Texas Hold'em Poker

Texas Holdem is the most played version of poker in the world. It is also simple to learn and play. Explaining poker by text isn’t ideal - so we have just provided a short overview to help. Our best advice is to download the game and practice on the free play version! There’s no better way to learn to play then by free practice!

The basic concept of poker is to win the chips (cash) by making the best hand possible from the cards available. You can play tactically, bluff, play your opponent, or simply ride your luck - You decide!

Texas Holdem uses a standard 52 card deck, and the cards are ranked as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace (Aces count as both high and low). There is no strength in the suits of the cards, they are equal.

The aim of Texas Holdem is to create the best five card hand possible out of the cards you are dealt, in accordance with the appropriate hand ranking from high to low.

You will see a maximum of 7 cards as follows.

A player is dealt two ‘hole’ cards, followed by 5 community cards that all players share and are displayed in a specific sequence: the ‘flop’ (3 cards at once), the ‘turn’ and the river. A round of betting is carried out after each of the four rounds: pre-flop (when each player has only their two hole cards), post-flop, turn and river. Once all betting is completed, there is a "showdown" where the best poker hand by a player will win the pot. If a player decides to fold at any point before showdown, then the last remaining player will win the pot.

Poker hands are ranked as follows, a royal flush being the best:
- A royal flush (A K Q J 10 same suit)
- Straight flush (i.e. 4 5 6 7 8 same suit)
- Four of a kind (i.e. K K K K)
- Full House (i.e. KKK QQ) 3 of the same + 2 of the same
- Flush (i.e. 3 4 5 8 10 all same suit, any order)
- Straight (i.e. 4 5 6 7 8 any suit in order)
- 3 of a kind (i.e. Q Q Q)
- 2 pairs (i.e. KK QQ)
- 1 pair (i.e. KK)
- High Card (i.e. Ace)

Blinds

Texas Holdem has forced bets to make sure there is action and money in each and every pot - these are called the blinds. Otherwise, a player could fold until every time until they had the best possible hand. They are named blinds as a player must enter the pot ‘blind’ and commit chips before they ever see their hole cards. The blinds will rotate around the table and come in the form of a big blind and a small blind - a small blind is approximately half the size of the big blind. The blinds ensure that there is always money in the pot that may be won on each and every hand.

If you win the poker pot, you will then be paid the pot total minus a standard rake (very small percent retained by the casino).

However, in Texas Holdem it is not unusual to have two hands that tie for the winning hand. A tie may occur primarily because players are sharing cards (every card that is on the board - flop, turn, and river). When players have the same winning poker hand, the pot is simply split between them.

A Side pot

If a player does not have enough chips to cover a bet, a side pot is then created. Remember, in Texas Holdem, everyone must contribute to the pot equally. Don’t worry however, in the case of side pots, mFortune casino will calculate these automatically for you.

Betting is easy in mobile poker - you simply click / press the button for the action you would like to take:
- To bet, simply click bet and click on the amount you want to bet
- To call, click call and you will call the player who has bet
- To raise, click raise and enter the amount you would like to raise
- To check, click check (continue without betting any more money)
- To fold, simply click fold

Stage 1 – Go to Tables
Decide what level table you want to play - there are 3 levels to choose from.

Stage 2 – Select Table & Amount to play
Select a table and how much you want to bring to the table (i.e. £10).

Stage 3 – Join the Table
You will now be seated at an mFortune poker table.

Stage 4 – Your 2 ‘Hole Cards’
You are dealt 2 cards which are known as the ‘hole cards’. You then decide you want to continue, or fold your cards and wait until the next hand.
Example - The hole cards are 2 hearts and 7 clubs. The player decides to wait for ‘better’ cards so they decide to fold.
Example- The players receives 2 Aces, and decides to continue and puts money into the pot.

Stage 5 – The ‘Flop’
Once all players have decided if they are continuing by betting or folding, the dealer then deals 3 cards for all players to see - this is called the flop. There is now another round of betting. This is where the game of Poker becomes very interesting as there is a lot of room for Texas holdem strategy. For example, once you have seen the flop, do you bluff and hope you can win? Do you know you have the best possible cards and decide to play slow- to get as much money from your opponents as possible? Or do you simply just ride your luck and hope for the best? There are many ways to play Texas Holdem - it’s entirely your choice. After all players have decided to continue or fold, we move to the next stage - the turn.

Stage 6 – The ‘Turn’
The 4th card is the Turn. There is now another round of betting in the same fashion as detailed above. The players who remain after this round of betting will then see the final card - the River.

Stage 7 – The ‘River’
The final card is the river. Players now have all the cards they can to make the best 5 card poker hand from the 7 cards available.
The final round of betting now follows in the same fashion as previous rounds. Those players that still remain after the completion of the betting then go to the showdown.

Stage 8 – The ‘Showdown’
If players still remain after betting- then each player must show their cards to determine who has the best poker hand. The player with the best poker hand wins. In the event of player’s poker hands being the same, the poker pot will be equally divided between the players.

Stage 9 – Players are dealt 2 ‘Hole Cards’ and the process starts again

Texas Holdem, as one may imagine, has its origins in Robstown Texas, in the United States of America in the 1900s.

Texas Holdem quickly became extremely popular through Texas and it wasn’t long before its widespread popularity spread to Vegas. It is reported that Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim were the pioneers who introduced the game of Texas to the world. Originally however, the game was just called Hold’em poker.

In the early days, Texas Holdem was only played in 1 casino in Las Vegas, in a ‘sawdust joint’ with sawdust literally covering the floor. It was a real back street style casino which failed to attract the more professional players that liked Holdem. It wasn’t until 1969 that Las Vegas opened its casino floors to experiment with Texas Holdem. It was a slow and disappointing start for holdem, with few entrants playing for high stakes and Texas Holdem remained sluggish in popularity for several years. Nevertheless, Texas Holdem did continue to grow and by 1970, the first World Series of Poker (WSOP) was born and held in Binions Horseshoe in Las Vegas. However, this was limit Holdem and there was a feeling that emerged that limit holdem was restricting the games potential. In 1971, the decision was made to run a no-limit poker tournament and make this the main event of the WSOP. Poker immediately began to soar.

Today, Texas Holdems popularity has increased beyond all recognition. It is now widely available to play online poker, play poker at the casino, or even more popular now is poker for mobile. It is believed that the advent of poker on TV and the rise of the internet has been a catalyst in the games soaring popularity.

Playing poker through the internet has opened up a world of opportunity and playing poker on your mobile is the new way to enjoy Texas Holdem. You can play anytime, anywhere! The graphics, game speed, interaction through chat and the playability are all second to none. Download today and show us your moves at mFortune Texas Holdem.