Texas Hold’em Game Introduction
Texas Hold'em is played with a deck of fifty-two playing cards. There are two types: No Limit (unlimited bet) and Pot Limit (pot limit bet). The minimum number of people is two people, and the maximum number of people at a table is usually ten people. , the final number of people depends on the game format, which can be anywhere from two to ten people. Each player in the game has two cards of his own, as well as a total of five public cards that all players can see. In the end, the player will take the five largest combinations of his own two cards + five public cards. Cards are combined, and the player with the largest combination wins.
Example :
Own hand :
Opponent's hand
Public card
In conclusion :
Take it out from your own card , add public card of to make a straight.
Opponent takes out , add public card of , to make three of a kind.
Your own straight won your opponent's triple eight.
The game of Texas Hold'em is very exciting and exciting. It is a game that tests players' multi-faceted abilities, including arithmetic, strategy, patience, courage, psychological primes, luck, skills, etc. It can be regarded as a board game. Nowadays, different Texas Hold'em poker games are held around the world. Due to the rich prize money of the tournament (the prize money can be as high as 10 million US dollars), it attracts players from all over the world to participate.
Game play and settings
First, players sit around a table with a dealer (usually called a dealer) and two or more players. Suppose there are ten players and eleven people at the table (including the dealer). Each player starts with their own chips on the table (the number of chips depends on the game format). The order of play depends on the position of each player, including the small blind (SB), big blind (BB), and Button position. The small blind (SB) position is to the left of the Button position, and the big blind (BB) position is to the left of the small blind (SB) position. Assuming ten people per table, the following figure shows the names of each position, including Button, Small Blind (SB), Big Blind (BB), Unger the gunu (UTG), unger the gun +1 (UTG+1), Under the gun +2 (UTG+2), Middle position 1 (MP1), Middle position 2 (MP2), Hijack (HJ), and Cutoff (Co).
Blinds:
Assume that the blind bet of the game is set to 50/100 (depending on the player's preference), that is, the small blind (SB) bet is 50, and the big blind (BB) bet is 100, then before the dealer starts to deal the cards, the The player in the small blind (SB) position needs to bet 50, the player in the big blind (BB) position needs to bet 100, and other players do not need to bet. This is the blind bet in the game. The dealer then distributes cards, starting with the player betting from the small blind (SB). One card is dealt first, and then cards are dealt to each player in a clockwise manner until each player has 2 Cards are played, and then there are the betting rules for each round, which are divided into four stages:
Pre-Flop:
That is, each player has been dealt two cards, but the public hand has not yet been dealt. At this time, each player looks at his 2 cards and then decides whether to place a bet. The order is determined starting from the player to the left of the big blind (BB) player (called Under the Gun, UTG). This UTG player has three decisions to choose from, 1. Fold, which means giving up the game without betting. At this time, the player only needs to deal the two cards to the dealer; 2. Call means betting the same amount as the big blind (BB), i.e. 100, which means following; 3. Raise (Raise), which means betting twice or more than the big blind (BB). , that is, 200 or above. Once the UTG player decides, then in a clockwise fashion, each player decides how to act. Each subsequent player also has the same three action options: Fold, call, or raise. But if a player has raised (Raise) before the player takes action (big or equal to 2 big blinds, assuming it is 300), then if the player wants to follow the bet (Call), he needs to place the raised bet. (300), if you want to reraise (Raise), you need to bet at least one time of the previous player's raise (ie 300-100) +300= 500. And so on, until no one adds (Raise) and all players complete their actions. If the player chooses to discard, he needs to wait for the game to end before starting the next game.
