Texas Hold'em has gained popularity throughout the beginning of the 21st century. The first tournaments were held in Las Vegas but the game got its start in Robstown, Texas. A group of Texan men brought the game up to Las Vegas during the 1960's.
It took a while for the game to catch on with the richer gamblers who frequented the Las Vegas strip. Once it did get into the more glamorous casinos, the game took off. There has been numerous books written about it and many televised shows.
Texas Hold' em's most famous televised show is the World Series of Poker. Chris Moneymaker, an online contestant to try to get into the series, won and went on to win the entire series in 2003. This act inspired millions of people to attempt to win an online competition to make it into the Texas Hold'em series each year.
Texas Hold'em is a version of community poker where the players bet blind bets before the dealer hands out the first two of seven cards. After the blind bet, the other players decide if they want to ante based on what two cards they were dealt. Once all the players, who will stay in on that hand, have anted, the dealer then puts out three face up cards onto what is called the window.
The window is the place, usually in the middle of the table for all players to see, where the dealer will place all the community cards. Community cards are five of the seven that the players will use to try to make a winning hand. Each player is dealt two face down cards that are their own.
After establishing who will play each round, after the initial three of the window are laid out, the real betting begins. Each player will look at their hole cards, the two they were given in the beginning, and the three in the window to decide if they have a chance to make a good enough hand to win the round. Once they have decided if they will stay in, they bet.
Each time a player bets, the other players have the ability to see the bet, raise the bet, or fold their hand. Seeing the bet is betting the same amount as the original bettor. Raising the bet is betting more than the original bettor.
The players get four chances to bet. The first is before the initial three window cards are dealt, after the first three window cards, and one time after each of the next two window cards are dealt. Betting four times, plus the ability to raise a bet, gives Texas Hold'em players the chance to make the pot fairly large.
Texas Hold'em has three different forms. Limit Hold'em, No-Limit Hold'em, and Pot-Limit Hold'em are the three types played. In the limit version of the game, the bets are set amounts called the big bet and the small bet however, No-Limit is the most popular form of Texas Hold'em.
The player to the left of the dealer starts the betting with the small blind and the next players places the big blind. In No-Limit, the small blind is usually half of the big blind. The ante that the other players will bet is equal to the amount of the big blind.
When the river, the last card dealt, is laid on the window, and the final bet has been made, the game ends. There is a showdown depending upon if more than one player has not folded his hand. The game of Texas Hold'em ends when the player with the best hand wins.
About the Author:
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