One of the most popular card games on the planet and widely practiced in casinos (both by visitors and by competitors in major tournaments), poker is also a modality that has several variants. Among all of them, one stands out more, being predominant in most of the major world championships: Texas Hold’em.
It is not for nothing that this type of poker is also present in all the largest online casinos in Brazil and the world. After all, Texas Hold’em has transcended classification as a game of chance (such as blackjack and roulette, for example) and has established itself as a sport of the mind.
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The sport takes its name because its origin is linked to the city Robstown, in the North American state of Texas, at the beginning of the 20th century. Although there are controversies about the accuracy of this information, it is considered official by the Texas Legislature.
Throughout the first half of the last century, Texas Hold’Em Poker Online became popular and reached the entertainment capital of Las Vegas , being practiced in several casinos in the city , such as Golden Nugget, Dunes and Stardust. The main innovation that the modality brought was a greater number of betting rounds, which gave more dynamism to the game and diluted the luck factor, especially when compared to the 5-card draw.
Texas Hold’em’s big breakthrough came in 1970, when the World Series of Poker , the world’s leading sport circuit , was founded , with Texas Hold’em as the base for their tournaments. Since then, the game has spread across the planet and has established itself as the most popular in the world, reaching TV broadcasts, games and other platforms.
How Texas Hold’em Works
First of all, it is necessary to clarify that Texas Hold’em is more related to sports of the mind than to games of chance , as it was in its origin. Although luck is an important factor, the fundamental points of the game are the ability to bluff, quick decision-making, quick calculations, bankroll management and, above all, the ability to decipher the behavior of others.
To understand how poker works, you need to understand three basic topics: hand ranking, positioning and betting rounds.
Hand ranking
Each player receives two hole cards per round, and the goal is to match them with the five community cards on the table to form the best possible five-card combination. The strength of these combinations is determined by the ranking of hands.
The strongest possible hand is the Royal Straight Flush, which is a straight consisting of 10, jack, queen, king and ace, all in the same suit. Then there is the Straight Flush, which follows the logic of the Royal, but without ending in the ace.
The third strongest hand is the quad, which consists of four cards of the same rank. The full-house (a set and a pair) is the fourth most powerful combination. Then come the flush (five cards of the same suit), straight (five cards in a row without having the same suit), three of a kind, two pair and one pair.
Conclusion
If no player has any combination, the winner is defined by the player with the highest card in the hand, with the ace being the strongest and the 2 being the weakest.