As the name implies, bets are fixed in Fixed Limit Texas Hold’em. There are either large or small bets. Small bets are placed in the first two rounds of betting and large bets are placed in the last two rounds. The large bets are always double the amount of the small bets and the amount of the bets depends on the size of the game.

Before Dealing the Cards:

The person dealing the cards occupies the spot called the button. In a casino the dealer has a marker placed in front of him indicating he is the dealer. In private games outside the casino a player must function as the dealer. The button determines the order that each player will play his hand and rotates clockwise to the next player after each hand is played.

The player sitting directly to the left of the button (the number one seat) places a forced bet on the table called a small blind. This is followed by another forced bet placed by the player sitting directly to the left of the first player (the number 2 seat). This bet is called the big blind.

The big blind is always equal to the amount of the small bet but the small blind is usually half the size of the big blind. For example, in a $10/$20 Limit Texas Hold'em game, the small bet is $10 and the big bet is $20. Therefore, the big blind is $10 (the size of the small bet) and the small blind is $5 (half the size of the big blind and the small bet).

Dealing the Cards:

Cards are dealt out in a clockwise manner beginning with the player in the number one seat (the small blind) and ending with the player acting as dealer (the button). Each player receives a starting hand, which is comprised of two hole cards placed face down on the table.

The First Round of Betting:

The action begins with the player seated third to the left of the button (also known as sitting under the gun). This player can either fold by throwing his hole cards into the area in the middle of the table called the muck, call by placing a bet on the table equal to the big blind amount on the table, or raise by placing two small bets in front of him. The action now rotates to the player sitting to the left of the 3 rd player (the 4 th seat) who can choose to fold, call, rise or re-rise (though only if it has been raised in front of him). The playing continues clockwise in this fashion until every player that has not folded has contributed equally to the pot.

For example, let’s say there are ten players seated at the table in a $10/$20 Limit Texas Hold'em game. The players have received their cards and the first player to act, (the player sitting under the gun), decides to rise. He must put $20 into the pot, which is equivalent to two small bets. The players seated in seats 4,5,6 and 7 decide to fold and throw their cards into the muck. The player seated in seat number eight decides to re-raise so he must place $30 on the table (equivalent to three small bets). Seat number nine player decides to call and must put in $30 (an amount equal three small bets). The last player, the button, folds.

The small blind player, who had already contributed $5 to the pot, decides to call and must, therefore, add $25 to the pot (bringing the total amount bet to $30, which is equal to three small bets). The action then moves on to the big blind player who chooses to re-raise and, therefore, must put in a total of $40 into the pot (since he had ten dollars in the pot already, he now must put in an additional $30 bringing his bet to $40, which is equal to four small bets).

This is called cap the betting, meaning that rises are no longer permitted. Only three rises are allowed in each betting round, making it a total of four bets. After the cap, the remaining players can either fold or call. The action continues with the initial raiser who is sitting under the gun. Once the first betting round is finished and all remaining players have contributed equally to the pot, it is time for the flop.

The Flop and the 2 nd Round of Betting:

Playing continues with the dealer burning the top card on the deck and placing it face down on the table. This is done to prevent cheating in case anyone has tampered with the first card. The burn card is not used throughout the remainder of the game. Next, the dealer flips up three cards and places them on the table for everyone to see. These three cards are called the flop. Since only two more cards are left to come, the flop is a defining moment for all remaining players. In other words, five of the seven cards to be dealt have been revealed. The flop contains community cards, which are used together with the two hole cards to create the best possible five-card poker hand. Since the blinds are only used on the first round of betting, the small blind now must act first (sitting in the first seat). If the small blind folds before the flop, it then becomes the big blind's turn to act, and so on. The first player to act can choose checking or betting (if the player bets, it must be exactly one small bet). If all players check on the flop, they are all permitted to see the fourth card (the turn) without placing any additional money on the table. Betting continues in the same pattern as the first round with three as the maximum number of allowed rises (four small bets in total).

For example, using the same example table as above with 10 players seated at a $10/$20 Limit Texas Hold'em game, let’s say that only the players seated in the small blind, the big blind and on the button are left in the hand after the first round of betting. The dealer brings in the pot and puts it in the middle of the table, burns the top card and places the flop on the table. Since betting proceeds clockwise from the button, the small blind must act first and decides to check. Next, the big blind bets ($10; equal to one small bet). The player in the button seat then chooses to call and puts in $10. Now, it is again the small blind's turn to act and he can raise (make it $20; referred to as a check-raise), fold (throw his hole cards in the muck) or call (put in $10).

Once the second round of betting has been completed and all remaining players have contributed equally to the pot, it is time for the turn.

The Turn and the Third Round of Betting:

Again, the dealer burns the top card of the deck and flips open a fourth community card, called the turn, placing it on the table next to the flop. The betting then proceeds clockwise from the button, as on the flop. The only difference is that now the bets are doubled and are called big bets.

For example, using the same table as above, let’s say it is after the flop. At this point, only the players sitting in the big blind and the button remain in the hand. The big blind must now act first because betting advances clockwise from the button. The big blind decides to bet (puts in $20; equal to one big bet), the button chooses to rise (puts in $40; equal to two big bets) and the big blind opts to call (puts in another $20; making two big bets in total). This then completes the third round of betting. It is now time for the river.

The River and the 4 th Round of Betting:

After burning the top card of the deck again, the dealer flips over another community card and places it next to the flop and the turn. This card is called the river. Betting proceeds clockwise from the button as it did on the flop and the turn. Bets are the same amount as the bets placed on the turn.

Using the same table example, but proceeding after the turn, only the players sitting in the big blind and the button are left in the hand. Again, the big blind must act first because betting advances clockwise from the button. The big blind decides to check and the action moves to the button player, who bets (puts in $20; equivalent to the amount of one big bet). Now, the big blind can choose to fold, rise or call but decides to call (puts in $20; equal the size of one big bet). The button has been called and, because this is the last round of betting, he has to flip two hole cards face up on the table. He then combines his hole cards with the five community cards to create the best possible 5-card poker hand. The big blind has the option of throwing his hole cards in the muck (in case he can not beat the button's hand), or of flipping his hole cards face up on the table to show the winning hand. In order to win the pot, both hole cards must be flipped face up, even though only one hole card might be used for making the best hand.

Poker has many variations and Texas Hold’em is one of those variations. It is played with a regular 52-card deck and up to ten players can participate in the game. A marker called the ‘dealer button’ is used to demarcate the position of the player that is dealing the current hand. The button is the last player to act and has a slight advantage over the other players. After each hand is completed, the button is moved one position in a clockwise direction so that each player has an opportunity to hold the button and obtain its advantages.

Holding the button provides an advantage because you get to see all the other players’ bets before you place your own bet. Of course, as more and more players place their bets, the overall picture becomes clearer. This puts the first players to bet at a clear disadvantage. The players in the middle are not at quite as much as a disadvantage as the first players but also don’t have as great an advantage as the final players. By the time the final player must place his bet, he has obtained a lot of useful information

Seated immediately to the left of the button are the players in seat one and seat two. They must put down ‘blind bets’ and they must put their bet in the pot before they are allowed to see their cards. Typically, the player in the first position puts in a blind bet that is equal to half of the second player’s bet. There are some games where the first bet, called the small blind, may be between one-third and two-thirds of the size of the second bet called the big blind.

The two blind bets are needed to make sure that there is money in the pot for every round. It also ensures that there will be at least one active player in the round that the other players can play against.

Each player is dealt two cards face down and seen only by the players to whom they were dealt. Other players do not see the face down cards dealt to everyone else until the showdown at the end of the hand. At this point, there is a round of betting called the before-the-flop or pre-flop bet.

Here, the third position has three choices for how to proceed. Because the blind wager has already been made he can do any of the following:

Fold: If he thinks his hand is no good he can fold. This will take him out of the game entirely until the hand is completed. In the next hand, he will be the big blind because the button will have moved one clockwise position over.

Call: A call is placed when he matches the bet amount of the big blind.

