No Limit Texas Hold'em rules

Introduction

No Limit Texas Hold’em is a game for up to ten players. You can play No Limit Texas Hold’em at home. All you need are one to nine friends, a 52 card poker deck and some poker chips. It is also possible to play poker in your favorite brick and mortar casino or for play money and real money online.

While online 6-handed and Heads Up games are most popular, brick and mortar casinos typically offer 10-handed games.

Before the game

In every playing round one of the player is the dealer (in the text also called Button). The player left to the Button is called the Small Blind, the next player to the left is called the Big Blind. The positions for Button, Small Blind and Big Blind shift in every round clockwise.

Small Blind and Big Blind are forced to post “blind bets” before the cards are dealt. The size of the blinds is determined by the limit of the game. Playing a No Limit 200 (NL$1$2) game requires from the Small Blind a forced bet of $1 and from the Big Blind a forced bet of $2.

Dealing the cards

The dealer deals starting with the Small Blind every player to hidden cards, typically are dealt two times one card. While in online games the poker software manages the dealing procedure automatically, in brick and mortar casinos th dealer will be an employee of the casino. In home games the cards are typically dealt by the player currently sitting at the Button position.

First betting round (Preflop)

After all cards are dealt, each player looks at his own cards, but keeps them face down to the other players. While in casino games and with friends at home you are responsible for ensuring that no one sees your cards, on the Internet you can assume that the poker software ensures that only you can see your cards.
Now the first betting round, also called the pre-flop, begins, starting with the player to the left of the big blind. Each player has the option to fold, call the current highest bid or raise the highest bid.
In the situation shown, the highest bid is still the $2 posted by the big blind in front of the hand and the player to the left of the big blind calls. The next player has given up – fold and the third player (marked red in the picture) now raises to $10.

Two players, the Button and the Small Blind fold. The Big Blind calls the raise and adds $8 to the forced bet in order to call the total $10 from the last raise. The player to the left of the Big Blind also calls and adds $8 to his previous $2 bet to the current bid of $10.

The betting round is over when each player has either folded or called the last highest bid, i.e. the last raise. The bets are placed in the middle of the poker table and form the so-called pot. If there is only one player left at the end of a betting round, that player wins all the chips in the pot, including the blinds.

Second betting round (Flop)

If there is no winner after the first betting round, the dealer will place three cards face up in the middle of the poker table, and the second betting round, known as the flop, is opened.
While preflop is started by the first player to the left of the big blind, in all other betting rounds, the first player to the left of the button starts the betting, if still in the game small blind or the big blind. In the current hand, the Small Blind had given up preflop, so the Big Blind starts.

Just like preflop, each player has the option to fold, call the current high bid or raise the high bid.

As long as no bid has been placed, players can choose not to bet and check to the next player. The minimum bet amount is the size of the big blind if no bet has been placed in the current round and at least the size of the last bet or raise if a bet has been placed.
In the current hand, the big blind checks on the flop, the next player bets $20 and the third player at the table calls.

Now it’s the turn of the big blind again, who decides not to call, but to fold.

The third betting round (Turn)

If there is still no winner after the flop, the dealer places another card face up in the middle of the poker table and the third betting round, the so-called turn starts
Again, the first player to the left of the button starts betting $40.
The second remaining player calls.

The fourth betting round (River)

If no winner could be determined on the turn, the dealer will place another card face up in the middle of the poker table and the fourth and final betting round, the so-called river, starts. As on the Flop and Turn, the player to the left of the button starts the betting round by betting $130, in this case all his remaining chips . The second player calls the bet.

The Showdown

If there is more than one player left in the game after the last betting round, a showdown occurs. The player who placed the last bet, i.e. the player who bet or raised the last time, reveals his cards and shows them to the other players.
The remaining players can now decide to either muck their cards to the dealer (muck) or to show them to the other players. The player who can build the best “5 card combination” from his own two cards and the five community cards from the Flop, Turn and River wins the entire pot. If more than one player
show the best combination, they share the pot.

Then the next hand begins and the Button, Small Blind and Big Blind positions are moved one place each clockwise.

What are the consequences of the All In

Finally, one more special feature. A player who has bet all his chips, i.e. is all in, cannot place any more bets. However, regardless of which round he went all in, he is entitled to have his hand ranked against the hands of the remaining players at the showdown.
Typically, this is done by separating the bets made beore the all in from the following bets as the “main pot”.
If the All In player has the best hand at the showdown, he wins the “main pot” and the winner(s) among the remaining players win(s) the rest, the so-called “side pot”.

If the All In player does not have the best hand at the showdown, the winner(s) amongst the remaining players win both the Main Pot and the Side Pot.

Summary and prospects

Hopefully this article has taught you the basics of No Limit Texas Hold’em. Before you venture into the casino, I recommend that you practice with play money and familiarize yourself a bit more with the game. I wish you lots of fun and success in practicing!