Texas hold’em: rule number one

Forget the five card draw, Texas hold’em is the game that calls for true expertise at the poker table. It carries stakes in the pot. Money that goes into the pot is referred to as bets. For a game to be considered as normal, it must have at least nine players failure to which it will be referred to as short handed. For a full table of players, they could be as many as, but not more than twenty. The dealer deals cards to all the players at the beginning; that is one per player and the player who holds the highest card begins the game by dealing the cards first. They therefore become the first dealer. The good thing about this game is that even though the dealer is indicated by a white button that is on the table in front of them, all the other players also get a chance to play in this position because the game is rotational.

Before the game can commence fully, there two pre flop bets that must go to the pot. These are referred to as the big blind and the small blind.
The big blind is held by the person who is seated to the left of the person who is seated to the left hand side of the dealer. The small blind is normally half the amount of the big blind. After that, the dealer then deals two cards per person, not simultaneously but one at a time after which the players determine the second step in the game now. As they look at their cards, the cards will determine who calls for a hand first. He is the one who pays the first bet which is the equal of the big blind. Starting on the bet of the dealer, now all the players get into the game.

If a player raises a bet, all the other players have got to put its equal in the pot. However, if no player raises a bet, then the person who has the big blind may consider his position. He may either raise the first bet himself, or may relent, meaning that he does not want to deal. If a player raises a bet, then he may not raise another one until his bet has been exempted by another player who raises another one. This is the pre flop session of the game in its early starting stages.