If you have ever played poker before or if you are a new player with an interest in playing the game, you would know that the game of poker is vast. Although POKER is one game, it has several variants, each of which are unique and come with their distinct set of rules.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It Among them No-Limit Hold'em, or Texas Hold’em is the most popular and commonly played variant of poker. This particular variant of poker has gained massive popularity and liking for obvious reasons. It is easy to understand and play, it is entertaining and challenging, and one can potentially earn good money if played well are just some of the reasons why No-Limit Hold’em has gained such massive popularity.
If you’ve ever watched a poker movie or show, or any content where you see the characters playing a game of poker, they’re most likely playing No-Limit Hold’em. That’s how widely this variant is played.
If you wish to play poker, you should probably start with Texas Hold’em for its simplicity and easy-to-understand nature. Here’s everything you need to know about how to play No-Limit Hold’em.
No-Limit Hold’em Poker is a popular and commonly played poker variant. Playing a game of No-Limit Hold’em Poker requires a minimum of two and a maximum of nine players. The game uses a standard deck of 52 cards
No-Limit Hold’em is also known as Texas Hold’em. The objective of every player in No-Limit Hold’em is to make the best 5-card poker hand to win the game and the pot.
Now that you know what No-Limit Hold’em is, let’s dive further to know the rules of No-Limit Hold’em.
Just like any other game or sport, No-Limit Hold’em poker also has a set of rules. Players must carefully study and remember these Texas Hold’em rules at all times. Here are the rules of No-Limit Hold’em:
• Each Texas Holdem Poker player playing on the table gets two private cards, known as hole cards or face down cards. These are secret cards private to the player and only they can see it. Players must not reveal these cards to anyone, except in the showdown.
• Five common cards are placed face up on the table. These are known as community cards. The five cards are revealed in a series of three, one and one cards as the staking round progresses.
• Players must make the best five-card poker hand to win the game. For this they can use a combination of either one, both or none of their hole cards and five, four, or three, of the community cards.
• The action on the table moves around in a clockwise direction, starting with the small blind followed by the big blind to the left and so on.
• The best Texas Hold’em hand wins in the end.
You are now aware of the basic rules of Texas Hold’em Poker, let’s understand the betting rounds and actions that a player can take in a game.
A game of Texas Hold’em has five betting actions that players can choose from. Here are the betting actions in No-Limit Hold’em:
Check
A player has the option of using the ‘Check’ option if no bets have been placed in that round of betting. Checking basically means that the player does not have to put in any money or chips to stay active in the hand, unless someone else bets. Note that one cannot check if the previous player has bet.
Call
In Texas Hold’em, to ‘Call’ means to match the previous bet. If a player before you has bet, and when the action is on you, you can call by putting in the same amount as the previous player to stay in the hand.
Raise
To ‘Raise’ means to increase the amount of bet placed by the previous player. It is an aggressive move wherein you put in more amount than the previous player’s bet. This forces the players to either now match your higher bet or move out of the hand.
Fold
Moving out of the betting action and the hand is known as a ‘fold.’ Folding means that a player has quit the hand and given up any money that he might have put in the pot.
All-in
When a player goes ‘All-in’ they put in all their chips into the game. Betting all your remaining chips is known as going all-in. If a player loses the hand after going all-in, they are out of the game since they have no chips left to play.
Once you understand the rules and the actions available in Texas Hold’em, you will next need to understand How to play No-Limit Hold’em. The step by step process of playing Texas Hold’em is similar to the betting rounds in Texas Hold’em. A normal game of No-Limit Hold’em poker involves four rounds of betting followed by a showdown if applicable. Here are the betting rounds in Texas Hold’em poker.
Pre-flop
Once all the players on the table are dealt with their hole cards, the first round of betting begins. Generally, the action starts with the small blind, i.e, the player to the left of the dealer, however, in the preflop round, the action starts with the player to the left of the big blind. This is because before the cards are dealt, the small blind and big blind must have already put in their blinds.
In a pre-flop betting round in poker, the players decide whether they want to stay in the game or fold depending on the cards they have been dealt.
Flop
After the pre-flop round of betting is completed, the first three community cards are revealed face-up. This set of three cards is known as the ‘flop.’
Then begins the second round of betting where the small blind acts first. Here the players play based on the best five-card hand they can possibly make using the flop.
Turn
Once the betting on the flop is completed the dealer reveals the fourth community card known as the ‘turn.’ The third round of betting takes place on the urn starting with the small blind.
