There are many types and ways to play poker card game: the two most common ones are Texas Hold’em and Omaha. The Texas Hold’em we usually refer to is No Limit Texas Hold’em (NLHM). This article will introduce some precautions for Texas Hold’em poker card game.
1. The difference between cash games and tournaments
A. Blinds: In cash games, the blinds remain the same. They will not increase. But in Texas Hold’em tournaments, according to the blind rules of the tournament. The blinds will increase every X minutes.
B. Chips: In cash games, your chips are equivalent to cash. Some high-stakes cash tables even allow direct bets with cash. In tournaments, you use tournament chips received after paying a fixed buy-in. Tournaments award prizes based on ranking, and chips cannot be used to cash out.
C. Duration: In cash games, you can sit down and stand up at any time. In tournaments, the game will continue. There is a unified break time according to the blind structure. Players who leave the table during the game also need to bet the Ante and Blind into the pot. This continues until there is a final winner or the remaining players reach an agreement.
2. All In
Players who go all in can only win the part of their chips that they have. For example, Player 1 bets $50 on the turn. Player 2 only has $35 left. If Player 2 calls, $35 of the $50 bet by Player 1 will be put into the “main pot” of the pot. The remaining $15 will be divided into two situations:
(a) If Player 1 and Player 2 are heads-up, $15 will be returned to Player 1;
(b) $15 will be put into the “side pot”. Players who have not folded and still have chips will compete for the chips in the side pot. After going all in, Player 2 cannot win any chips from the side pot.
If two players go heads-up, one of them goes all in and the other player calls or goes all in. The betting round after that will be omitted. All 5 cards will be dealt directly and then the cards will be shown. In cash games, this situation can also be shown in advance. Then the two players negotiate to run it twice to reduce the fluctuation. In this case, both players must go all-in, and both must agree to run it multiple times. Usually 2-5 times. From the moment of all-in, the remaining public cards will be dealt multiple times. The pot will be divided according to the number of wins.
3. Ante or Ante
Ante is a mandatory bet that every player, including the big blind and small blind players, must make before the cards are dealt. Generally speaking, the ante ranges from 1/4 big blind to 1 big blind. Ante is usually used in tournaments and sometimes in cash games. Ante is like blind. Because it is a bet made by the player and added to the pot before the hand starts. Ante can increase the size of the pre-flop pot. And give players more motivation to participate in every hand and compete for chips in the pot.
