Written by The last decade has brought an immense amount of publicity for this particular variety of poker. Like other forms it’s a combination of skill and luck and the tension of the final showdown is perhaps one of the reasons it has become so popular. The other reason is of course the proliferation on television and the internet of this variant.
According to the Texas State Legislature, Robstown in Texas is the official birthplace for Hold’em. It originated there in the early 1900′s and there do not appear to be any similar games from which it could be derived. It seems to have worked it’s way North with a group of Texas players, including Amarillo Slim Preston and Doyle Brunson and arrived in Las Vegas in 1967. It became the game of choice for the World Series of Poker in 170 and has remained there since.
So the rules, the game must involve more two or more players and the it features a rotating dealer, meaning that each player becomes the dealer for one hand – although in practice a non-playing dealer will be distributing the cards. Cards are dealt clockwise and each player receives two cards. The object is to obtain the best five card hand or bluff your opponents into thinking you do.
Blinds are a feature of this game, the player to the left of the dealer bets the small blind, meaning it’s a mandatory bet of half the big blind. The next player to the left must bet the big blind. This starts the betting off and the first round can begin. Rounds of betting now take place and this continues until players have either folded, betted all chips or matched bets by others. This is the pre-flop round and the game will only continue if there are at least two players remaining.
The flop now takes place, meaning the dealer lays three cards from the deck face-up.
After the River
Another round of betting now takes place as before and as long as two players remain the next card is laid from the deck. This is the turn and is followed by another round of betting. The last card laid is called the river and the laying of this card precedes the final round of betting and, if two players are left the showdown, in which hands will be compared and the winner determined according to general poker hand rankings.
