common variations of hold 'em
are limit hold 'em, no-limit hold 'em and pot-limit hold 'em. Limit hold 'em has
historically been the most popular form of hold 'em found in casino live action games
in the United States.[21] In limit hold 'em, bets and raises during the first two
rounds of betting (pre-flop and flop) must be equal to the big blind; this amount is
called the small bet. In the next two rounds of betting (turn and river), bets and
raises must be equal to twice the big blind; this amount is called the big
bet.
No-limit hold 'em has grown in popularity and is the form most commonly found in
televised tournament poker and is the game played in the main event of the World Series
of Poker. In no-limit hold 'em, players may bet or raise any amount over the minimum
raise up to all of the chips the player has at the table (called an all-in bet). The
minimum raise is equal to the size of the previous bet or raise. If someone wishes to
re-raise, they must raise at least the amount of the previous raise. For example, if
the big blind isR$2 and there is a raise ofR$6 to a total ofR$8, a re-raise must be at
leastR$6 more for a total ofR$14. If a raise or re-raise is all-in and does not equal
the size of the previous raise (or half the size in some casinos), the initial raiser
cannot re-raise again (in case there are other players also still in the game). In
pot-limit hold 'em, the maximum raise is the current size of the pot (including the
amount needed to call).
Some casinos that offer hold 'em also allow the player to the
left of the big blind to post an optional live straddle, usually double the amount of
the big blind. This causes that player to act as the big blind and the player has an
option to raise when it comes to their turn again. (Some variations allow for straddle
on the button). No-limit games may also allow multiple re-straddles, in any amount that
would be a legal raise.[10]
Play of the hand [ edit ]
Each player is dealt two private
cards in hold 'em, which are dealt first.
This video shows how to deal a hand for Texas
hold 'em and some of the types of hands needed in order to win.
Following a shuffle of
the cards, play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down, with the
player in the small blind receiving the first card and the player in the button seat
receiving the last card dealt. (As in most poker games, the deck is a standard 52-card
deck containing no jokers.) These cards are the players' hole or pocket cards. These
are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will (possibly) be
revealed only at the showdown, making Texas hold 'em a closed poker game.
The hand
begins with a "pre-flop" betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the
big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and
continuing clockwise. A round of betting continues until every player has folded, put
in all of their chips, or matched the amount put in by all other active players. See
betting for a detailed account. Note that the blinds are considered "live" in the
pre-flop betting round, meaning that they are counted toward the amount that the blind
player must contribute. If all players call around to the player in the big blind
position, that player may either check or raise.
After the pre-flop betting round,
assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a
flop: three face-up community cards. The flop is followed by a second betting round.
This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player to the dealer's left and
continue clockwise.
After the flop betting round ends, a single community card (called
the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final single
community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth
betting round and the showdown, if necessary.
In all casinos, the dealer will burn a
card before the flop, turn, and river. Because of this burn, players who are betting
cannot see the back of the next community card to come. This is done for traditional
reasons, to avoid any possibility of a player knowing in advance the next card to be
dealt due to its being marked.[10]
The showdown [ edit ]
If a player bets and all other
players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show
their hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a
showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the best poker hand they can make
from the seven cards comprising their two hole cards and the five community cards. A
player may use both of their own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form
their final five-card hand. If the five community cards form the player's best hand,
then the player is said to be playing the board and can only hope to split the pot,
because each other player can also use the same five cards to construct the same
hand.[10]
If the best hand is shared by more than one player, then the pot is split
equally among them, with any extra chips going to the first players after the button in
clockwise order. It is common for players to have closely valued, but not identically
ranked hands. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand; if the
hand involves fewer than five cards, (such as two pair or three of a kind), then
kickers are used to settle ties (see the second example below). The card's numerical
rank is of sole importance; suit values are irrelevant in hold 'em.
Hand values [ edit
]
The following table shows the possible hand values in increasing order.
Name
Description Example High card Simple value of the card. Lowest: 2 – Highest: Ace (King
in the example) Pair Two cards with the same value Two pairs Two times two cards with
the same value Three of a kind Three cards with the same value Straight Sequence of 5
cards in increasing value (Ace can precede 2 and follow up King), not of the same suit
Flush 5 cards of the same suit, not in sequential order Full house Combination of three
of a kind and a pair Four of a kind Four cards of the same value Straight flush
Straight of the same suit
Misdeal [ edit ]
If the first or second card dealt is
exposed, then this is considered a misdeal. The dealer then retrieves the card,
reshuffles the deck, and again cuts the cards. However, if any other hole card is
exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues as usual. After completing the deal,
the dealer replaces the exposed card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed
card is then used as the burn card. If more than one hole card is exposed, a misdeal is
declared by the dealer and the hand is dealt again from the beginning.[43] A misdeal is
also declared if a player receives more than two hole cards by mistake (e.g. two cards
stuck together).
