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Doyle Brunson's Super System

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The Smarter Bet Guide to Poker: Texas Hold 'Em, Seven-Card Stud, and Other Popular Versions

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Texas Hold’em and Variations

Community card games involve hole cards, which are dealt only to you and which only you can use, and community cards (“the board”), which are dealt face up to the middle of the table and which everyone can use. Community card games have become extremely popular in recent years, particularly Texas hold’em.

Texas Hold’em

In Texas hold’em, each player is dealt two cards, face down, along with five community cards dealt face up in the middle of the table. Each player makes the best five-card hand he can by using the community card and hole cards. Texas hold’em can be played with a large number of players, but ten is typically the most at any table.

Texas Hold’em Playing Sequence

The two players to the left of the dealer put in the small blind and big blind.
Each player is dealt two cards.
There is a round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the big blind. Each player must put in at least the amount of the big blind to stay in the game. The player who put in the small blind must put in additional chips to equal a total bet of the big blind; otherwise, the player can fold. No checking is allowed in this round. The player who put in the big blind can either raise when it’s her turn to bet, or she can check (since she has already put in the big blind), giving up the option to raise.
The dealer deals three cards (called the flop) face up in the middle of the table.
There is another round of betting, starting with the first person still in the game and to the dealer’s left.
The dealer deals a fourth card (called the turn) face up on the table.
There is another round of betting, starting with the first person still in the game and to the dealer’s left.
The dealer deals a fifth card (called the river) face up on the table.
There is another round of betting, starting with the first person still in the game and to the dealer’s left.
If two or more players remain in the game, the players show their cards in turn to determine who wins.

Forming Your Hand

In Texas hold’em, you may use none, one, or two of your hole cards, as well as the community cards, to form a five-card hand. For instance, if you had A-Q as hole cards and the community cards were K-J-T-3-2, you could form a straight using your two hole cards along with three of the community cards (K-J-T). If you had the same hole cards but the community cards were K-Q-J-T-3, you would use your ace and four community cards (K-Q-J-T) to form the straight.

Basic Texas Hold’em Strategy

In general, the lowest hand you can reasonably expect to win with in Texas hold’em is a top pair (pairing the top community card) with a good kicker. As the number of players increases, the lowest typical winning hand gets higher.

Evaluating a Starting Hand

The strength of your starting hand (your two hole cards) should determine whether you raise, call, or fold during the pre-flop betting round. In general, for a game of limit Texas hold’em:

You should raise: If you have A-A, A-K, A-Q, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, or T-T
You should call (once): If you have A-J, K-Q, K-J, Q-J, J-T, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, or an A and any other card as long as they are suited (of the same suit)

Determining the Best Possible Hand

Use the community cards to determine the best possible hand at the table. If you know the best possible hand, you can better evaluate the strength of your hand, whether you should bet, and if so, how much. For example:

For the community cards pictured below, no straight, flush, or full house is possible, so the best possible hand is three aces.
For the community cards pictured below, the best possible hand is four 5s. Alternatively, anyone could easily have three of a kind, a flush, or a full house.

With the community cards in the first hand, three of a kind would be a pretty solid hand. But with the second set of community cards, three of a kind would be much weaker.

A Pair on the Board Replaces a Player’s Lower Pair

If you have A-3 and the board shows A-3-8-8-J, your pair of 3s isn’t that valuable, since a higher pair of 8s is on the board. If another player has A-6, you would split the pot because your hands are both A-A-8-8-J.

Community Game Variations

There are several variations of community card games.

Game		Rules
Omaha		Omaha mirrors Texas hold’em in the way community cards are dealt and in the betting rounds. It differs in that players are dealt four hole cards and must use exactly two hole cards and three of the community cards to form a hand.
Pineapple hold’em		Each player is dealt three cards and must discard one card before additional cards are dealt.
Omaha high/low		This game is played with the high/low variation. In Omaha 8 high/low, for instance, the low hand can contain only cards of rank 8 or lower. If there aren’t three community cards 8 or lower, there can’t be a low hand, so the person with the highest hand wins.