Texas Hold’em: A Comprehensive Guide

Texas Hold’em is hands down the most popular version of poker out there, pardon the pun. It also takes centre stage in the biggest poker events, like the World Series of Poker, whose Main Event is a No Limit Texas Hold’em contest.

Within our Texas Hold’em guide, you’ll discover why this game has hooked players across Australia with its blend of skill, strategy and luck. Discover what is Texas Hold’em, its basic rules, as well as its most played variants in our Texas Hold’em overview. If you’re an Aussie just getting started with poker or keen to up your game, we’ve got you covered.

What is Texas Hold’em?

The roots of Texas Hold’em poker can be traced back to the Texan town of Robstown, where it was played in the early 1900s. The Texas Hold’em game quickly spread across the Lone Star State before arriving on the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1960s.

Texas Hold’em is now the most popular community card poker game on the planet. Each player receives two private cards, and attempts to make the best possible five-card poker hand using a blend of their private cards and the community cards dealt face-up in the middle of the table. 

There’s no doubt that the Texas Hold’em popularity meter has moved off the scale in the 21st century due to its simple rules and the ability to develop strategies to outwit and outplay opponents.

Basic Rules of Texas Hold’em

If you’re wondering how to play Texas Hold’em for the first time, let’s run through the basic Texas Hold’em rules applicable to most cash games and tournaments online and in live poker rooms.

At the start of each hand, the dealer dishes out two private cards – known as “hole cards” – to each player. Players must attempt to win the pot by out-betting their opponents during any of the betting rounds, bluffing opponents off a hand or winning a pot at showdown.

Texas Hold’em Betting Rounds

In Texas Hold’em, preflop is your first opportunity to bet in a hand. This is the stage before the first three community cards are dealt. 

The next betting round is after the first three community cards are dealt – called the flop. If multiple players are prepared to commit chips after the flop, there’s also a fourth community card called the “turn”. If two or more players continue in the hand after the turn, the game advances to the fifth and final community card – the “river”.

After the river, there is a Texas Hold’em showdown. No, we’re not talking about pistols at dawn, but the player with the highest-ranked hand. They take down the pot, and the dealer takes all the cards and shuffles the deck, ready for the next hand.

During each betting round (pre-flop, flop, turn and river), players can make the following Texas Hold’em betting decisions:

• Bet
  Place a wager into the pot for other players to meet, raise or fold to. 
• Check
  Attempt to see the next community card without committing more chips to the pot (this can only happen if no one else has bet). 
• Raise
  Place a wager that’s greater than an opponent’s earlier bet in the round. 
• Fold
  Relinquish your hole cards and surrender your chance of winning anything from the pot.

If you’re wondering what the best Texas Hold’em hands to work with are, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ll list the poker hand rankings of Texas Hold’em poker, from the most valuable hands to the least valuable hands:

• Royal Flush
  The best poker hand, a Royal Flush, consists of the highest-possible straight – A, K, Q, J, 10. Crucially, your straight also needs to be in the same suit. 

• Straight Flush
  A Straight Flush is a five-card run of hands of the same suit. E.g. 8-7-6-5-4 of diamonds. 

• Four-of-a-Kind
  A Four-of-a-Kind is four cards of the same value. E.g. K-K-K-K or J-J-J-J. 

• Full House
  A Full House is a five-card hand comprising one Pair and a Three-of-a-Kind. For example, you may have a pair of Kings (K-K) and Three-of-a-Kind Queens (Q-Q-Q). 

• Flush
  A Flush is a five-card hand requiring all five cards to be of the same suit. E.g. five diamonds, clubs, spades, or hearts. 

• Straight
  A Straight is a five-card run of hands, but they don’t have to be of the same suit. 

• Three-of-a-Kind
  A Three-of-a-Kind is three cards of the same value. E.g. 3-3-3 or 8-8-8. 

• Two Pair
  A Two-pair hand in Texas Hold’em poker is a four-card hand comprising two pairs. E.g. 10-10 and K-K. 

• One Pair
  A Pair in Texas Hold’em poker is a simple two-card hand comprising one pair, such as 7-7 or J-J. 

• High Card
  The lowest hand in the Texas Hold’em hand rankings is essentially your highest-ranking card that’s not part of any other made hand. As an Ace is the most valuable poker card, a High Card Ace is the best possible High Card.

The Role of Position

In Texas Hold’em poker, having as much information on the strength (or weakness) of your opponents’ poker hands is vital to improving your win rate. One way to take control of hands and pots at the Texas Hold’em tables is to play “in position”.

Position is a crucial element of a successful poker strategy. Essentially, it’s the order in which players must act, referred to as their Texas Hold’em position. There are three distinct positions around a Texas Hold’em poker table:

Early Position

The small blind and big blind are the earliest positions on a poker table because they act first in the round of betting. The player to the immediate left of the big blind is known as being “under the gun” (UTG) because they act first once the blinds are posted.