Raise: How much he raises the bet is determined by whether it is a limit, pot-limit, or no-limit game. These variations of poker will be discussed at a later time, but it is important that you learn them in order to fully understand the game. For simplification purposes, we will assume that the game we are discussing is limit poker with $5 and $10 blinds, which means it is a 10-20 game.

If the player decides to call, he must place $10 in the pot. If he decides raise, he must place $20 in the pot. The betting continues in a clockwise direction until all betting is completed. Each player has the option to call or rise as his turn arrives. The betting gets progressively higher. When a player rises by placing $20 in the pot, the next player that wishes to call must place $20 in the pot and $30 if he wishes to rise. Where the game is played and the house rules will determine the number of rises allowed per game. Some casinos will limit the number of rises allowed to three while others place the limit at four. In private games, of course, the players decide the raise limit.

Take the example of a game where the third player raises to $20 and everyone else afterwards folds except for the button player who calls by placing $20 in the pot. The player in the small blind, who has already placed $5 in the pot, must now decide whether to call with $15 or rise with $25. If he calls, the big blind must then decide if he is going to call with $10 or rise with another $10. If no one rises, the big blind has the opportunity to rise, called the option, because he had to bet his original $10 without having seen his cards.

Now that the pre-flop betting is complete, the dealer places three cards face up on the table. These three cards are called the flop and they are community cards that belong to everyone.

The community card feature is described below. If the cards you are holding are queen-jack and the flop comes as queen, five, and four, you have a pair of queens with the jack as the secondary card, also called the kicker. This is not a bad hand unless another player is holding a king-queen in which case he also has a pair of queens but his kicker card is higher than yours, making him the winner.

Next, comes the second round of betting. In this round, the person with an active hand that is seated to the left of the button is the first to act. Unlike the first round where the options were fold, call, and raise, in this round the options are limited to check and bet. To check means you can decline to bet at the moment but hold on to the option to call or raise bets made by other players. To bet means, in this example because of the structure of the game, placing $10 in the pot.

This round is different because the blind money placed in the pot in the first round was placed there to give the players a reason to play but at this stage there is already money in the pot making blinds no longer necessary and giving the first player the option to check or bet $10.

Occasionally it happens that all the bettors check which means that no betting takes place on the flop. If someone does bet however, the players must decide whether they are going to call or rise and the same limit on the number of rises in a round still applies.

After the third round of betting is completed, the dealer places the fourth community card, known as the turn or Fourth Street, on the table. In limit poker the size of the betting amount now doubles to $20 (giving the game is 10-20 name). Except for the increase in the amount of the bet, the process of betting and checking is the same as that on the flop.

After the completion of the fourth round of betting, the dealer places the fifth and final community card called the river or Fifth Street. The process of betting and checking then proceeds in the same manner as the process in the fourth round.

At the end of the fourth round of betting, the remaining players will turn their hands over. If at any time during the game a player makes a bet that all the other players are unwilling to call, the hand is turned over immediately and the player who made the final bet takes the pot without having to show his hands.

With all the cards revealed to everyone, the player holding the best possible five-card hand out of the seven cards available to play with, wins the pot. It is possible for the players to use two, one, or none of their private first two cards. The last option would be unusual but it would be possible if the five community cards made up a straight, flush, or full house.

For example, say that two players remain in the hand at the end. One of these players is holding two kings and one is holding two aces. The five community cards are 5, 6, 7, and 8. The two players would split the pot because they each have exactly the same nine-high straight. Before the river card, the player with the two aces had a distinct advantage, but the concluding nine cost him half the pot just as a concluding four, which would also have put a straight on the board.

