Like all games of gambling, Texas Hold’em, of course, is a money game!! So, betting is part and parcel, and knowing when & how to bet and when to give up is an art that one inculcates through practice. Most of the art has got to do with your reading of your opponents’ mind. Whether your private cards are stronger than theirs? Is a question that every player wrestles with, whether it’s a one-dollar at stake, or seven point five million dollars at stake. In case you happen to have psychic powers, or you can read people’s minds like you can read an open book, so much the better!

A typical Texas Hold’em poker game involves four betting rounds. Each betting round sees the size of the pot grow, and the number of players reduce. Each betting round requires a player to either “bet”, “call”, “raise”, “fold” or simply “check”. We shall take a look at these terms as we proceed further.

A normal sequence for betting in the game is as follows:

1. One of the players, and by rule it’s the person sitting to the left of the Dealer, places a small blind. This is followed by the player positioned to their left, who places the big blind. What are these “blinds”? These two players put money from their pocket in the pot before them, as their portion of the stake. They do so “blindly”, even before the first two cards have been dealt. A “small” blind is an amount that is half of the minimum bet decided between the players. A “big” blind is equal to the minimum bet.
2. Now, the dealer deals every player on the table two cards face down. These are the “hole” or “pocket” cards, which each player gets to see only for themselves, and which remain hidden from the rest till the very end.
3. The first betting round commences with the player sitting to the left of the one who has posted the big blind. This player, and the others in sequence, has three options before them. Either they call (match the big blind), or raise (put in money more than the predecessor player), or fold (say that they are unable to match the amount being bet, and withdraw). Nobody has the option to check (simply abstain from putting any money, and still remain in the game). The first round therefore sees two outcomes as a result of betting – one, the money in the pot grows, and two, the number of players is possibly reduced.
4. Now, the dealer deals three cards face up in the middle of the table. Called “community” or “board” cards, every player judges their relative strength vis-à-vis the others by combining the community cards and their pocket cards.
5. The second betting round commences. Betting can be done in amounts equal to the lower limit. All the players have the option to check (i.e., not bet at all), till somebody in the sequence makes a bet. Once somebody posts a bet, however, then there is no escape. You have to call, raise or fold.
6. Now the dealer deals one more community card, with its face up.
7. A third betting round begins now. Betting this time can be done in amounts equal to the higher betting limit. As in the previous round, all players have the option to check, till somebody decides to add money to the pot and disturb the status quo. The pot of money grows yet again, and the number of players shrinks yet again.
8. Now the dealer deals the last community card. There are in all five community cards lying on the table at this moment.
9. The fourth and final betting round proceeds. The rules are the same as for the earlier two rounds. At the end of fourth betting, there is just one player left, the player wins the pot. However, if there are at least two players still in the reckoning and going strong, then it becomes interesting! The players are asked to show their hand individually. The last player to have initiated a bet or a raise gets the honor of being asked to show first. A player may do this by using both their pocket cards and any three community cards, or using only one pocket card and any four community cards, or discarding the pocket cards and using only the five community cards.

The betting structure in Texas Hold'em is such that up to only four bets can be posted in any betting round. A player can either bet, or raise, or re-raise, or cap it out. The ‘Cap’ is the third and the final raise, and once a betting round is capped, there are only two options available – either to call (match the cap), or fold. Of course, there are variants in Texas Hold’em where the number of bets can go up to five per round. Then there are those where caps do not exist. Such Texas Hold’em games are called “One on One” or “Heads up” games.

What we have described above is the staid, narrow-road-of-betting style. The one where you keep an eye on the bank account, the grocer’s bill, the utilities to be paid, children’s education – you understand the drift. There is another, wild side to Texas Hold’em. And this is the No Limit Texas Hold’em. You know, the one where Chris Moneymaker won his $2.5 million, and Joe Hachem took back his $7.5 million to Australia. Here, there are simply no upper limits to the size of the bet – it is simply “No Limit”! You can raise by all the chips you have available with you, or be raised by all the chips your opponent has. Scary isn’t it? He he he, but that is where the real moolah lies. If you don’t believe it, ask Chris and Hachem, they will tell you …