The origin of Texas Hold ‘Em and poker in general is obscured in legend; there are no poker history experts, and all authorities of poker generally have differing opinions on the game’s origin. Some people state that the poker lineage dates back to ancient China or Greece. Later, it evolved into a French game called poque, which in turn evolved from a German game.

The theory that modern poker came from the French is further substantiated according to observations made in New Orleans in the 19th century, which at the time had a strong French influence.

The earliest game of Texas Hold ‘Em was played in Robstown, Texas in the early 20th century, and it became extremely popular when it reached Dallas, Texas in 1925. People preferred this version of poker over its predecessor Draw Poker (often seen in old Western movies) due to the fact that more people could play at the same table, and the extent of skill and psychology involved in the game is profound.

The popularity of Texas Hold ‘Em in the USA is attributable to the World Series of Poker tournaments which commenced in 1970, and with the advent of the internet, the popularity of this game has become a global phenomenon.
As Texas Hold ‘Em is the most popular variant of poker in the world, the following will focus mainly on this variant.

In poker, Ace is the highest card and two (or deuce) is the lowest card. If two players both have high card, whoever has the highest combination of 5 cards wins; this means that even if both players have ace high, their second highest card comes into play and so on.




Having a pair is a common occurrence when playing Texas hold ‘em and many pots are won with this hand. One thing to remember is that if two players both have the same pair—e.g. two players have both have a pair of kings—the winner of the hand is decided by their next highest card known as a kicker. Someone holding KKA98 as their best 5 card hand has a pair of kings, Ace kicker.





Two pair is the next best hand after a single pair. One thing to remember is that the higher of the two pairs is more important in determining its strength in relation to an opponent’s two pairs, even if the perceived overall value of two pairs appears to be higher. For example, your opponent might hold KKQQA (two pairs kings and queens, Ace kicker), but if you hold AA223 (two pairs Aces and deuces, three kicker), your hand is more powerful than your opponent’s kings and queens (though his hand looks prettier). Another name for two pairs is ‘Xs up’, where X represents your highest pairing card. So AA223 can be referred to as ‘Aces Up’.





Three of a kind is a powerful hand, especially if you are up against an opponent who you perceive to have two pair. Three of a kind has two different sub-terms: set and trips. Trips refer to three of a kind when a pair is on the community cards and you happen to have a 3rd one in your hand. If you have a set, you have a pocket pair in your hand—for example if you have AA as your starting hand, and an Ace comes up on the flop. It’s easier to detect if your opponent has trips, but detecting a set is much more difficult.





A straight, otherwise known as a run is a hand that beats three of a kind. Straights are cards that are of different suits, but their card values are 5 in a row. If you were to announce the above hand at showdown, you would say ‘I’ve a king-high straight’. There are two straights that have special names. The 10JQKA straight is known as a Broadway Straight, and an A2345 straight is known as a bicycle straight.





A flush beats a straight and anything lower in ranking than a straight. In Texas Hold ‘Em, it is not possible for two players to have flushes of 2 different suits; however, it is possible that two players both have a club flush—for example. Be wary if there are 4 cards of the same suit on the board and you do not have the Ace of that suit.





A full house is three of a kind coupled with a pair; a nickname for a full house is boat, and the above hand can be called threes full of kings (note that it is not kings full of threes, as kings full of threes signify that you have three kings and two threes).

This is often a formidable hand, especially against an opponent who has a flush, and the community card shows an innocuous-looking pair. The one thing to watch out for with a full house is if you have an under-full. An under-full happens when there are two pairs on the board, and you happen to have the bottom full house. If the board shows AAKK6, and you are holding a king in your hand, and your opponents are betting and raising, watch out!





Four of a kind is a rare hand to get in any poker game. In Malta, the above picture may be referred to as a ‘Poker of Queens’, and in other countries, the nickname for four of a kind is quads.





Straight flushes are the highest ranking hands in poker, due to the fact that you might only get it once after a few years of playing. The highest straight flush is the 10JQKA straight flush also known as a Royal Flush. Many poker players do not see a royal flush in their lifetime.

Betting Rounds
The betting structure in a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em involves four betting rounds: pre-flop, the flop, the turn, and the river.

Pre-Flop



*Image taken from Wikipedia.org
Before any cards are dealt out, the first dealer must be nominated. Usually in order to nominate the dealer, everyone is dealt one card face up, and the person with the highest card or first Ace will be the dealer (otherwise known as the button), and will be signified by a dealer chip. The person sitting to the left of the dealer button will post a small blind, and the person to the left of the dealer button will post the big blind. The amount of the small blind will usually be half the amount of the big blind. When the blinds have been posted, the dealer will then deal one card face down to each person starting to with the small blind and all the way around the table in a clockwise fashion and will deal to him/herself last. And then the dealer will again deal one card face down to each player as before. Everybody should now have 2 cards known as hole cards.

