As a young college professor, I was a regular in a (nickel, dime, quarter) poker team. In our house rules, the dealer called the game (the type of poker to be played). Most common was 5 card stud; 5 card draw; 7 card high/low; and Texas Hold ‘em.
I seem to remember one hand of Texas Hold’em when I was dealt two Queens in the hole followed by a Queen being dealt at The Flop and a Queen being dealt at The River. Looking at 4 Queens, I called All-In. At that point, I knew that only 4 hands could beat me: a Royal Flush; a Straight Flush; Four-of-a-Kind Aces; and Four-of-a-Kind Kings. Did I win?
A Royal Flush
A Straight Flush
Four-of-a-Kind
Texas hold ‘Em
In a game of Texas hold'em, each player is dealt two cards face down (the 'hole cards')
Over several betting rounds, five more cards are (eventually) dealt face up in the middle of the table
These face-up cards are called the 'community cards.' Each player is free to use the community cards in combination with their hole cards to build a five-card poker hand.
While we will see each betting round and different phase that forms a full hand of a Texas hold'em game, you should know that the five community cards are dealt in three stages:
The Flop: the first three community cards.
The Turn: the fourth community card.
The River:The fifth and final community card.
Your mission is to construct your five-card poker hands using the best available five cards out of the seven total cards (your two hole cards and the five community cards).
You can do that by using both your hole cards in combination with three community cards, one hole card in combination with four community cards, or no hole cards.
If the cards on the table lead to a better combination, you can also play all five community cards and forget about yours.
In a game of Texas hold'em you can do whatever works to make the best five-card hand.
If the betting causes all but one player to fold, the lone remaining player wins the pot without having to show any cards.
For that reason, players don't always have to hold the best hand to win the pot. It's always possible a player can 'bluff' and get others to fold better hands.
If two or more players make it all of the way to the showdown after the last community card is dealt and all betting is complete, the only way to win the pot is to have the highest-ranking five-card poker hand.
But if you are a Country Music lover, you are aware of two other Queens.
Dolly Parton recently welcomed Beyoncé into the genre of Country Music:
The country legend took to social media with a note for Queen Bey about her new album.
“I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album,” Parton wrote. “So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single.” Texas Hold’Em.
“Ooh, one step to the right
We headin' to the dive bar we always thought was nice
Ooh, you run to the left
Just with me in the middle boy, I can't read your mind”
“Come pour some sugar on me, honey too
It’s a real-life boogie and a real-life hoedown”
Hold those two Queens in hand boys, and bet your life that the two community queens will hold up when the final hand is played!
CPW