Some players use the terms ‘poker’ and ‘Texas Hold ‘em’ interchangeably. This is largely necessitated by the fact that Texas Hold ‘em is the most popular poker game (variant). In this regard, we can often observe the question of whether Texas Hold’em is the same as poker. This article answers this question comprehensively looking at the similarities and differences between the two.
First things first, we want to explicitly state that Texas Hold ‘em isn’t the same as poker. Furthermore, though not totally wrong, it’s not current to interchange poker with Texas Hold ‘em. When one says poker, s/he is referring to the broad range of card games that are played by two or more players and whose game action is dependent upon the standard poker hand rankings. Poker has three main variations which are as follows:
- Community card games
- