Quickly and easily learn how to play Texas Hold’em, the most popular poker game on the planet. With free money and real money options, start playing online poker Bovada.

It seems like ancient history now, but there was a time when poker players weren’t playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em. Fixed-Limit Hold’em was the game of choice at the turn of the millennium; before that, it was lowball and stud games, and before that, 5-Card Draw was the universal way to play. But all of that changed with the internet, and the gigantic poker boom of the early Aughts. Now, if you want to learn how to win at online poker, you’d better learn how to play Texas Hold’em.

You’ve come to the right place. We’ll show you what Texas Hold’em poker is all about, including the rules of the game, the basic strategies to consider, and how to get started playing at Bovada Poker. In just a few short minutes, you’ll be ready to take your first steps on the road to poker glory right here at Bovada.

Texas Hold’em Rules

You can’t learn how to play poker without learning the rules first. Texas Hold’em uses the standard 52-card French deck and the standard poker hand rankings, with the Royal Flush (Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten) the best possible hand. Players at the table take turns clockwise, with a stack of poker chips in front of them that they’ll use to make betting decisions. There are four different possible rounds of betting in Hold’em, starting with the pre-flop round, after everyone gets dealt two hole cards, face-down. Also, two players in each hand (the small blind and the big blind) are forced to place some chips in the pot before the cards are dealt.

The first player to act will look at their cards and make the decision: Raise, call, or fold? A raise, in this case, means putting in more money than the size of the big blind, at least twice that amount. A call means putting in the same amount of money as the big blind, and a fold means throwing your cards into the muck and exiting the hand. Once that player’s decision is made, the next player to the left gets their turn, then the next player, all the way around to the big blind. If nobody has entered the pot by then, the hand ends and the big blind gets to keep what’s in the pot.

Assuming the hand is still in progress, the next stage is the flop, where three community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. These cards are available for everyone to use, in combination with their hole cards, to make their 5-card poker hand. Another round of betting ensues, and if required, a turn card and a river card will also be dealt, with a round of betting for each. You win the pot by either getting everyone else to fold or by having the best hand at showdown.

POKER HANDS RANKINGS

Texas Hold’em vs. Pot-Limit Omaha: What’s the Difference?

You may have noticed that Texas Hold’em isn’t the only game you can play at Bovada Poker. Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo are also on the menu; Pot-Limit Omaha has become increasingly popular over the years, making it the No. 2 game of choice behind No-Limit Hold’em. The variants are actually quite similar. Aside from the different betting structures, the only real difference with Omaha is that you get four hole cards instead of two. (Only two hole cards can be used to make combinations)

This actually makes Omaha much tougher to crack than Hold’em. With two hole cards, you have 1,326 possible starting hands, including duplicates like Ace-Seven of Hearts and Ace-Seven of Diamonds. With four hole cards, you have 270,725 possible starting hands and many more different ways to connect with the board. Since there are so many combinations to think about in Omaha, and since most people are still playing Hold’em, we recommend putting your focus on the easier game for now ’ but do take the time to play and learn Omaha or Omaha Hi/Lo on the side. Improving your overall poker game will help you master Hold’em more quickly and efficiently.

How to Play Texas Hold’em at Bovada

If you haven’t already, open your free account at Bovada Poker by filling out the simple, 1-page form. Then, if you’re playing from a desktop, download the Bovada Poker client (Windows and macOS versions are available). Mobile users can play using our industry-leading web app, no download necessary ’ although you’ll need your desktop if you want to play the full range of tournaments at Bovada.

Once you’ve logged into the client or the web app, you’ll be in the Bovada Poker lobby, where you can see all the games you’ll be able to play. This is a good time to test things out with a Play Money game. Every new player at Bovada gets 1,000 Play Money credits, and you can top up anytime you dip below 500 credits. Play a game or two so you can get used to the client and adjust your settings as you see fit.

Ready for some real money poker? Then it’s time to make your first deposit at Bovada Poker. Make sure to enter the bonus code to claim your 100% Poker Welcome Bonus, and keep an eye out for the other promotions we have running ’ this bonus money will help you stay in the game while you’re learning the ropes.

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What are Good Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em?

Everything in Texas Hold’em starts with your two hole cards. This is a game of information, and the most valuable information you have is the identity of those two cards. Your decision whether or not to enter the pot will be based mostly on the cards you’re holding. Ideally, they will be high-ranking cards, since they’ll be more likely to make the highest 5-card hand. A pair of high cards is the most potent starting hand in Hold’em, with pocket Aces at the top of the heap.

Even if you don’t get dealt a pocket pair, it’s still nice to get dealt high cards in Hold’em. Tens and above are considered high cards; these are also called ‘Broadway’ cards, with Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten forming the powerful Broadway straight. Ideally, your hole cards will also be connected, meaning they’re of consecutive rank like Ace-King or King-Queen. And it also helps to get two cards of the same suit, making it easier to complete a flush. The more of these properties your hole cards have, the more likely you’ll be to win the pot in the end.

In addition to your hole cards, you also know what your position is at the table, and how many chips you and everyone else have in play. This is the information you need to decide whether to get involved in a Hold’em hand. The further away you are from the blinds, the stronger hole cards you need, since there are so many players waiting to act in front of you. As you move closer to the button, with fewer players in your way, you can open-raise a wider range of starting hands. The same principle applies to 3-betting pre-flop, except you’ll want even stronger hands to re-raise your opponents.

Texas Hold’em Odds

So why not just wait to get dealt pocket Aces before entering a hand? Well, there are only four Aces in the deck, and six different ways to get dealt two of them (AsAc, AsAd, AsAh, AcAd, AcAh, AdAh). That’s six out of 1,326 possible starting hands, or one in 221. As a rule of thumb, you’ll be dealt close to 100 hands per hour when you play a 6-max cash game at Bovada Poker, so if you only play pocket Aces, that’s one hand every two hours or so, on average. You’ll need to open more hands than that if you want to make a profit ’ that’s ultimately why there are blinds in Texas Hold’em.

Being able to work out combinations like this and manage your expectations is what winning Hold’em is all about. For example, there are 16 different ways to get dealt Ace-King, so you can expect to see Big Slick roughly once in every 83 hands. Of those 16 AK combos, only four will be suited, so the odds of getting dealt AKs (or any specific suited connectors) are about one in 331. Get used to working with these odds if you want to learn how to play poker like a boss.

Texas Hold’em Winning Tips

Aside from working on the odds, your best approach to Texas Hold’em will be an aggressive approach. When you bet or raise, you give your opponent the chance to fold and give you the pot uncontested. When you check (essentially a bet of zero chips) or call, your opponent remains in the pot ’ which you’ll want to happen sometimes, when you’ve got a big hand. But when you’ve got something good, it’s usually the right idea to bet, hoping your opponent will call or maybe even raise with something worse.

It’s also important to disguise the strength of your cards from time to time by performing the same action whether you’re weak or strong. That’s the secret behind a great bluff; if you raise both strong and weak hands, your opponents will have a harder time figuring out if they’re ahead or not. Do this in position as much as possible, so that you get to act in response to your opponent. And for now, be very picky with your bluffs until you’ve got more experience handling them. Straight draws and flush draws are your best candidates.

That’s Texas Hold’em 101. You know the basic rules and strategies of Hold’em, and you know how to lock down your seat at Bovada Poker. Check out our library of helpful articles for more information, and we’ll see you at the tables.

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