Texas hold 'em
A poker variant where players use hole cards and community cards.
Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is a popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages. The game is divided into a series of hands; at the conclusion of each hand, the pot is typically awarded to one player, though a split pot can occur in case of a tie.
- type
- Card game variant
- origin
- Robstown, Texas, early 20th century
- key_early_players
- Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim
- main_event_of_wsop
- No-limit Texas hold 'em since 1970
Lore & Background
Although little is known about the invention of Texas hold 'em, the Texas Legislature officially recognizes Robstown, Texas, as the game's birthplace, dating it to the early 20th century. The game became popular and quickly spread to the Golden Nugget, Stardust and Dunes. This is when 'ace high' was changed from the original form in which aces were low.
Reader's Guide
Texas hold 'em's significance lies in its transformation from a regional Texas game to the dominant poker variant worldwide. Its popularity surged in the 2000s due to exposure on television, the Internet, and popular literature. The no-limit betting form is used in the widely televised main event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the World Poker Tour (WPT). The game's simplicity and strategic depth have inspired a wide variety of strategy books, most notably Doyle Brunson's Super/System, which revolutionized poker strategy. Texas hold 'em replaced seven-card stud as the most common game in U.S. casinos during this period.
Did You Know?
- The Texas Legislature officially recognizes Robstown, Texas, as the game's birthplace, dating it to the early 20th century.
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