The person who must act first is the person sitting to the left of the big blind. The person to his left will then act first, and so on. The action will go all around the table clockwise, and the dealer will then act, followed by the small blind. The big blind will get to make his decision last pre-flop.

Note that after this hand, the dealer button, small blind and big blind will be one seat to the left, so that everybody gets to be the dealer, the small blind and the big blind.

Note: the types of actions that one can choose from will be listed later on in this course book in a section called Betting in No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em

The Flop



The next betting round is known as the flop; the nominated dealer will put one card face down on the table (known as the burn card) and will deal three cards face up on the table. The reason why there is one card face down first on the table is tied to historical reasons. In the past, playing cards cost a lot more than they do today due to the fact that they were printed on paper rather than mass-manufactured in factories today. Due to wear and tear, people may known the top card of the deck due to its specific imperfections, so as a precaution, they have introduced the concept of the burn card in order for players to not have any indication of the cards underneath the top card. Till today, this practice continues, though, this is more of a technicality or a tradition. The three cards on the table are known as the flop, named after this betting round.

The action begins with the player to the left of the dealer button, and then the person to the left of him/her. The action goes all the way around the table again in a clockwise fashion, and the dealer will act last.

The Turn



On the turn, the nominated dealer again deals the burn card face down on the table, and deals a single card face up. This card is known as the turn. The action on the turn is identical to the action on the flop. The left of the dealer button will act first, and the dealer will act last.

The River



The river is the final betting round in a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em. The dealer will deal a burn card and then deal a single card face up. The action on the river is identical to the action on the flop or the turn. The left of the dealer button will act first, and the dealer will act last. Note the strategic advantage of the nominated dealer, who gets to see what everybody else does before he/she has to make a decision.

After the hand is complete, the dealer button will shift one player to the left, along with the small blind and big blind.

A Note on Heads Up Play
If the game is heads up, one player will be the dealer button along with the small blind and the other player will be the big blind. After every hand, this will switch. Depending on where you play, one player may be the big blind and the dealer button, and the other player will be the small blind. This depends on house rules, where it will differ under different circumstances or geographic location.

No Limit (or simply NL) is a term used to signify that the poker game’s betting structure is such that anybody can bet or raise all their chips at any time.

Different Types of Actions
Fold – you forfeit your claim to the pot. When you fold, you must throw your cards face down to the middle of the table or towards the dealer.

Call – you are matching the most recent bet or raise.

Bet – there are no prior bets in the betting round, and you would like to place a bet. In NL Texas Hold ‘Em, the minimum size of the bet is the amount of the big blind, and the maximum amount of the bet is all the money you have in front of you, known as going all-in. Under any circumstances, do not place a bet in front of you and then add on more chips to your bet. This is known as a string bet, and has thus become an illegitimate move as people were using it to gauge their opponents’ reactions. Always place your bet in one smooth motion.

Raise – a bet has already been placed by another player acting before you, and you would like to increase the amount of the bet. When you do this, you are trying to get the other players to fold, and you are trying to isolate yourself with this opponent that has bet. Who knows, you might scare him with a raise and he may fold too! Remember that the minimum size of the raise is twice the amount of the bettor’s wager. You can also re-raise if someone has raised a bettor.

Check – you don’t want to contribute more money to the pot, but you would still like to be involved in a hand. Note that if a bet has been placed, you cannot check. If you wish to forfeit the hand, you must fold, or if you would still like to be in the hand, you must call or raise. The only time you can check pre-flop is if you are the big blind, and no one has raised. In the next betting rounds, you may always check if no one has bet in that particular betting round.

Subsequent or Additional Actions in the Same Betting Round
If you have checked and someone has bet, the action goes all the way around the table and it comes back to you, where you can choose to call the bet, fold your cards, or raise the bet. Similarly, if you have bet, and someone has raised after you, when the action comes back to you, you may choose to call, fold, or re-raise.

So At Showdown, Who Shows Their Cards First?
The rule of thumb is: whoever raised the stakes last on the river must show their cards first. If everyone checks, the person sitting nearest to the left of the dealer button must show their cards first, followed by the person on his left, and so on. You can choose to muck (forfeit your claim to the pot, however, the term muck is specific to the showdown) your cards if you cannot beat the previous player and you do not wish give out information about how you play.

Putting the Betting Rounds and Actions Together
Now that you know the betting rounds and the different actions that you can choose from, let’s put them together to get the complete picture.

Pre-flop, everybody calls and now it is the big blind’s turn. The big blind still has two options he can choose from: raise or check. Note that even if the big blind doesn’t like his first two cards, you never know what the flop will bring, which means that it doesn’t make sense for the big blind to fold.

Imagine if the big blind decides to raise. Now the action is back to the initial caller, and it goes all the way around the table. If everybody either calls or folds, the big blind will not get to act again pre-flop. However, if someone decides to re-raise the big blind’s raise, the action will go around again and the big blind will be able to make another decision.