Flop :
After all players have completed their actions in Pre-Flop, the dealer will open three public cards, and each player can also see these three public cards. Subsequently, the player's order of action starts with the player in the small blind (SB) position (different from Pre-Flop). The player betting in the small blind (SB) (if he has followed the bet in Pre-Flop) also has three choices. 1. Fold, that is, give up the game; 2. Check, that is, neither raise nor fold. At this time, it is up to the next player to decide; 3. Bet or raise (Bet / Raise), players need to bet at least one big blind (BB) or above (all in for unlimited bets). When this player completes his action, the order of the next player's actions will also be determined in a clockwise direction until all players have completed their actions. Here, if all players choose to check, then all players do not need to bet and will directly look at the fourth public card (Turn). If one player makes a bet and all other players do not follow suit, then that player wins all bets in the hand.
Turn :
After all players in the Flop have taken action, the dealer opens the fourth public card, which all players can see. Afterwards, the players in the small blind (SB) betting position will also start to decide their actions in a clockwise direction. Each player also has three options, namely 1. Fold, 2. Check, and 3. Bet/Raise. The situation of Turn is the same as that of Flop.
River :
After all Turn players have finished their actions, the dealer will open the fifth public card, which is the last card and can be seen by all players. Afterwards, players will also start to decide their actions in a clockwise direction from the player in the small blind (SB) betting position. Each player also has three options, namely 1. Fold, 2. Check, and 3. Bet/Raise. This is the same situation as Flop and Turn.
Showdown:
Finally, after all players have completed their actions in River, each player begins to open his or her own hand. Compared with the cards of all other players, the player with the largest combination wins and wins all the bets in the game. If two or more players have the same maximum combination, then the bet (i.e. Chop) will be divided equally among all the winners.
Game format
There are two main types of game-shaped games, 1. Tournament, 2. Cash Game.
Tournament
Currently, different organizations and brands hold different forms of tournaments in the world. For example, the more famous ones are World Series Of Poker (WSOP), World Poker Tour (WPT), Asian Poker Tour (ATP), European Poker Tour (EPT), etc. Every time a tournament is held, it is usually held with a main event and many side events. The entire event lasts from seven to fourteen days, and the WSOP lasts about one to two months. Players can decide which tournaments to participate in based on their own time and preferences. The WSOP is mainly held in Las Vegas once a year. Its main event registration is usually US$10,000, and the first-place prize is up to US$10 million. Thousands of players participate every year. The WPT, APT, EPT, etc. are held several times a year, and the registration competitions range from thousands to tens of thousands, held in different countries and at different times.
The registration amount for each tournament is also different, ranging from a few hundred yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan. The registration fee for all players in the same tournament is the same. Usually, on-site registration is available 2 hours before the start of the tournament (if it is a main event or a large tournament , usually earlier), most tournaments can still register after they start, and registration usually closes around the tenth level of the game.
At the start of a tournament, all players are given the same number of chips, and as the game progresses, the blind structure increases until the tournament is over.
For example, in a tournament with a registration fee of 5,000 yuan, each player has 10,000 chips. These 10,000 chips are used for tournament scoring, not real money. They can only be used in the tournament and cannot be exchanged for cash. When the game starts, assuming that the first level blind is 50/100, when the game reaches a specific time, such as thirty minutes, the blind will be adjusted upward, such as to 100/200, and all players The tournament continues with the same blinds. After that, every thirty minutes, the blinds will be adjusted upward again, such as 150/300, 200/400, 300/600...etc. As for the adjustment range and how long it will take to adjust, it has been decided before the start of the tournament. Each tournament can also be different. In addition to the small blind (SB) and the big blind (SB), many games now have Ante. There are two methods of Ante. The first is that each player needs to invest about 0.1-0.2 big blind in each round. (BB) bet (required regardless of whether the small blind (SB) or the big blind (BB) is used). The second type is Ante where the player only invests 1 big blind (BB) in the big blind (BB) position. Together with his own 1 big blind (BB), a total of 2 big blinds (BB) must be invested. This is the structure of the game. Some tournaments have fifteen-minute levels, some have twenty minutes, and some have thirty, forty-five, sixty minutes, etc. The magnitude of the blind adjustment can also be different. Players can choose the game based on the structure that suits them.
