What the hell is Texas Hold Em?
Thank Texas Hold Em for this huge poker craze that is sweeping
the country. This unique kind of poker is responsible for the
rise in popularity of poker in the last few years. Perhaps it's
because the game is so different than your run of the mill five
card draws and seven card studs. Maybe it's because the game is
new and fascinating. Or maybe it's simply because people love to
gamble and lose money!
Whatever the reason, this poker game has a grip on American
culture. It's featured in weekly television shows, special
star-studded celebrity battle offs that seem to happen once a
month, and now even in one-hour dramas. Casinos from Atlantic
City to Sin City offer special rooms just for it, where hundreds
of players compete on dozens of tables until all they have left
are the cigarettes in their hard pack (and sometimes not even
them).
The basis of Texas Hold Em is the same as any poker game. You
want to get the best hand at your table, and if you don't have
this hand, then you want to bluff to make other people think you
do. In Texas, unlike standard draw pokers, each player gets two
cards of their own. Five other cards are dealt in the middle of
the table. Any player can "use" those cards, as well as his two
private cards, to create the best hand.
Typically, the game is played with eight or nine players, though
fewer is possible. However, you want to play with as many as
possible. This means more money in the pot, and less competition
as the worse players drop out before the real hands begin.
The game begins with the dealer giving each play their two cards
face down. Bets are placed. People drop out. Then three
community cards are flipped face up in the middle of the table,
called the flop. More bets are placed, followed by another
community card being flipped and more bets. Finally, the most
exciting moment in Texas Hold Em occurs. The final community
card is turned up.