The History of Texas Hold 'em

Texas Hold 'em is a type of poker that was invented in Robstown, Texas, in the early 1900s. No one knows how the game started, but we do know it was first called "hold 'em". Once the game made its way through the rest of Texas, the game was introduced in Las Vegas where folks started referring to it as Texas Hold 'em. The variation of poker became quite popular and spread to some of Vegas' most well-known casinos.

For several years, the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas was the only casino to offer the game. It mostly remained in the background until one specific game played in the entrance to The Dunes casino, which was right on the Las Vegas Strip. This brought out many professional players who previously wouldn't step foot in the Golden Nugget to play. The pop-up game ended up being quite rewarding for several of the professional high rollers, which gave the game some much-needed attention. By 1980, the game started to get noticed outside of Nevada, and ever since then, it's been one of the most famous forms of poker to date. Today, Texas Hold 'em is the official game played in the World Series of Poker.

How to Play Texas Hold 'em

Naturally, many who aren't familiar with the game want to know

You got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold'em.

The game goes as follows: You and the other players are dealt two hole cards each, for your eyes only. The dealer goes on to deal five community cards where three of the cards are face up (known as the flop) and two cards are face down (known as the return and the river). You and the other players bet pre-flop, post-flop, and then again after the return and river. The best five-card hand wins.

A hand can end in two ways. One way is when the players in a hand turn over their two hole cards and the player with the best hand wins. This is called a showdown. The other way is when someone will bet enough to make everyone else fold. Usually, that's how most hands end in Texas Hold 'em, and what is so great about the game - you don't always need the best hand to win!

Although there are four variations of Texas Hold 'em, each is distinguished from one another by their betting limits. These variations are:

• Limit Texas Hold 'em - A predetermined betting limit exists on each round of betting.
• No Limit Texas Hold 'em - A player can bet any amount, up to all their chips.
• Pot Limit Texas Hold 'em - A player can bet any amount, up to the size of the pot.
• Mixed Texas Hold 'em - The game switches between rounds of Limit and No Limit Texas Hold 'em.

The Evolution of Texas Hold 'em

Texas Hold 'em is now one of the most prominent forms of poker in the world. Texas Hold 'em's popularity skyrocketed during the 2000s due to its exposure on TV and the internet. The successful movie "Rounders" is also responsible for giving Texas Hold 'em a significant boost in popularity when it came out in 1998. Texas Hold 'em tournaments have been televised since the late 1970s, but they didn't become widespread until about 1999 when hidden cameras were first used to show players' private hole cards.

Nowadays, there is an increased amount of TV coverage showing viewers professional and amateur poker players engaging in massive Texas Hold 'em poker tournaments. Also, there are online poker strategy sites that cater to people who want to learn how to excel in the game and training sites that offer e-books and videos on how to play.

Online Texas Hold 'em

Today, the game is played in casinos all over the world, in homes and heavily at online casinos. The ability to play anonymously in the comfort of your home is much of the reason for the increase in popularity of playing online poker, especially the Texas Hold 'em variation. Online poker sites allow people to try out games for fun and they also allow you to win real money and compete in tournaments like the ones on TV. And one of the best things about the game is that Texas Hold 'em is played the same way whether you play at a local casino or online from your computer or smartphone. The hands are still the same, and you bet either way you play.

In Closing

Many people prefer to play Texas Hold 'em more than any other type of poker because it’s less complicated, one of the easiest forms of poker to play and can be enjoyed by players of any bankroll, both low and high-rollers alike. The main reasons that people are drawn to this game are because of the simplicity of it, plus the entertainment value that you get from playing. Although skill, strategy and luck play significant roles in determining the outcome in Texas Hold 'em, for players, they can't seem to get enough of it.