In Texas Hold’em, betting before the flop is par for the course. The first betting round is called the pre-flop. It starts with the player left of the big blind. Players may fold, call (putting the big blind – usually $10-$20 in low stakes games), or raise at least double that amount. If the big blind is $10, for example, a player might raise to $20 or more. This stage is very important as it’s where players decide what to do next based on the two cards that they have in their hands, such as an ace and a king which statistically win roughly 24% of the time at a full table of 10 people.
Posting the Blinds
We are going to start with the first and most important step in Texas Hold’em: Posting blinds. This is where the bottom drops out.
You sit down at a rowdy poker table with the dealer button in front of Sarah. She has the deal this hand. The two players to her immediate left, Mike and Lisa, post the blinds. Mike, in the small blind to her immediate right, throws $5 into it. The big blind, double the previous bet or $10 with Mike in front and Lisa behind.
“Small blind, big blind and action begins now,” Sarah announces with an assured smile on her face.
The blinds are no mere ceremony — they add immediate action and force all players to think at the onset of each hand. Without those forced bets, players could sit back and wait for only the very best hands. The blinds also guarantee that there is always money up for grabs, and push everyone to make decisions on every single hand.
Now, the cards are dealt. Every participant is given two nonpublic playing cards called hole cards. Teaching Points: Sarah deals quickly and skillfully, face-down to all players. Lisa is the first to act in this pre-flop betting round.
“Your turn,” Sarah tells John, next in line.
As a result, John is the only such person playing; he peeks at his cards. That is a good starting hand for him — Ace of Spades and King of Hearts. He decides to raise. “Twenty,” he declares, pushing out his chips and giving them a show of bravado.
Play now proceeds clockwise at the table. It’s time for a decision from each player now: Fold, call, or raise?
Mark, sitting by John, glanced at his cards — 7 of Clubs, a 2 of Diamonds. Not the best. He decides to fold. “I fold,” and his cards are thrown face-up towards the dealer.
She then turns to the next player, Emily, who flips her hand over to reveal a Queen of Hearts and Jack of Hearts. She has a good read on that player and decides to make the call with her suited connectors. “Call the $20,” she says, pushing out her chips.
And just how the blinds worked, as action ensued. The pot is already large, and the game has only just begun.
Sarah often says, “The blinds are the spark that starts the fire and nothing could be truer.”
Blinds play a central role in the basic concept of Texas Hold’em and kick-start the strategic battle that will take place during a hand of poker. The game then continues with the next round, where one player to the left has a blind; gradually this responsibility moves through every participant so no single individual is always going all-in or dealing. By moving players around the table, each player gets to experience a mix of sitting in different positions at the poker table such as having the dealer button which is a strategic advantage and being big blind for example.
Dealing the Hole Cards
Post the Blinds – Once you enter a hand of Poker, two people are required to make mandatory bets called “The Blinds.” The dealer, who we will call Sarah in this example, shuffles the deck with an almost natural grace. The dealer deftly deals two cards face down and every player eagerly awaits their hands.
Dealing, Sarah deals first to the small blind Mike. “Cards are in the air,” she beams, a run-of-the-mill comment indicating play has begun. As the players are dealt a second card, their hidden gems to give its name more respect.
“Ok everyone….lights on,” Sarah acknowledges the players. The atmosphere is friendly yet competitive — because everyone knows the game has really begun.
John looks for a flash at his Ace of Spades and King of Hearts again. Confident, blood rushes in his body. This is also a good spot for him — playing relatively early in the betting round. He knows this hand has a stranglehold.
Mark, folded and level with the others, looks on. He mumbles, “It’s always a game of inches,” referring to how close rounds can be decided either way with the right movement.
With queen and jack of hearts, the baby across from me studies her cards. She has already accompanied John in — he raised, so she must call if only to see the flop. She knows she’s got a good hand for drawing future. The suited connectors that came get there for her are the hands in Texas Hold’em which consistently make straights and also flushes.
“Ready for the flop?” Emily turned her head to pose the question, with a hopeful small grin on it.
Lisa checks her cards — Ten of Diamonds and Nine of Spades (10♢9◆). She stares at her blind, puts in some chips and is thinking about John just as he raised 4xbb. She calls with middle pair on a wet board, admittedly a marginal hand. It turned out to be a powerful charge or one; she snapped her chips, “I’m calling.”
The pre-flop betting round gets more aggressive. Once again, the action was three situations were made. Now, the betting circles around each player are in response to their hole cards as well as positions and what they have seen from opponents so far.
Poker is in Sarah’s blood and she often reminds us, “It’s all about reading the room,” guessing that it’s just as much a psychology game as cards.
When action comes back to Mike, the small blind, things have escalated. A, with a pair of eights decides to make an initial raise. “Raise it $40,” he announces as he moves some of his chips into the middle. Regardless, this is a bold play; pocket pairs are only one of the few high-value pre-flop hands in OLHE.
John concedes to the good move. He still likes his hand, but Mike has come out firing and he respects that. He calls the raise, and everyone else either follows suit or folds depending on how they feel about their hole cards.
“All bets in?” “Right” Sarah nods, glancing at the table.
She nods with agreement and begins pushing out the flop; three cards that will alter what we know about this hand once again. That is the dead-quiet of a poker table, but that’s as it must be, for tension in any game or sport with mixed elements – not just skill and strategy but also chance — makes these games fascinating.
And with that Sarah flips the first three community cards to arrive on the table into their respective positions, “Here we go.” Now the game is really on, with decisions affecting whether they take home a piece of that sweet pot.
The Pre-Flop or First Round of Betting
Now that the hole cards have been dealt out, you reach the first betting round known as pre-flop. Action begins with the player to the left of the big blind. Guess which player we have? John.
John Raises – Ace of Spades, King of Hearts. “Twenty bucks,” he says and pushes his chips toward the center of the table like he owns it. He understands that a firm initial bet can intimidate and also lessen the competition.
Next up is Mark. He’s got a 7 of Clubs and the dreaded 2 of Diamonds. He folds quick enough to suggest this wasn’t exactly a tough decision. “Not this time,” he grumbles, sliding his cards to the dealer. Mark is too smart to follow a bad hand.
Emily, with the Queen of Hearts and Jack of Hearts, values her hand a little more optimistically. Suited connectors she is referring to can make straights and flushes, both very strong hands in Hold’em. She calls John’s raise. “Twenty,” she says, matching his bet.
Action is now on Lisa in the big blind. She has 10d-9s and committed $10 to the big blind. She decides to call as well. “Call” and then puts in another $10 to match the raise.
Mike, the small blind player, has an eight in hold. He considers his options. He knows that pocket pairs in some cases can be strong, especially pre-flop, so he decides to 3-bet. Then, a general voice – “Forty dollars” followed by him pushing the chips towards me.
The original raiser, John, is thinking. He respects Mike’s re-raise, but he puts him on the hood. He flicks chips into the pot and nods.
Emily wonders where she fits in all this. Even if they have a few suits, she lets it go with her suited connectors. “Fold,” she informs. Well, sometimes the better part of valor is simply that — discretion.
Feeling devoted to the pot as it is already due to her big blind, Lisa calls the additional raise. She says “I call,” and puts in the $20 as well.
The hand starts with the first betting round. There is strategy, psychology, and a little luck at the heart of every decision by each player. The pot is now huge and there it begins to be noticed by its very presence around the table.
“All bets in?” Sarah looks around the table. Suddenly, everyone looks around and nods along while she continues on to the next part of this game’s way.
“Flop,” she says, prepared to deal the three community cards that will help determine how this hand plays out. Game tension is tight, but that’s the beauty of poker — Texas Hold’em, it all matters and almost anything could happen on some random card.