Texas Holdem poker games are without a doubt the most popular poker games in the world both online and live. There exits three different variants of the Texas Holdem poker games, which can be played as Fixed Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit, and both as cash game and tournaments. In Texas Holdem poker each player is dealt two closed hole cards from the start of the hand and all players share five community cards on table, which are dealt in turn on the flop (3 cards), the turn (1 card) and the river (river). The poker game has four betting rounds corresponding to the dealing of cards, which is called Preflop, flop, turn and river. The winner is decided by a showdown at the river to determine who has the best hand, if all but one player fold (throw their hand away) before the river, the last man in the hand will win.

Playing Texas Holdem Poker

As it should be clear from this short description, the Texas Holdem poker games are quite easy to learn and this is probably a big reason for its popularity. But as a popular saying goes; it takes five minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. This is also what makes the Texas Holdem poker games intriguing as you can play for years and still learn new things. To master the game you need a lot of different skills, including mathematical and psychological abilities, and the Texas Holdem poker games always seem to develop in new ways with different playing styles and strategies. This is also the poker game used each year in Las Vegas to find the new world champion at the World Series of Poker, and you might be familiar with the Texas Holdem poker games from the many TV shows like World Poker Tour, Poker After Dark or World Series of Poker.

If you are new to poker, Texas Holdem poker will be the perfect starting game to learn because of its easy accessibility and by learning the Texas Holdem poker games you will also gain a basic understanding of poker, which can be transferred to other poker games. Below we listed the the best Texas Holdem Poker sites to help you find the best online Texas Holdem Poker games available

The best Texas Holdem Poker games online

Texas Holdem Poker Games

No Limit Texas Holdem poker

You probably can’t say poker without mentioning No Limit Texas Holdem. This is without a question the most famous and played poker game of all, also known as “The Cadillac of Poker”. The poker game became extremely popular and every mans game after the airing of the many World Poker Tour broadcasts, where TV-viewers all over the world could follow poker players like Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu and more compete in the exciting game. No Limit Texas Holdem is the most action filled game of the three Texas Holdem variants due to the betting structure of the game, where you can bet all your chips or money at any point during a hand, hence the name No Limit. The game is by far the most played online poker game and is the preferred starting game of most people looking to take on poker.

Fixed Limit Texas Holdem poker

Fixed Limit Texas Holdem has opposite No Limit Texas Holdem a fixed betting amount in each of the four betting rounds. This means the betting limits are determined beforehand and players can only bet the pre-decided limit in each round. Normally the stakes are limited by a small and big bet corresponding to the first two and last two betting rounds. At same time action is capped at 4 small or big bets in each round, if more than two players are in the pot. The limit structure of Fixed Limit Texas Holdem makes it good poker game to start out with for many new players, because they can not loose all their money at once in one hand. This means you can afford some mistakes in the beginning, which would be much more costly playing No Limit Holdem. It is highly recommendable to start out with Fixed Limit Holdem to get a basic understanding of Texas Holdem before moving on to No Limit Holdem.

Pot Limit Texas Holdem poker

The last variant of Texas Holdem poker games is Pot Limit Texas Holdem. This is the least known of the three variants and is rarely played in online poker. Compared to No Limit and Fixed Limit Texas Holdem the poker variant is only different in one way, which is the betting size allowed in each betting round. The betting is always limited to the size of the pot, hence the name Pot Limit Texas Holdem. Many poker players may be familiar with the concept from playing Omaha poker, where this is the betting structure normally preferred. Pot Limit Texas Holdem never really had the same popularity as its two sister games, but this is probably due to the fact most people preferred No Limit Texas Holdem.

Read about more online poker games here.

Texas Holdem Starting Hands

One of the most important decisions that you will be forced to make, while playing Texas Hold’em Poker, is to choose starting hands. Many players lose, as they play excessive hands. There are a total of 169 possible starting hands with two cards. Out of these 169, only 75 are considered profitable to continue with. Not every hand is possible to be played from any position, and there are a few that also depend on your getting more players to enter the pot in order to be profitable.

Suited cards can be considered more powerful in comparison to unsuited ones as they have potential for a flush but there are many novices that give a lot of value to them. If you start with a couple of suited cards, the chances of making a flush are only 5%. Most novices usually just play any 2 suited cards without thinking twice.

The various types of starting hands can be broadly classified into four individual categories. These are :

1. Pocket pairs – Big pairs are usually good hands to start with. The best hand to start with is two aces, but two two’s is weak and should only be considered in late positions and un-raised pots. There are a few medium pairs which might win pots, but you will be more concerned with sets or straight draws with the smaller ones. Your odds on getting a pair at the beginning are 16 to 1. This means you should get one every 17 hands at least. The odds of getting any specific pair like two aces are 220 to 1.
2. Connectors – Cards next to one another are known as connectors. These may be suited or may be unsuited. These include hands such as K-Q, 9-8, etc. These are used for making straights. The suited ones can be used for making straights, flushes or even straight flushes.
3. Gapped cards – These are hands which have 1 or more gaps in between them. They include hands such as J-9, A-8, etc. You will find it easier to make straights if the gaps are smaller. Here you want the gap cards to play a straight or suited card if you are looking for a flush. Here too, there potential is more with suited cards.
4. Big cards – Cards that have values over 10 are known as big cards. Suited ones are much more valuable than the unsuited ones. Here too there are the categories of gapped hands and connectors, but these cards can even win single-handedly on flops. These work better when there are fewer other players.

Two aces is definitely the best possible hand you could get before the flop. The worst possible one is an unsuited two and seven.