Poker Texas Holdem Flop River Turn – Knowing The Basics

In this review we are going to go through some more information related to Holdem with a special emphasis on the general format of the game and a more in depth look at Poker Texas Holdem Flop, River, Turn.

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Poker Texas Holdem is one of the most popular variants in card Poker, mainly because the basics can be understood very quickly and it is quite straightforward to get the hang of it. When the game starts, the button (dealer) hands out two hole cards to each player, faced down.

The next process in the game is another three intervals where community cards are placed face up on the table. The first interval is called the Flop, where three of the five available community cards are dealt. Then comes the second interval which is called the Turn where one single card from the remaining two community cards is dealt, and then in the last interval, the fifth and final community card is revealed and this is called the River.

What Is The Exact Sequence The Cards Are Dealt?

The game of Poker always follows the same six steps as a general rule and the Poker Texas Holdem Flop, River, Turn are a very important part of these steps. It does not matter where you are playing Poker or who you are playing it with, if you always follow these guidelines about this six-step process, you can be sure that you are dealing your cards correctly and in the right sequence.

Let’s take a look at the six most important Texas Holdem Poker terms that formulate the game of Poker.

  1. Before the start of any game of Poker, the cards are shuffled for a minimum of four times and this is called The Shuffle.
  2. The second term is called The Cut and this refers to the process that happens in almost every game where the button (dealer) hands the cards to the player on his right and asks him to split the cards into 2 piles, with the bottom part of the pile being placed over the top half. This process usually happens in home games or private tournaments. In casinos it is not the norm for this to happen. Generally, it would always be the dealer in a casino to take charge of this task. An old-time rule always applies where in casinos you are only allowed to touch the cards dealt to you by the dealer.
  3. Then comes The Deal, and as the name implies, this is when the dealer starts to hand out two-hole cards to each player, starting from the Small Blind, the player sitting to his left, and works his way all around the table in a clockwise position. This is followed by the Pre-Flop betting round.
  4. After the Pre-Flop betting round comes The Flop. The process is that the dealer then burns one card and places it face down on the table right in front of him. Story goes that burned cards are used to prevent cheating in games, because it is said that players have in the past used certain marks or scratches to identify cards. With burn cards, if players noticed anything on the top card, they would only be aware about the card that is going to be burned while they are betting. At this stage of the game the dealer burns three community cards. This is known as the Flop.
  5. After the Flop comes the fourth community card that is placed face up on the table and this is known as The Turn.
  6. Onto the last term which comes right after the action on the Turn is complete. The fifth and final community card is now dealt face up on the table and this is known as the River.

 

The Flop In Holdem– What You Need To Know

After the start of a Poker game just after the button (dealer) has handed out the two hole cards to every player, there is a betting round where everyone can either match the Big Blind or raise the bet level if they are happy with their two initial cards. Then a card is burned off the top of the deck without being seen by anyone.

This process is standard almost anywhere in the world and it is done for security reasons, just in case someone has accidentally seen the card or it was marked in any shape or form for cheating purposes. Then the first three community cards are dealt face up in the centre of the table. These are called the Flop cards and may be incorporated in every player’s hand. Another round of betting then takes place.

The Poker Turn – How Do You React?

With still one card more to be revealed, the Turn is when yet another card is burned from the top of the deck and the fourth community card is revealed. This is what we call the Turn card.

All players that would still be in the game now have a total of six cards available for them to make the best five card hand on the table, with one more card still up for grabs.

The River – Your Last Chance In Poker

After the Turn comes what is called the last chance in a Poker hand for the players sitting at the table. This fifth and last community card is dealt face up and goes by the name of the River. By now the game is getting a bit more interesting for the players and at the same time, a tad more competitive. Now every player at the table has seven cards each to choose the best five-card hand on the table from.

Strategic Approaches To Playing Texas Holdem Poker

A lot of players do a lot of thinking or better still, overthinking, on whether they should fold their hands before the Poker Texas Holdem Flop, River, Turn. But by now you should know that Poker should not be a waiting game especially when there is multiple betting going on during a round of Poker. Staying in a hand when you are holding weak cards in your hand, just for the sake of hoping to form some sort of winning hand, or just for the sake of fighting till the finish line against your opponent, is not a very wise and suggested strategy to use.

Calling on every street can be good at times but only if you are sure about your odds and the winning percentage. This also depends on the hole cards in your possession.

Two things to keep in mind are that you want to stay away from cards with negative odds, so just ditch them, but at the same time don’t shy away from an occasional shot at something. It is best to bet and strategize your play either Pre- Flop or just after it. Do not set this suggestion in stone, but keep it in mind.

If you want to make a move Pre-Flop, you would need two strong hole cards in your hand to do so, and this calls for every player in Poker to be disciplined in their play. So, if you are sitting at a table and are handed mediocre hole cards, do not shy away from getting rid of them, save yourself a few chips and use to time to observe the action on the table.

