Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em is the most popular type of poker played in casinos and seen on television.

7 cards

Texas Hold'em is a version of 7-card poker. This means that by the end of the round, the player will have 7 cards to choose from to make a 5-card hand. For example, if the user has these cards to choose from:

The following hands could be made:
Heart Flush:

Pair of 7s:

In Zynga Poker, the computer automatically determines your best possible hand, so in this case you would be considered to have the flush.

Texas Hold'em rounds

Texas Hold'em is played over 4 rounds. Each round allows players to bet or fold. If no player bets, the next round begins.

Round 1 - Hole cards

Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called 'Hole cards'. No other players see your hole cards. After the hole cards are dealt, there is a round of betting. The first round of betting involves 'Blind' bets.

Blind bets
The player to the left of the dealer is forced to bet the "Small Blind". The next player to the left is forced to bet the "Big Blind". The big blind is double the small blind. The blinds are set by the table rules and appear as two numbers separated by a slash, for example: 5/10 or 500/1000

The dealer changes after every hand, so all players will take turns paying the blind bets.

Betting
Proceeding clockwise, all other players must either match the blind bets ('call'), raise or fold. If someone raises, all players must match the new amount to stay in. If a player folds, they are no longer participating in the hand and may not bet or win. Once all players have had the opportunity to raise or match the current bet amount, the round of betting ends. All bets are moved to the center of the table. The total chips on the table is called the 'pot'.

Uncontested
If at any time, only one player remains in the hand (all others have folded), the hand ends immediately and the remaining player wins the pot.

Round 2 - 'the Flop'

Three cards are dealt face up on the table. These are 'community' cards. Community cards are shared by all players, meaning all players may build their hands from these cards. After the flop, there is another round of betting beginning with the first player to the left of the dealer. A player may check (bet nothing) and remain in the hand. If another player bets, checking players will be given another opportunity to bet or fold.

Round 3 - 'the Turn'

One more card is dealt face up on the table. After the turn there is another round of betting.

Round 4 - 'the River'

One final card is dealt face up on the table. There are now 5 cards on the table and 2 cards in your hand: 7 cards total. From these 7 cards, the computer will pick your best 5-card hand. It is possible that the 5 cards on the table make the best hand -in this case it is possible that all players may have the same hand. After the river, there is one more round of betting.

Showdown
After the final round of betting, it is time to determine a winner. The last player to bet (not call) must show his cards first. All other players still in the hand (they have not folded) then show their cards. The winning player takes the whole pot.

Special betting rules

Minimum bet
A player may not bet or raise an amount that is less than the big blind amount.

Split Pot
If two or more players tie, the pot is split evenly between them.

All-in
If you do not have enough money to call a bet, you may go 'all-in'. This means that you are betting everything you have left. If you go all-in, you are not allowed to win more money than you were able to call. If the pot increases after you go all-in and you win, the pot will be split between you and the player with the next best hand who was able to cover the raises.