Examples [ edit ]
Sample showdown [ edit ]
Here is a sample
showdown:
Board
Bob
Carol
Ted
Alice
Each player plays the best five-card hand they can
make with the seven cards available. Below is the list of best hands each player
has.
Bob Three of a kind: fours Carol Flush: Ace high Ted Full house: Kings full of
fours Alice Straight: Four to eight
In this case, Ted wins as he has the best hand
(full house). If arranged in order of hand strength from the strongest, it would be
Ted's full house, Carol's flush, Alice's straight, and Bob's three of a kind.
Sample
hand [ edit ]
The blinds for this example hand
Here is a sample game involving four
players. The players' individual hands will not be revealed until the showdown, to give
a better sense of what happens during play:
Compulsory bets: Alice is the dealer. Bob,
to Alice's left, posts a small blind ofR$1, and Carol posts a big blind
ofR$2.
Pre-flop: Alice deals two hole cards face down to each player, beginning with
Bob and ending with herself. Ted must act first, being the first player after the big
blind. Ted cannot check, because theR$2 big blind plays as a bet, and so folds. Alice
calls theR$2. Bob adds an additionalR$1 to theR$1 small blind to call theR$2 total.
Carol's blind is "live" (see blind), so there is the option to raise here, but Carol
checks instead, ending the first betting round. The pot now containsR$6,R$2 from each
of three players.
Flop: Alice now burns a card and deals the flop of three face-up
community cards, 9♣ K♣ 3♥. On this round, as on all subsequent rounds, the player on
the dealer's left begins the betting. Bob checks, Carol opens forR$2, and Alice raises
anotherR$2 (puts inR$4,R$2 to match Carol andR$2 to raise), making the total bet now
facing BobR$4. Bob calls (puts inR$4,R$2 to match Carol's initial bet andR$2 to match
Alice's raise). Carol calls as well, putting inR$2. The pot now containsR$18,R$6 from
the last round andR$12 from three players this round.
Turn: Alice now burns another
card and deals the turn card face up. It is the 5♠. Bob checks, Carol checks, and Alice
checks; the turn has been checked around. The pot still containsR$18.
River: Alice
burns another card and deals the final river card, the 9♦, making the final board 9♣ K♣
3♥ 5♠ 9♦. Bob betsR$4, Carol calls, and Alice folds (Alice's holding was A♣ 7♣ and was
hoping the river card would be a club to make a flush).
Showdown: Bob shows his hand of
Q♠ 9♥, so the best five-card hand possible is 9♣ 9♦ 9♥ K♣ Q♠, for three nines, with a
king-queen kicker. Carol shows her cards of K♠ J♥, making a final hand K♣ K♠ 9♣ 9♦ J♥
for two pair, kings and nines, with a jack kicker. Bob wins the showdown and theR$26
pot.
Kickers and ties [ edit ]
Because of the presence of community cards in Texas hold
'em, different players' hands can often run very close in value. As a result, it is
common for kickers to be used to determine the winning hand and also for two hands (or
maybe more) to tie. A kicker is a card that is part of the five-card poker hand, but is
not used in determining a hand's rank. For instance, in the hand A-A-A-K-Q, the king
and queen are kickers.
The following situation illustrates the importance of breaking
ties with kickers and card ranks, as well as the use of the five-card rule. After the
turn, the board and players' hole cards are as follows.
Board (after the
turn)
Bob
Carol
At the moment, Bob is in the lead with a hand of Q♠ Q♣ 8♠ 8♥ K♥, making
two pair, queens and eights, with a king kicker. This beats Carol's hand of Q♥ Q♣ 8♠ 8♥
10♦ by virtue of the king kicker.
Suppose the final card is the A♠, making the final
board 8♠ Q♣ 8♥ 4♣ A♠. Bob and Carol still each have two pair (queens and eights), but
both of them are now entitled to play the final ace as their fifth card, making their
hands both two pair, queens and eights, with an ace kicker. Bob's king no longer plays,
because the ace on the board plays as the fifth card in both hands, and a hand is only
composed of the best five cards. They therefore tie and split the pot. However, if the
last card is a jack or lower (except an eight, which would make a full house, or a ten,
which would give Carol a higher second pair), Bob's king stays in the game and Bob
wins.
Strategy [ edit ]
Most poker authors recommend a tight-aggressive approach to
playing Texas hold 'em. This strategy involves playing relatively few hands (tight),
but betting and raising often with those that one does play (aggressive).[22] Although
this strategy is often recommended, some professional players successfully employ other
strategies as well.[22]
Almost all authors agree that where a player sits in the order
of play (known as position) is an important element of Texas hold 'em strategy,
particularly in no-limit hold'em.[1] Players who act later have more information than
players who act earlier. As a result, players typically play fewer hands from early
positions than later positions.