Most Important Advices for Limit Texas Hold’em:

1. Play only premium starting hands which means you should see no more than 20-25% of the flops in a regular game.
2. Seldom bluff: Before you bluff be fairly certain that your opponents are holding a weak hand.
3. Selecting a table: Beware of tight/aggressive tables (low profit, high volatility) and stay away from strong players in general because they will read you and take your money. Look for loose games where at least 30% see the flop on average and play their hands too far.
4. Fold in time: This will help you save money. Don’t draw if you see that you are beat and the pot isn’t worth a call.
5. Draw only when you have pot odds: only call a bet if the pot justifies the call.
6. Vary your play: Bet/raise on some calling hands and from time to time limp on “raising hands”. To avoid predictability in your playing style, do this before and after the flop.
7. Always analyze your relative strength in your hand, which means making a habit out of anticipating what your opponent is holding and re-evaluate when more information is revealed during the game’s progress. You must get “under the skin” of your opponents if you want to be truly successful.
8. When you are in a late position, be quick to steal pots: When not many players are left in the game and it has been checked around to you, the chance to take the pot in the last or late position may arise but you should only do so if it looks as if the board did not benefit anyone. You should also be certain to consider the type of players left in the pot.
9. Just as your opponents will try to learn your playing style, you should do the same with your opponents: Pay attention to which hands your opponents re-raise with, whether they call all the way or with weak holdings, how they play pocket-pairs, how they play their draws, what kinds of hands they call/raise with from early position, and what kind of hands they check-raise with.
10. It’s important to have a good kicker: It’s important to have a good side card to your highest card. Weak side cards, or kickers, can cost you in the long run.
11. Bet or raise when warranted: Don’t just call. The structure of this game invites drawing hands, which might even bet into you. If you think you have the best hand you should always bet/raise. It is not a good idea to give away free cards.

Texas Hold’em Deceptive Plays

Playing a deceptive game is important because it makes you a less predictable player. If your opponents notice that your bet/raises always mean you are strong or your checks always mean you are weak, they will have an advantage over you.

The Free Card

When you are last to act or in last position you can raise with a drawing hand on the flop. Doing so usually causes your opponents check to you on the turn giving you the opportunity to check (if your hand doesn’t get any better) or bet (if you hit your draw). By playing this way you will save some money if your hand hasn’t improved and make some money if you hit. This move will backfire, however, when you are re-raised on the flop. In such situations, it will cost you money but it will still be a good play because you will have obtained valuable information and have a draw to a better hand.

The Check-Raise

If it is your turn to act and you are holding a good hand, you should check in the hopes that an opponent will bet so that when your turn comes again you can raise. Take for example a game where you are in an early position and are holding #Ah-#Qs. The flop is As-#Qh-#6s. You and three other players in middle position check. Next, a player in late position bets and you rise. Check rising is done in order to make it too expensive for the drawing hands, like a gut-shot straight shot or over cards, to call. You also gain the initiative in the hand when you check-rise from an early position. If your opponents still call, you will at least gained information regarding the strength of their hands and forced them to pay as much as possible for trying to outdraw you.

The Semi-Bluff

Semi-bluffing is when you bet or raise even though your hand is not likely to win at that time and have several outs to outdraw your opponents if you get called or raised, while at the same time still hoping you will win the pot right there. For example, assume you are in late position holding #Jh-#Th and the flop shows #Ks-#6h-#2h. This layout gives you a flush draw with nine outs. Three other players remain in the pot and they all check to you. You bet without having the best hand but since all three players checked you have learned that they have weak hands and might fold pocket-pairs, a pair of sixes or twos. Even if you do get called, you still have nine outs to the flush and possibly an additional six outs to win if you hit a J or a T, equaling 15 outs total. If called and it is checked to you on the turn, you have the choice of taking a free card if your hand didn’t improve.

The Slowplay

Sometimes it is correct to slowplay if you are holding a strong hand. In other words, you might check or call on one betting round with the intention of betting/raising in later rounds. Players commonly make do this on the flop in Hold’em because they want to lure in players and raise on the turn or river where the bets are doubled. Beware, however, because this tactic has the potential to backfire if you let players take free cards that beat your hand. Often players will slowplay too often, causing them to lose pots they would not have lost if they had not slowplayed. This is a mathematical disaster since you lose a pot you would have won had you bet/raised and now you must payoff an opponent who has beat you.

In general, you shouldn’t slowplay in the following situations:

1. It is a large pot.
2. A free card can beat you.
3. There are a lot of opponents in the hand.
4. It is unlikely that a free card will give your opponent a second-best hand.