In the last post, we looked at all the different hands you can have, and the chances they give you of winning. In poker, the idea is to maximise your profit by putting your chips into the middle (commonly known as the pot) on each betting round. There are four rounds of betting in a game in Texas Hold'Em. They are:
- Pre-Flop
- Post Flop
- Turn
- River.
Pre Flop
This is the first betting round. It happens just after the players are dealt their hole cards. Play starts with the person to the left of the big blind (more on this later), who has to call the big blind or raise in order to stay in play.
Post Flop
The flop is the first three community that are placed face up on the table. Players use these cards in combination with their hole cards to make a hand, and bet in co ordination with this hand. On this round, and all subsequent rounds, the small blind is the first to act, by checking or betting. Note that a fold is unwise at this moment as no additional money has been placed in th pot.
Turn
The turn is the fourth community card. Like the post flop betting round, play starts with the small blind in a clockwise direction, so that the person with the dealer button acts last.
River
The river is the fifth and final card to be placed on the table. This round works in the same way as the post flop and turn rounds, with the small blind beginning the round.
It is all well and good knowing the different rounds, but what can we do in each round? What is a bet, raise, call and a fold? These are all explained below.
Check
To check is to not place any money in the pot at all. This is useful if you are in early position, as you can then see what other players will do before you make a decision, but sometimes it is wiser to make the opening bet. In the pre flop round, it is only possible for the big blind to check.
Bet
A bet is an amount of money that is placed in the pot by a player that the other players have to match in order to stay in play. Players usually bet if they have a strong hand, or wish to bluff everyone and make them fold. In most standard games of texas hold'em, there is a minimum bet. This is usually the size of the big blind
Call
To call is to match a bet that was previously made. In the pre-flop round, this is always the big blind, unless someone has raised. Calling can be a good strategy if you are unsure about your hand, but wish to stay in play because you think the opponent is bluffing, but it can be unprofitable as you are not putting as many chips in the pot.
Raise
To raise is to match someone's bet, and then add more to it. Normally, the raise has to be at least the amount of the original bet, effectively doubling the amount of chips required to call. Raising is a good idea if you wish to bluff, or if you genuinely believe you have a stronger hand than your opponent.
Fold
If you have a weak hand, the best idea is to fold. This means throwing your cards away to the dealer, and conceding the hand. An important skill in poker is knowing when to call, raise, or fold.
Forced Bets, Blinds and Antes.
A forced bet is a bet that has to be put in the pot in order to stay in play at the start of the hand. In Texas Hold'Em, these are known as the blinds. The big blind has to put in the pot a certain amount of chips, for example, 2. The small blind has to put in a lesser amount of chips, usually half of the big blind, in this case 1. The responsibility of the small blind and big blind rotates around the poker table, so no one has an unfair advantage.
In some big tournaments, there is an ante. This is a forced bet that every player has to put in the pot, regardless of whether or not the want to play the hand. This encourages people to play in the hand, as they alrady put money in. Before the ante was introduced, people tended to sit at the table and notp lay in any hands except on the blinds.
To summarise:
There are four rounds of betting: pre flop, post flop, turn and river. In each of these rounds, a player can check, bet, call, raise or fold. Each round, apart from the pre flop round, is started by the player on the small blind. Blinds are forced bets that encourage players to put chips in the pot and play hands.
In the next post, we will look at playing styles. Until then, goodbye!
Mr Craig
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