How to Play No Limit Texas Holdem Online

A Beginners Guide to No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em

Texas No Limit Hold Em is a card game played in homes and casinos world wide. To play you need a pack of cards, some ‘chips’, and a dealer button and some friends to play with. Or you can open an account with one of the poker rooms on the left and have all of it (including friends) provided for you online and in the comfort of your own home.

How to Play

In this example there are six players, although the number at any table can be from two to ten. Player one will be the dealer and have the dealer ‘button’ placed in front of them. In Texas Hold Em there is enforced action from the two positions on the left of the dealer in the form of a small ‘blind’ bet and a larger (Big) ‘blind’ bet. It’s called blind because the players cannot see what they have yet (as no cards have been dealt) and are therefore ‘blind’ to the strength of their hand.

Once the blinds have been posted each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are called ‘Hole cards’. Then, as the small and big blind have already acted, it is the player to the left of the big blind to act first (this position is often called Under the Gun). The player has the option to fold their hand, call the big blind bet, or raise the betting. In No Limit, this can be as much as the player wishes, up to a maximum of ‘all-in’. Once the player has acted, play continues clock-wise around the table until all bets have been matched. This is called Pre-Flop Action.

Once the Pre-Flop Action has been completed, the dealer puts three cards face up in the centre of the table. This is called the Flop. Then we have another round of betting as before, starting with the first active player to the left of the (dealer) button. This round ends when all bets have been matched (or called). This is called Post-Flop.

After the flop, the dealer will deal another card face up. This is called the ‘Turn’ and as before we will have another round of betting.

After the betting action has been completed, the dealer will deal the last and most hated card in poker, the ‘river’. Now all active players finish their betting and the player who makes the best five carded hand from their seven (two hole plus five community cards) cards wins the hand, and the pot. This is called the showdown.

The above example explains how a hand progresses from the very beginning to the very end; however most hands played in No Limit Texas Hold Em end before the river. Due to the nature of the game, a players betting action can force another player to take no further part in the hand and ‘fold’. Sometimes this aggressive action can make a player fold what is possibly the better hand.