The rules of Texas Holdem are fairly simple to learn. Some of them cover contingencies that you wont normally find in a local game, and often the house may decide to overlook these. One such rule is that the Blinds must be raised at regular intervals, every so many minutes or hands. This interval is one of the things the host can determine to suit the number of players and size of game they are hosting. Generally the more intimate the group, between good friends or regular gatherings, the rules have been modified for their style and are agreed upon in advance. Its not a bad idea to keep a rules manual on hand, though. Sometimes this is enough to stop a hard feeling building into a grudge among friends.

The basic rules of Texas Holdem, of course, cover the order of superiority in the hands, or as I like to call it, what beats what. This is for the most part standard in Poker, but can get confusing when youre holding a live hand. For that reason, its always a good idea to understand the odds in drawing a poker hand, as that logic will also determine the degree of difficulty in getting a particular hand. Its as simple as understanding that its a lot harder to get four 3s than to get three of them. For that reason, naturally, four-of-a-kind will beat three-of-a-kind at any table.

If learning the rules of Texas Hold Em seems like too much of a homework assignment for you, why not learn by playing a video game? One of my favorites is the Sony Playstation Personal version of Texas Hold Em. Its animated and has the players even speaking, simulating a live game fairly well. You can skip forward through the players hands, bringing the game continually back to yourself. A small line of text will prompt you as to what youre next expected to do and you can set the level of difficulty for play to your preferred setting. The game and device are available from most discount retailers, electronic stores and of course, on the Internet.

Its always the paramount rule of the game not to cheat. This includes, yes, peeking at the other players cards. Novices particularly are bad to lift their hole cards too high and at a round table it very easy to glance over. Of course, seeing even one card shifts the odds in your favor, but its also the fastest way to get yourself booted from a game, with your chips still on the table. Cheating is never the way to go and really does take away from the fun of playing if you think about it.

Do you know the rules of Texas Holdem?