Noob's guide to Texas Hold'em!

Plznate's

Noob Guide to poker


Introduction​

Hello, welcome to my fifth guide! My previous three guides were a bit on the more serious side, regarding finances and proper conduct on Sythe. To view them, please visit the link in my sig containing my UE application. So for this guide, I decided to write about something a little more light hearted; Texas Hold’em Poker! I am really excited about writing this guide, I hope you all enjoy it!


(My mean poker face)

Because honestly, what can be more enjoyable than a chill night with the guys, kicking back with some beers, smoking a few cigars (naturally I only condone in the partaking of these if you are of proper age), and taking your friend’s money? Well if you do not know how to play Texas Hold’em Poker, read on!

Rules​

To start with, I will from here on out refer to Texas Hold’em as poker. Although there are countless other varieties of poker, this is the most common. So keep that in mind.

To begin, poker as played with as few as two people, or as many as you want. Most casinos and other etiquette rules dictate that you should generally not have more than 9 persons to a table. To play poker, each player is dealt 1 card by the dealer, then dealt a second card. These first two cards are called the “hole” cards. Each player will use their hole cards along with the community cards (explained later), to make their hand. A player must use 5 cards, and only 5 cards, to make their hand. These 5 cards can be from either the 5 cards on the board, or a mixture of the hole cards and some of the community cards.


Tip, when you look at your hole cards, do it like this to ensure no one sees your cards!

Betting and Blinds​

After each person is dealt their cards, a round of betting begins. The person to the left of the dealer is forced to put in half of the minimum bet, called the small blind. The person to his left is forced to put in the full amount of the minimum bet, called the big blind. After they place in their blinds, the order of action continues moving around the table to the left. Each player has the option to call, raise, or fold. Call means you like the cards that you have, and you will place the minimum in order to stay in the current hand.

If the player REALLY like their hand, they can raise. Raising means you want to increase the value of the bet that each player must call to stay in the hand. If the minimum bet is $1, and I raise to $4, then everyone who wants to play must now call for $4 instead of just one. If the raising player has good cards, then we will be likely to win more money if his good cards play out well in the end.
Lastly, you can fold. If the player before you raised, and you have junky cards, then you will obviously want to fold.

Community board​

After each player has gone around and either folded, or called the raises made, then the first hand will actually begin. The first thing that will occur is 3 cards will be dealt face up onto the table. Each player uses the two cards they have and try to make hands with the 3 cards on the table. This initial flipping of the three cards is called the flop. After the 3 cards are turned over, another round of betting will begin, with the first action being done by the player to the left of the dealer. Just as before, the round of betting will end after every player has either folded or called the highest raise.

After that round of betting, will come the turn. This consists of the dealer turning over one more card face up. Again, player will re-asses their hands, and another round of betting will ensue.

Lastly, after the betting has ended, we will come to the river. The river is the fifth and last card that will be dealt during this hand of poker. All players hands cannot be improved from here, and many hands are either made or broken by the river. One round of betting will occur after the river. After the betting has ended, all remaining players will show their hands. The player with the best hand wins the money, and a tie will result in a split pot.


This is how the board will look, 5 community cards, plus each player has 2 hidden hole cards they can use.

Hand rankings​

High card

In the event that no hands are made by anyone, whoever has the highest card will win. Aces are high.

Pair: 42.3% percent probability
A pair is simply when one of your hole cards matches one of the cards on the board. Her, I have a pair of Kings.



Two Pair: 4.75% probability
Same as a pair, but two instead of one. Here I have two, Kings and Eights.



Three of a kind: 2.11% probability
Fairly self explanatory, but having three of the same type of card. For example, three kings.



Straight: 0.392% probability
This is when you have 5 cards in sequential order. Here I have 9, 10, Jack, Queen, and a King.



Flush: 0.197%
This occurs when you have 5 suited cards. Can be any cards, as long as it is all suited. For example, 5 diamond cards.



Full House: 0.144% probability
This is when you have both a pair and a three of a kind.



Four of a kind (also called quads): 0.0240% probability
Self explanatory, but getting four of the same card in a hand. If you get this hand or any other higher hand, chances are you have the best hand. Here I have 4 Kings.



Straight Flush: 0.00139% probability
This is a very rare hand, it occurs when you have a flush and a straight at the same time. So 5 cards in a row, of the same suite. I have only seen 3 of these in my time, and I have played A LOT of poker. In this example, I have Ace to Five of diamonds.



Royal Flush: 0.000154% probability
That sure is a lot of decimal places huh? Well that’s because this is the rarest of the rare. If you get this hand, you win. Period. It is not possible to have two royal flushes. This is when you have a straight, 10-A, of the same suit. So for example 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of diamonds. I have managed to see one of these in a live game (sadly I lost a huge pot to a royal flush, when I had four of a kind. Talk about bad luck!)



So now you are armed with the knowledge of how to play poker! Only time and practice will get you the experience to improve yourself. Please feel free to ask question, offer support or criticisms, or suggestions for things to add. I plan on consistently revising this in accordance with some of the input given, I also plan on making an advanced poker strategy guide sometime in the future. Thanks for looking!
*guide written completely by me. Credit to wikipedia for the probability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_probability
*