TBS Texas Hold Em

Game Description: Texas Hold Em is a poker game. In TBS Texas Hold Em you play against 1-4 imaginary computer opponents.

How to Start the Game:

• Type your name in the box. Then, click 'OK'. (You are the only person who can see your name. Unless, of course, someone is standing behind you looking over your shoulder, lol. Even so, if you don't want to give your name, just click 'OK').
• Next, click the 'Play' button.
• Select how many imaginary players you want to compete against, from 1-4.
• Select your difficulty, either 'Easy' or 'Hard'. (Selecting 'Hard' will presumably bring you tougher opponents).
• After selecting the number of opponents and your difficulity, click the 'Play' button to begin the game.

The Object of Texas Hold Em:

• The object of Texas Hold Em is to win everyone else's money.
• The game ends when you run out of money, or when all of the other players run out of money.
• If you run out of money, the game ends, and you lose.
• If everyone else runs out of money, the game ends, and you win!

How to Play Texas Hold Em: Here is what happens in every hand of Texas Hold Em:

• First every player puts a little money in the pot, called the 'ante'.
• Then every player is dealt two cards apiece. These are the 'hole' cards, which remain face down. (You can see your own cards, but not the other players' cards.)
• There is a round of betting. The first two bets in this round are forced bets, called 'blinds'.
• Then comes the 'flop': three cards are dealt face-up. These cards are 'board' cards, held in common by all the players.
• After the flop there is a second round of betting.
• Then comes the 'turn': one more board card is dealt face-up.
• After the turn there is a third round of betting.
• Then there's the 'river': a fifth card is dealt face-up. This is the last card of the hand.
• After the river there is a final round of betting.
• When all the betting is over, it's time for the 'showdown', when the players all show their hole cards.
• The money in the pot goes to the player with the highest hand.
• Each player's hand is made from the best possible combination of five cards chosen from his seven available cards (his two hole cards and the five board cards).

Play Texas Hold Em on Full Screen
Please Note: Before playing Texas Hold Em in Full Screen mode, you may want to take a moment, or two, to read my review. Then, after playing your game, simply click the back button on your browser to return to this page.


Ranks and Suits:

• Texas Hold Em is played with a standard deck of 52 cards.
• Every card has a 'rank' and a 'suit'.
• The thirteen ranks are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Ace is the highest rank in poker.
• The four suits are Spades, Diamonds, Clubs, and Hearts.
• In poker, no suit is worth more than any other suit. (For instance, the 10 of Hearts is worth exactly the same as the 10 of Spades). But suits are important because certain hands called 'flushes' can only be made if you have five cards of the same suit.

Poker Hands:

• A 'hand' in poker is a set of five cards. No more, no less. (This might confuse you at first, because in Texas Hold Em you get seven cards - two that you hold, and five more that are common to all players. But your hand is still made up of only five cards, not seven).
• During the 'showdown' when the players compare their hands, TBS Texas Hold Em will automatically determine the very best five-card hand that can be made from among your seven available cards.

Kinds of Hands in Poker: Certain combinations of cards are worth more than others. These are the kinds of hands you can make in poker, listed from highest value to lowest.

• Royal Flush -- A Royal Flush is a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit. It beats all other hands.
• Straight Flush -- A Straight Flush is five sequential cards of the same suit. (To make a Straight Flush, you may count an Ace as 'low', or the rank below 2).
• Four of a Kind -- A Four of a Kind is a hand containing four cards of the same rank, plus one extra card. (The extra card is called a 'kicker', and its only use is to break ties. For example, a player with four 9's and a King beats a player with four 9's and a Jack).
• Full House -- A Full House is three cards of the same rank, plus two cards of the same rank. (For example, a player that has three 7's and two Queens would have a full house).
• Flush -- A Flush is five cards of the same suit.
• Straight -- A Straight is five sequential cards. An example of a straight would be a hand consisting of an 8, 9, 10, Jack, and Queen of any suit. (To make a Straight, you may count an Ace as 'high', the rank above King, or 'low', the rank below 2).
• Three of a Kind -- A Three of a Kind is three cards of the same rank, plus two 'kickers'.
• Two Pair -- Two Pair is two cards of the same rank, plus another two cards of the same rank, plus one 'kicker'.
• Pair -- A Pair is two cards of the same rank, plus three 'kickers'.
• High Card -- A High Card is a polite way of saying 'nothing'. For example, a player whose hand doesn't meet the standards of any of the kinds of hands listed above, and whose highest card is a 9, is said to have a '9 High'.

The Bets in Texas Hold Em:

• Ante -- The 'ante' is a small bet paid by all players equally every hand, before any cards are dealt.
• Bet (opening bet) -- You can open the betting if no other player has placed a bet yet in that round. Any amount you bet must be matched by the other players, if they want to stay in the hand.
• Check -- If no players have opened the betting, and you don't want to bet either, then you can 'check'. It just means you've decided not to bet.
• Call -- If someone has already opened the betting, you have to match his bet to stay in the hand. 'Call' means you are betting exactly what you have to bet to stay in the hand.
• Fold -- If you don't want to call, you can 'fold'. If you fold, you are no longer in the hand, and you won't get any of the money in the pot, no matter how good your hand was. (If every player except one folds, the hand ends prematurely. No more cards are dealt, there is no showdown, and the last remaining player collects the money in the pot).
• Raise -- A 'raise' is like a call, plus a bet. It means you are betting more than you have to bet to stay in the hand, and the other players must now match your extra bet.
• Blind -- A 'blind' is a forced bet posted by the first two players in the first round of betting. The first player to the dealer's left posts the 'small blind', and the next player to the left posts the 'big blind'. The other players must call these bets to stay in.
• All In -- Betting 'all in' means you are betting every dollar you have on this hand! If any player bets all in, all the other players must then also bet all in, or fold. (You may notice that sometimes a player who bets all in, then loses the hand, still gets some money back. This is because when players with different-sized banks go all in, they actually create separate pots with different sets of players competing for each pot. It's all terribly complex, but TBS Texas Hold Em knows what it's doing.

Minimums:

• For every bet, there is a minimum amount. Periodically throughout the game, these minimum bets are raised to higher levels. You don't need to think about this too much because TBS Texas Hold Em simply won't let you place any illegal bets.

TBS Texas Hold Em Game Options:

• The music may be turned on or off by clicking the button at the lower left corner.

TBS Texas Hold Em Playing Tips:

• Don't worry if you don't understand all of the betting and the terminology. Just start playing. You can easily pick it up as you go along.
• Bluffing can be good strategy! Many times, if you don't have a good hand but place a large bet this can scare everyone else into folding and you win the pot! Of course, there is certainly a risk in bluffing too often.

Richard's Rating: 3 out of 5.

Comments: TBS Texas Hold Em is certainly a lively version of the popular poker game of Texas Hold Em. If, like me, you have never played Texas Hold Em before, it is an easy way to learn the game. Now, when I see it on late night TV, maybe I will actually know what they are talking about!

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