RULES OF THE TEXAS HOLDEM
The rest - dealing cards, mandatory bets, counting chips and determining the winner - in online poker happens automatically. To play, you will need a regular 52-card deck. Let's get rid of the jokers, seat 2-10 participants at the table.
The gameplay is a series of repeated draws - hands. It begins with the distribution of cards for each participant and ends with the determination of the winner. Having received 2 cards, the player does not show them to the others until the end of the distribution.
There are 3 main types of tables:
- Heads-Up - one on one;
- 6-max or Short-Handed - for 6 participants;
- 9-max or Full Ring - for 9 participants;
- 10-max or Full Ring - for 10 participants.
Sometimes a special definition is used for 4-max tables - ultra short or Ultra Short-Handed. The numbers indicate the maximum capacity, but in reality there may be fewer participants. For example, 6 people can sit at a 9-max table - 3 places will be waiting for new players. During the distribution, opponents trade (make bets), make combinations and determine the winner. The one who wins the hand receives the pot, made up of all the bets made. There are four betting rounds in total: preflop, flop, turn and river. They are also called streets.
The goal of the texas holdem player is to get the pot formed by bets. He can do this in two ways:
- collect the best combination and show it at the end of the hand. Better means stronger than others;
- force all opponents to fold their cards and get out of the fight. If a player forced everyone to do this, he is not obliged to show his own. At the end of the distribution, a new one begins: the dealer distributes the cards again and the auction starts.
Mandatory Bets
The blind bets for texas holdem poker online are as follows:
- big blind - one standard bet;
- the small blind is ½ of the standard bet.
Players posting blinds are marked with SB and BB icons. After the end of the distribution, they move to the next place in a clockwise direction. Thanks to this, each participant pays 1 big and 1 small blind for 1 round.
The blinds form the starting pot for which the players compete. Without them, everyone could sit around waiting for the most powerful cards without losing anything. And since the chips are gradually flowing away, you have to fight for them more often. And rare situations with super strong pockets do not pay off constant losses. Opponents understand that it is unprofitable to join the fight against someone who has been waiting for his moment for half an hour.
Some texas holdem poker online games have a mandatory ante bet. Every player does it. Usually the ante is 10-20% of the big blind.