Keeping your cool when you lose a game or just make a bad move does more than just maintain a sense of decorum and maturity. It can also turn the game around in your favor. If you want to find out how to turn a bad play or a loss into a smart move, then read on.

You should also keep in mind a few general Texas Hold’em tips. Always be sure to observe a few games before joining in, as this will let you see what competition you’re up against and decide if playing is in your best interest. Set a “loss limit” before you begin playing and do not, under any circumstances, go over that limit. This will help keep you from getting too emotionally invested in the game. Always keep your anger in check as well. If you feel your emotions growing out of control, remember the all important rule of quitting while you’re ahead. Following this advice should improve your game drastically.

Texas Holdem is easy for new players to pick up, which helps its popularity, while expert play can take years to master, which keeps veteran players coming back for the next challenge.  If you are looking to get started in this deceptively complex game, here is a simple break down of the rules and concepts you’ll need to know.

Starting the Game:

Texas Holdem is a community based card game, which means that, although each player is given two cards of their own each hand, called the hole cards, there are also community cards that will be played face up in the center of the table throughout the course of play.  These community cards are considered to be in every player’s hand.

After receiving their hole cards which are dealt face down and hidden from other players, there is a round of betting.  The player to the left of the dealer is forced to make a bet called the small blind.  The player to his left has to make a larger bet, called the big blind.  These bets ensure that every hand there will be a pot of chips up for grabs.

Play Proceeds:

Play proceeds clockwise, and each player either has to call the largest bet, raise it by betting more than this amount, or they can fold which means they forfeit the hand but are not required to pay any more chips.  This betting goes on until everyone has either called or folded with no higher bets made.  Once this is done, the first three cards are dealt face up to the middle of the table.  These cards are collectively called the “flop”.  After this, another round of betting begins before a fourth card, called the “turn” is added to the first three.

Betting goes on again before the final fifth card is turned up, this card is known as the “river”.  Once the river is face up, one final round of betting occurs, and, if more than one player is still in the hand, the winner is determined by a showdown, where each player in contention reveals their two hole-cards and these are used in conjunction with the community cards to make the best poker hands possible.  Whichever player is capable of making the best hand wins the pot.

That’s all there is to the rules of Texas Holdem, but, if you wish to become a great player, you’ll want to practice and read as much as you can about some important details and strategies, and read many Texas hold’em tips on our site.  For example, poker is a game about knowing probability.  You need to know the probability that you might have the best hand, but also the probability of it improving when more cards are revealed, and the probability that your opponents have you beat or are “bluffing” by representing a good hand when you actually have them beat.