What is No-Limit Hold 'Em?
What is No-Limit Hold 'Em?
No-Limit Hold’em, sometimes known as “Texas Hold’em,” is a poker game where players receive only two cards. That’s it.
Each player uses their two cards (or just one of their cards in some situation) in combination with a shared community group of cards to make their best-five card poker hand.
There are four rounds of betting and any player can put all their chips in the middle at any time. That’s the allure of No-Limit poker. You’re always just one hand away from doubling (or tripling!) your stack but you’re also just one hand away from busting completely.
Poker Hand Ranking Guide
Poker Hand Ranking Guide
The Basic Poker Rules:
No-Limit Hold’em is a card game. It utilizes a standard 52-card deck, even when played online. It has elements of both skill and luck.
It can be played by anywhere from 2-10 players at a single table. If you have enough tables and space you can actually play with thousands of players using the tournament format.
Here’s how a basic game works.
The dealer deals everyone two cards starting with the player on his left and ending on himself/herself.
The player on the dealer’s left is the first player to act and they have a choice of:
1. Betting (this is No-Limit Hold’em so they can bet ANY amount they want)
2. Checking (doing nothing basically).
If anyone decides to bet than the rest of the players have the option of:
1. Calling (Putting the amount of the raise into the pot)
2. Folding (Giving up the hand and all the chips they’ve already committed to the pot)
3. Raising (Putting even more chips into the pot)
This continues until everyone has called or all the chips are in the middle.
From there the dealer puts three cards face-up on the board. These are community cards that anyone can use. This is called the flop.
Once again everyone still in the hand gets a chance to bet and consequently raise or fold.
The dealer puts a fourth card on the table that anyone can use. This is called the turn.
Again everyone gets the chance to bet/check/raise/fold.
The dealer puts a fifth card on the board that anyone can use. This is called the river.
For the final time everyone gets a chance to bet/check/raise/fold.
But What About the Big Blind and Small Blind?
You may have heard these terms before and they are indeed a part of
No-Limit Hold’em.
It’s not as complicated as you might think, however.
The small blind and big blind are both relatively small bets that the two players on the direct left of the dealer are forced to put in the pot. You’re forced to put them in without seeing your cards meaning you are “blind.”
You can think of them as an ante if that makes it easier for you. No-Limit Hold’em features blinds to increase the action in otherwise boring hands. Otherwise players could fold every hand with no consequences, which would be a problem.