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Evaluate The Situation On The Flop Before Deciding

Poker Texas Holdem Flop, River, Turn are the pinnacle aspects of every game. What should you do as a player when the Flop community cards are revealed? The first thing that any player should do is evaluate well all the possible combinations that can be formed by using their two-hole cards and the three Flop cards that are now face up on the table. To do this there are a few questions that a player would need to ask themselves at this point. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Here players need to make two evaluations, self-evaluation on one’s own hand, how strong is my hand? Do I have a pair in hand? Am I holding two pairs, a three of a kind, do I have a straight? The list goes on. Players might want to also be cautious and not be passive if they have a draw. This means that they could be drawing towards a straight or a flush when the next card comes out.

In addition to this, there is the evaluation of your opponents too and some other factors to considers, such as, but not limited to:

  • What is the size of your chip stack compared to your opponent’s?
  • What is your position on the table to act? It is always best to be seated in late positions on the table.
  • Make sure to try to understand exactly what is going on in the round, evaluate the Flop cards well and see if you can suss out in any way how those cards might have helped your opponents, and obviously you will get some help in most cases by the size of the bets they will be placing.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, isn’t this a lot of work just to decide on whether I should play a hand or not? But it is not, if you want to play wisely make sure to cover all the above-mentioned points and keep them well embedded in your strategy. In general, after the Flop you will start to see the pot getting bigger and this is where you need to be very cautious on how deep you want to step into a pot, because making the wrong calls can lose you a lot of money.

Make sure that if you are going to progress post Flop, that you have a good winning percentage or that at least the money you are laying down is not a threat to your game in the case that things don’t go your way.

Here is a small example of how things can go wrong when you really thought you were walking on gold. You are sitting at the table with an AJ in hand, and the three Flop cards are revealed: A,10, 8. You’ll be thinking to yourself you have the highest pair and go crazy with the bets. You then realise that another player is betting heavily but assume he must be bluffing, so you continue to call his ‘bluff’, only to find out when the round is over that he has an AK in his hand and he has beaten you with the kicker. So, the moral of the story is to always assume the worst, better to be safe than sorry.

Strategical Thinking On The Turn

When you get to the Turn point in a game, it should be more of a thinking point at that stage. This is a part of the game when things are a bit more complicated that the Flop stage.  When you are at Flop stage, you can always try to win the pot by placing a c-bet, a bet placed purely out of bluff to try and scare off your opponents. However, if you are called, then you need to think carefully on the Turn because by now the size of the pot would be significantly bigger, so it would be time to start making comparisons on the sizes of your stack and that of your opponent. Who is going to walk the extra mile? And don’t forget to keep in mind what might happen on the River next!

Keeping The Basics In Mind – Hand Rankings In Texas Holdem

We have gone through many factors revolving around Poker Texas Holdem Flop, River, Turn in this article but we also need to say a few words about Poker hand rankings which is a ranking table that you should study well as it is referred to in many different variants of the Poker game.

Let’s have a look at them:

Hand Type Explanation
Royal Flush This is a straight of the same suit running from 10 through
to the Ace.
Straight Flush This is a straight made up of cards, all of the same suit.
Four of a Kind This is made up from four cards of the same rank however if
this hand is ‘on the board’, meaning shared between two
players, it will then be the fifth card that decides the
winner. This card is also known as the kicker.
Full House A hand that consists of any three cards of the same rank
and an additional two cards of the same rank.
Flush This consists of any five cards bearing the same suit,
however, the cards do not have to run consecutively. If
there is another player holding a flush, then it will be
the highest card in each of the five card hands that
determines the rank of the flush, hence the winner.
Straight This hand consists of any five cards, in sequence of
different suits. In this hand the Aces can either count as
a low card, or even a high card.
Three of a Kind This hand consists of any three cards of the same rank. The
best possible three of a kind in Poker would be Three Aces
and a King & Queen as side cards.
Two Pair This hand consists of any two cards with the same rank, and
another two cards with the same rank.
One Pair A hand that consists of any two cards with the same rank.
High Card When there are two players who have no winning hand, the
round is determined by the player who holds the highest
value card in his hand.

Poker Texas Holdem Flop River Turn – FAQ

What is Flop and River in Poker?

The Flop is when the first three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table, and the River is the fifth and final community card to be dealt in a round of Poker.

Why do they call it the River in Poker?

In the 1800s Poker was played on the Riverboats in Mississippi and often cheaters used to purposely deal a final community card in their favour to win them the game. When sometimes they were caught, they were thrown into the river, hence the name ‘River’ card.

What should you not do in Poker?

One thing you shouldn’t do in Poker is participate in every hand.

How do you win at Poker?

To win at Poker you need to understand a very basic strategy which is that of knowing which hands beat other hands.

Is Poker a skill or luck?

This is very subjective but most players think that Poker is a game of skill when calculated on in the long run. In saying that, some players simply get lucky in the short term, some of them not even very sure about how they actually managed to win. A professional on the other hand would stress on the fact that winning eventually can only happen by consistently making mathematically calculated decisions.

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