Online Poker » Dealers Choice Games » Double Texas Hold Em

Texas Hold em's popularity has grown hugely in recent years. The World Series of Poker and Internet poker have made Texas Holdem the most prominent poker game played today. Many variations on traditional Texas Holdem have arisen. One of these variations is known as Double Texas Holdem. Though much like Texas Holdem, Double Texas Holdem changes what community cards are available by introducing a third hole card.

How Double Texas Holdem is Played

Double Texas Hold em begins with players putting up an ante. The amount of this ante will be established by the specific game you're playing. In some cases, games of Double Texas Hold em also incorporate blinds. There are two types of blinds: small and large. The large blind is equal to the sum of each player's ante. The small blind is equal to one half the large blind. Usually, small blinds are paid by the player to the left of the dealer and large blinds are paid by the player at the left of the small blind.

In Double Texas Hold em, each player is dealt three hole cards. These cards are face down and are allowed to be seen by the owning player only. This is followed by a betting round. In cases where there is no blind, the player immediately to the left of the dealer begins betting. In cases where there is a blind, the player to the left of the player that paid the large blind begins betting. At this point, players may choose to raise, fold or call.

Once the first betting round is complete, the flop is dealt. The flop consists of three cards being dealt face up that are accessible to each player. The flops in Texas Hold em and Double Texas Holdem are identical. However, in Double Texas Holdem, the flop is followed by each player picking one of their three hole cards to be a community card. At this point, every player can use the three flop cards as well as one card from each player to make their five card hand.

This is followed by another betting round. Then, the dealer lays down the turn card. The turn card gets placed with the flop, and is also available for every player to use. After the turn is another betting round, followed by the river. The river is the final community card and is placed next to the turn. The river is followed by a final betting round then a showdown.

The major difference between Texas Hold em and Double Texas Hold em is in the number of community cards. In Texas Hold em, there are 5 community cards total. In Double Texas Holde m, there are five community cards plus one community card from each player. This gives you more to work with and makes it more likely you'll get a good hand. Furthermore, Double Texas Holdem introduces additional strategy because you can choose which of your three initial hole cards to make a community card.