River
After the betting on the turn is completed, the fifth and final card of the community cards is placed face up on the table. This fifth card is known as the river.
By now all players have their best five-card hand. The forth and final round of betting takes place starting with the small blind.
Showdown
On completion of the final round of betting, if there are two or more players still left in the hand, they must reveal their hole cards. This action of the final players showing the hole cards is known as Showdown. At the showdown, the player with the best five-card hand wins the game/pot.
The game of poker revolves around the concept of hand rankings. If you wish to play poker, the hand rankings are your bible, that’s how important hand rankings are. Every new player is advised to sit with the hand ranking chart in front of them while playing until they learn the rankings by-heart.
In No-Limit Hold’em there are 10 different five-card hands that are ranked in order of the probability of their occurrence. The hand which is rare and has the least probability of occurrence is ranked highest, while the most common one is ranked lowest. The highest ranked hand is the strongest hand possible and can beat all other hands.
Here is the list of different five-card Texas Holdem Poker hands that you can make while trying to win the Texas Hold’em poker game.
1. Royal Flush
The highest ranked hand is the ‘Royal Flush.’ It is the best possible hand in Texas Hold’em. A Royal Flush is made up of five highest cards (A, K, Q, J, T) of the same suit in sequence. It is mandatory that all the cards of a royal flush must be of the same suit. For example, Ah Kh Qh Jh Th is a Royal Flush. It is an extremely rare hand with a possibility of 0.000154%.
2. Straight Flush
The second best poker hand is a ‘Straight Flush.’ A straight flush is made of any five sequential cards of the same suit. For example, Td 9d 8d 7d 6d is a straight flush. In instances where two players have a straight flush, the player with the higher straight flush wins the pot.
3. Four of a Kind
A ‘Four of a Kind’ is made of any four cards of the same rank. It is the third highest hand in poker. In a four of a kind, the suit of the cards does not matter. The only condition is that the hand should have four cards of the same rank accompanied by a random fifth card. For example, 5s 5c 5h 5d is a four of a kind. If two players have a four of a kind, the player with the higher rank of cards wins.
4. Full House
A ‘Full House’ consists of three cards of the same rak and the remaining two cards of a similar rank. For example, Kh Kc Kd 9h 9s is a full house. It is also known as a full boat. In situations where two players have a full house, the player with the higher ranked three cards wins.
5. Flush
A ‘Flush’ is a five card hand including five random cards of the same suit. In a flush the rank of the cards does not have importance, unless two or more players have a flush. The only criteria is that all five cards must be of the same suit. For example, Js 8s 5s 3s 2s is a flush.
6. Straight
A ‘Straight’ is five cards in sequence. Here the suit doesn’t matter as long as the five cards are in sequence. For example, 8 9 T J Q is a straight. In case two players have a straight, the player with the higher straight wins.
7. Three of a Kind
Similar to four of a kind, a ‘Three of a Kind’ is a hand consisting of three cards of the same rank and the remaining two cards of any random rank. For example, Qh Qd Qs 4h 2c is a three of a kind. If two players have three of a kind, the player with the higher ranked three of a kind wins.
8. Two Pair
A ‘Two Pair’ hand has two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and one random card of any rank. For example, Kh Ks 6h 6c 3d is a two pair hand. If two or more players have two pairs, the player with the highest pair wins. If the highest pair is also identical then the second pair is taken into consideration. If the second pair is also the same, the higher ranked fifth card wins.
9. One Pair
The second lowest hand ranking is ‘One Pair,’ wherein there are two cards of the same rank and the remaining three cards of random ranks. Example of one pair is 3d 3c Ah 9d 6s. If two players have one pair, the player with the highest pair wins. If both players have the same pair, the player with the highest third card wins. If the third card is the same the fourth card is considered, and if that too is the same the highest fifth card wins.
10. High Card
A ‘High Card’ is when a player does not have any of the above hands. It is when a player sits with a random set of five cards of different ranks and suits. In a high card, the winner is selected on the basis of the highest card. For example, Ad 8c 6h 5s 2h is a high card hand, and will be known as an Ace-high hand.
Note, in cases where all five cards of the players are identical the pot is equally divided among the players in contention.
Now that you have the basic knowledge and understanding of how No-Limit Hold’em is played, it’s now time to put your knowledge to test. You can start by playing online No-limit Hold’em poker games to start your poker journey. If you want to practice and learn the game before you start putting in your money you can play the free Texas Hold’em online poker games known as poker freerolls.
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