Because of the game's level of complexity, it has
received some attention from academics. One attempt to develop a quantitative model of
a Texas hold'em tournament as an isolated complex system has had some success,[44]
although the full consequences for optimal strategies remain to be explored. In
addition, groups at the University of Alberta and Carnegie Mellon University worked to
develop poker playing programs utilizing techniques in game theory and artificial
intelligence.[45][46] In January 2024, the AAAS journal Science reported that the group
at the University of Alberta had succeeded in coding a computer program called Cepheus
that can learn from its playing experience to optimize its CFR algorithm and approach
playing perfection when opposing strong players in the variant known as heads-up limit
Texas Hold 'em, which involves only two players. Although it does not win every hand,
it is unbeatable on average over a large number of hands. The program exhibits more
variation in its tactics than professional players do, for instance bluffing with weak
hands that professional players tend to fold.[47][48][49] Public web access to observe
and play against Cepheus is available.[50]
Starting hands [ edit ]
A pair of aces is
statistically the best hand to be dealt in Texas Hold'em Poker.
Because only two cards
are dealt to each player, it is easy to characterize all of the starting hands. There
are (52 × 51)/2 = 1,326 distinct possible combinations of two cards from a standard
52-card deck. Because no suit is more powerful than another, many of these can be
equated for the analysis of starting-hand strategy. For example, although J♥ J♣ and J♦
J♠ are distinct combinations of cards by rank and suit, they are of equal value as
starting hands.
Because of this equivalence, there are only 169 effectively different
hole-card combinations. Thirteen of these are pairs, from deuces (twos) to aces. There
are 78 ways to have two cards of different rank (12 possible hands containing one ace,
11 possible hands containing one king but no ace, 10 possible hands containing one
queen but no ace or king, etc.). Both hole cards can be used in a flush if they are
suited, but pairs are never suited, so there would be 13 possible pairs, 78 possible
suited non-pairs, and 78 possible unsuited ("off-suit") non-pairs, for a total of 169
possible hands.[51] Suited starting hands are stronger than their unsuited
counterparts, although the magnitude of this strength advantage in different games is
debated.[52]
Because of the limited number of starting hands, most strategy guides
include a detailed discussion of each of them. This distinguishes hold 'em from other
poker games where the number of starting card combinations forces strategy guides to
group hands into broad categories. Another result of this small number is the
proliferation of colloquial names for individual hands.
Strategic differences in
betting structures [ edit ]
Texas Hold'em is commonly played both as a "cash" or "ring"
game and as a tournament game. Strategy for these different forms can vary.
Cash games
[ edit ]
Before the advent of poker tournaments, all poker games were played with real
money where players bet actual currency (or chips that represented currency). Games
that feature wagering actual money on individual hands are still very common and are
referred to as "cash games" or "ring games".
The no-limit and fixed-limit cash-game
versions of hold 'em are strategically very different. Doyle Brunson claims that "the
games are so different that there are not many players who rank with the best in both
types of hold 'em. Many no-limit players have difficulty gearing down for limit, while
limit players often lack the courage and 'feel' necessary to excel at no-limit."[10]
Because the size of bets is restricted in limit games, the ability to bluff is somewhat
curtailed. Because one is not (usually) risking all of one's chips in limit poker,
players are sometimes advised to take more chances.[10]
Lower-stakes games also exhibit
different properties than higher-stakes games. Small-stakes games often involve more
players in each hand and can vary from extremely passive (little raising and betting)
to extremely aggressive (many raises). This difference of small-stakes games has
prompted several books dedicated to only those games.[53]
Tournaments [ edit ]
Texas
hold 'em is often associated with poker tournaments largely because it is played as the
main event in many of the famous tournaments, including the World Series of Poker's
Main Event, and is the most common tournament overall.[54] Traditionally, a poker
tournament is played with chips that represent a player's stake in the tournament.
Standard play allows all entrants to "buy-in" for a fixed amount and all players begin
with an equal value of chips. Play proceeds until one player has accumulated all the
chips in play or a deal is made among the remaining players to "chop" the remaining
prize pool. The money pool is redistributed to the players in relation to the place
they finished in the tournament. Only a small percentage of the players receive any
money, with the majority receiving nothing. "The percentages are not standardized, but
common rules of thumb call for one table" (usually nine players) "to get paid for each
100 entrants," according to poker author Andrew Glazer, in his book, The Complete
Idiot's Guide to Poker.[55] A good rule of thumb is that close to 10% of players will
be paid in a tournament. As a result, the strategy in poker tournaments can be very
different from a cash game.
Proper strategy in tournaments can vary widely depending on
the amount of chips one has, the stage of the tournament, the amount of chips others
have, and the playing styles of one's opponents.[22] Although some authors still
recommend a tight playing style, others recommend looser play (playing more hands) in
tournaments than one would otherwise play in cash games. In tournaments the blinds and
antes increase regularly, and can become much larger near the end of the tournament.