Those in early positions are at the biggest disadvantage since they must make bet decisions with limited information on their opponent’s other intentions.

Ideally, early-position players should adopt a tight poker strategy, focusing on playing only premium starting hands like pairs of Aces, Kings, and Queens.

Middle Position

Players in the middle position aren’t the first to act in a Texas Hold’em poker hand, but they’re not the last to act either. This means middle-position players have access to more information on players in early positions but must still be wary of those acting after them in late positions.

It’s possible to loosen up your starting hands in middle position, especially if those in early position have folded or limped into the pot.

Late Position

Late positions are those who act last in a round of betting. This includes the “cutoff” position to the immediate right of the dealer button. The Texas Hold’em button, or dealer position, is the most powerful spot as you act last in every betting round.

This is a valuable vantage point, giving you information on the hand strength of all your opponents, allowing you to make more informed and strategic decisions. It’s much easier to be aggressive or bluff in late position, particularly when your opponents show weakness with their bet sizing.

Leveraging your table position from the dealer button is a crucial skill to master to maximise your winning potential in Texas Hold’em poker.

Strategies for Texas Hold’em

We’ve got your back if you’re looking for some Texas Hold’em strategies to give you a roadmap to competing at the tables. Below, we’ll list some simple Texas Hold’em tips to instantly take your poker strategy from beginner to intermediate level.

• Be selective with your starting hands
  Start by only showing aggression with your strongest starting hands, such as high-ranking pairs. Avoid playing with weak hands, especially in an early position. Passive play can eat into your chip stack long term. 
• Understand the value of table position
  Learn about the concept of early, middle and late positions. In early position, as the blinds or the first to act after the big blind, you should play very tight and conservative as you have less information on your opponents’ hands. In middle position, you can widen the range of starting hands you play, but still be mindful of those in late position. In late position, you can bet more aggressively in the knowledge of your opponents’ betting decisions. 
• Don’t be afraid to bluff
  Bluffing is a clever ploy in certain scenarios. Don’t always bluff, as your opponents will never respect your bluffs. There’s also such a thing as semi-bluffing, committing chips to the pot with a drawing hand that could improve with the following community card. Bluffing works best when you can read your opponents and know the right players to bluff, i.e. the tightest players who almost always fold to strength unless they have the best possible hand. 
• Switch-up your approach when the time is right
  Continually keep your wits about you—spot opportunities to change tactics based on the general flow of the game. If you become a chip leader, don’t be afraid to put the smaller stacks to difficult decisions, even if you don’t hold the strongest hands.

Common Variations of Texas Hold’em

There are three Texas Hold’em variations played most regularly:

• No-Limit
  In No-Limit Texas Hold’em, you can bet or raise any amount of your chips at any point of a betting round. You can also choose to go “all in”, which commits your entire chip stack to the pot. That’s why No-Limit is revered for its high-stakes drama and intense gameplay. 
• Pot Limit
  Pot Limit Texas Hold’em prevents you from betting or raising anything more than the current size of the pot. If the pot is worth $50, the maximum you can wager is $50. It’s a less aggressive style of Texas Hold’em poker whilst still allowing you to show the strength of your hand. 
• Limit
  In Limit Texas Hold’em, the amount you can bet is predetermined by a fixed amount. For instance, a $5/$10 Limit game means you can wager $5 increments in the earliest betting rounds and by $10 increments in the later betting rounds.

Playing Texas Hold’em Online

The good news for Aussies is that plenty of online poker rooms are available to play Texas Hold’em online. Although local operators cannot serve poker players Down Under, nothing is stopping you from playing at the best online poker rooms licensed offshore.

These online poker rooms offer the best of both worlds, with a huge choice of cash game tables at all stake levels and single and multi-table tournaments, depending on your preference. They’re also really accessible, with the freedom to play on your desktop, laptop or mobile devices.

First-time players are usually eligible for “freeroll” tournaments, are free to enter, and have real-money prizes available. You can also play Texas Hold’em for real money payouts at levels as low as $0.01/$0.02 blinds at cash games and $1 for tournaments.

Conclusion

If you’re keen to learn Texas Hold’em and become a poker shark at the tables, we cannot emphasise mastering the rules, poker lingo, hand rankings and betting dynamics. Knowing these like the back of your hand is crucial to making quick, smart decisions in pressurised situations.

Be sure to take on board our Texas Hold’em summary of beginner and intermediate strategies to get you thinking more about your opponents’ hands and not just your own. Ultimately, any Texas Hold’em poker conclusion worth its salt should recommend practising and honing your skills to get the most out of this multi-faceted card game.

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