Usually the structure of a main event is relatively slow, such as a sixty-minute level, and each player's starting chip is about 300 big blinds (BB) for the first level. Other Side Event structures are usually faster, such as thirty minutes per level, and each player starts with a smaller stack, such as one hundred big blinds (BB).
In addition, there are also some turbo events in the championship. As the name implies, their structure is faster and the blind upgrade range is also larger, such as a twenty-minute or fifteen-minute level. If it is a hyper event, the blind upgrade speed and range will be extremely fast, for example, one level will take ten minutes or five minutes, and the blind upgrade range will also be larger.
For each Main Event, it takes approximately three to seven days, depending on the size. If players plan to participate in the main event, they usually need to prepare for six to seven days, and the daily tournament will take about eight to ten hours. For side events or events such as Turbo or Hyper, it usually takes two days or one day to complete.
In addition to Texas Hold'em, there are usually other poker-type games available during the tournament, including Omaha, Limit Triple Draw 2-7, Mixed game, Badugi, A-5, Badacey, Razz, Stud...etc etc., and the tournament period can attract more players to participate.
Cash Game
The main difference between cash game play and tournament play is the blind structure and time limit. The blind structure of cash games is generally set before the game starts and will not change during the game until the end of the game.
Currently, the blinds for cash games are mostly 50/100, 100/200, 300/600, 500/1000... and even 10,000/20,000 or higher. 10/25 and 25/50 are now rare.
Under normal circumstances, each game has a minimum buy-in (Buy In) and a maximum buy-in limit. Each player can only buy the number of chips within the range to start the game. For example, in a game with blinds 50/100, the minimum buy-in amount is usually 2,000 and the maximum buy-in amount is 20,000. This range has different settings according to different places. Due to different buy-in amounts, the relative number of big blinds (BB) is different, so there are usually different strategies. As for whether there is a greater advantage in buying more, this varies from person to person. Different Texas Hold'em strategies have their own advantages. There is no necessarily good or bad strategy. As long as it is a strategy that allows players to win, it is theoretically good. Strategy.
For an ordinary cash table game, it can basically start with two or more people. During the game, other players can also participate at any time. Until the table reaches the maximum number of people (mostly ten people), that table will For a full house. If there are more players, players will need to queue until a player at the table leaves, then they can fill that position or open a second table.
When a new player sits down, the player may not be able to play the game immediately, depending on where the big blind, small blind and Button are at that time. If the player sits down and is in the small blind (SB) or button position, then this player needs to pause and wait until the button (Button) bypasses him before he can join. If the player sits down and is not in the small blind (SB) or button position, then when a new round starts, if the new player happens to be in the big blind (BB), he can directly put down the big blind (BB). BB) and start playing the game. If the new player is not the big blind (BB), then this player has two options: (1) Do not start the game until the big blind (BB) is in the round, then raise the blind (BB) and start the game; ( 2) Start the game directly. Although this player is not in the big blind (BB) position, he needs to put down a big blind (BB) before he can start. In this case, the pot will start with one more big blind (BB). Adding the original big blind (BB) and small blind (SB), it equals 2.5 big blinds (BB).
The winning and losing of the game are calculated in the same way as usual, and each round is calculated independently.
Cash games (general casino play)
The general casino gameplay is very similar to the private game gameplay. The main difference is that there are a few more rules and the casino usually takes about 5% of the lottery pool as the casino's operating income and expenses.
There are always costs to run a casino, so there will only be enough players to open the tables and play games.
Combination ranking
Texas hold'em combinations are ranked in the following way:
1. Royal Flush: A,K,Q,J,10 flush
2. Straight Flush: A,2,3,4,5 of the same suit is greater than K,Q,J,10,9
3. Four of a kind: AAAA + x
4. Full House: AAAKK
5. Flush: Five cards of the same suit
6. Straight: A,K,Q,J,10 is greater than A,2,3,4,5
7. Trip: QQQ + x + x
8. Two pairs: AAKK + x
9. One pair: AA + x + x+ x
10. High Card: x + x + x + x + x