A New Beginning

At this point, the table is cleared of chips and cards. A new hand is ready to be dealt.

The dealer button moves clockwise, one step to the left. The blinds, the big and the small, are posted by the appropriate players. Every player receives their pocket cards and the hand proceeds according to the steps you know by know.

This new hand will probably play out differently than the one in this example, perhaps everyone will fold to a raise before the flop and then that is it for that hand. That does not change the mechanics of the game, lets look at the scene we described in the introduction to this thread and go through the course of events mechanically.

A fourth card is placed beside the three cards already on the table: One player taps his fingers lightly on the table, another pushes some differently colored chips in front of him, then all the other players simply throw their hands away and the person who just pushed a few chips in front of him gets the whole pile of chips lying in the middle of the table.

This means that on the turn, the first player to act checks. The following player bets and then all other active player folds. As there is no other player left in the hand, the pot is collected by the bettor. The mechanics are as simple as that.

You know the basics of Texas Hold’em and can confidently sit down at a table and play. How confidently, now that is a matter of debate. Continue reading this poker school, and you will have a solid foundation on which your poker knowledge can be built upon. Adhere to the comments in the section on money management. If you do this then you will be able to have fun from the get go.

As it is impossible to say what perfectly played poker is – there are is not just one perfect strategy for any one given situation – then it is not really correct to say that practice makes perfect. That does not change the fact that the more you play, the more you will learn. If anything it makes all the more sense. You have to be put in some situations at first hand in order to really understand them. As you continue playing you will appreciate the more subtle points that the game possesses.