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Installment #1:
TEXAS HOLD'EM IS the most popular poker game in the world. And for good reason—Hold'em is the fastest, most thrilling form of poker you can play. If you've wanted to get in on the action and excitement but were afraid you'd lose your shirt because you don't know how to play the game well enough, this 10-part series may be your ticket to the top.
Even the winners you see on televised tournament hold'em shows like the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker and the Ultimate Poker Challenge started as novices. And some of Hollywood's most famous actors, many of whom had never before played hold'em, regularly win money for their charities in Celebrity Poker TV tournaments. Actress Jennifer Tilly won the ladies no-limit hold'em championship at the World Series of Poker in 2005. Then there's Ben Affleck, a movie star who became a poker star when he won the California Championship of Poker and raked in a $300,000 paycheck for a day's play.
Even novice players with limited experience and some poker sense are winning money in online and casino hold'em games. Chris Moneymaker, an online player who had never before played no-limit hold'em in a casino, won the 2003 World Series of Poker for $2.5 million dollars.
If novices, celebrities, and newcomers can do it, so can you! Start out by studying your Texas Hold'em Super Pro Charts from Pokersmarts.com—they will give you invaluable information on the types of hands to play and their winning percentages. After getting this important foundation of knowledge down pat, follow up by reading Tom McEvoy's Tips (in a future installment), which were adapted from Beat Texas Hold'em a nifty beginner's book written by McEvoy and Shane Smith. When you have a little more experience, read Championship Hold'em by McEvoy and his writing partner T.J. Cloutier—and you'll be on your way to the winner's circle.
How Texas Hold'em is Played
Texas hold'em is played in two different formats. You can play it in cash games or tournament games. If you are playing in a cash game and lose all your money, you can buy more chips and continue playing. At the end of your playing session, there may be several players who win money. But if you lose all your money in a tournament, you cannot buy any more chips—it's adios, you're out of the game. At the end of the tournament, the last player in action is declared the winner. All of the hold'em games you see on television are tournament games.
Hold'em also is played with two different betting structures—limit and no-limit. In limit hold'em games, the amount of money you can bet at any one time is limited to a predetermined amount. But in no-limit hold'em, your bet is limited only by the amount of money you have in front of you—and you can bet it all at one time if you want to. Almost all of the televised hold'em tournaments are no-limit hold'em
The Deal
Each player is dealt two cards face down, beginning with the player sitting to the left of the button. The button is a small disc that indicates who the "dealer" is. It is used by the casino dealer so that he can keep track of who the dealer would be if players dealt the cards themselves, like you do in home games. At the start of every new deal, the casino dealer moves the button one seat to the left. When the button has traveled all the way around the table, one round of play has been completed. 
Next Month's Installment #2:
Posting the Blinds
The Four Betting Rounds
The Size of the Bets
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