This can force players to play hands that they would not normally play when the blinds
were small, which can warrant both more loose and more aggressive play.[56]
Evaluating
a hand [ edit ]
One of the most important things in Texas hold'em is knowing how to
evaluate a hand. The strategy of playing each hand can be very different according to
the strength of the hand. For example, on a strong hand, a player might want to try to
appear weak in order to not scare off other players with weaker hands, while on a weak
hand, a player might try to bluff other players into folding.
There are several ways to
evaluate hand strength; two of the most common are counting outs and using
calculators.
Counting outs [ edit ]
This method consists of counting the cards still in
the deck, which in combination with the cards the player already has can give the
player a potentially winning hand. Such cards are called "outs", and hand strength can
be measured by how many outs are still in the deck (if there are many outs then the
probability to get one of them is high and therefore the hand is strong). The following
chart[57] determines the probability of hitting outs (bettering the player's hand)
based on how many cards are left in the deck and the draw type.
Outs One Card % Two
Card % One Card Odds Two Card Odds Draw Type 1 2% 4% 46 23 Inside Straight Flush 2 4%
8% 22 12 Pocket Pair to Set 3 7% 13% 14 7 One Overcard 4 9% 17% 10 5 Inside Straight /
Two Pair to Full House 5 11% 20% 8 4 One Pair to Two Pair or Trips 6 13% 24% 6.7 3.2 No
Pair to Pair / Two Overcards 7 15% 28% 5.6 2.6 Inside Straight & One Overcard 8 17% 32%
4.7 2.2 Open Straight 9 19% 35% 4.1 1.9 Flush 10 22% 38% 3.6 1.6 Inside Straight & Two
Overcards 11 24% 42% 3.2 1.4 Open Straight & One Overcard 12 26% 45% 2.8 1.2 Flush &
Inside Straight / Flush & One Overcard 13 28% 48% 2.5 1.1 14 30% 51% 2.3 0.95 Open
Straight & Two Overcards 15 33% 54% 2.1 0.85 Flush & Two Overcards / Flush & Open Ended
Straight / Flush & Inside Straight & One Overcard 16 34% 57% 1.9 0.75 17 37% 60% 1.7
0.66
Multiplying the number of outs by two or four (the Two Times Rule or Four Times
Rule) gives a reasonable approximation to the One Card % or Two Card %, respectively,
in the above table.[58] For example, an open straight draw on the flop has 8 outs so
the odds to hit the straight on the turn is 16% (8 x 2) and the odds on the river is
32% (8 x 4).
Calculators [ edit ]
Calculators are poker tools that calculate the odds
of a hand (combined with the cards on the table if there are any) to win the game.
Calculators provide precise odds but they cannot be used in live games and are
therefore mostly used on Internet poker games. The first known commercial poker
calculator was marketed by Mike Caro. Michael Shackleford, the Wizard of Odds, later
made one available to the public free of charge on his website.[59]
Similar games [
edit ]
There are several other poker variants that resemble Texas hold 'em. Hold 'em is
a member of a class of poker games known as community card games, where some cards are
available for use by all the players. There are several other games that use five
community cards in addition to some private cards and are thus like Texas hold 'em.
Royal hold 'em has the same structure as Texas hold 'em, but the deck contains only
Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and Tens.[60] Pineapple and Omaha hold 'em both vary the
number of cards an individual receives before the flop (along with the rules regarding
how they may be used to form a hand), but are dealt identically afterward.[61][62] In
Double Texas Hold'em, each player receives 3 hole cards and establishes a middle common
card that plays with each of the other cards, but the outer cards don't play with each
other (each player has two 2-card hands).[63][64][65] Alternatively, in Double-board
hold'em all players receive the same number of private cards, but there are two sets of
community cards. The winner is either selected for each individual board with each
receiving half of the pot, or the best overall hand takes the entire pot, depending on
the rules agreed upon by the players.[66]
Another variant is known as Greek hold 'em
which requires each player to use both hole cards and only 3 from the board instead of
the best five of seven cards.[67][self-published source?][68]
Manila is a hold'em
variant that was once popular in Australia. In Manila, players receive two private
cards from a reduced deck (containing no cards lower than 7). A five-card board is
dealt, unlike Texas hold 'em, one card at a time; there is a betting round after each
card. Manila has several variations of its own, similar to the variants listed
above.[69]
Six-plus hold 'em (also known as Short-deck hold 'em) is a community card
poker game variant of Texas hold 'em, where cards 2 through 5 are removed. Each player
is dealt two cards face down and seeks to make his or her best five-card poker hand
using from any combination of the seven cards (five community cards and their own two
hole cards).[70]
See also [ edit ]
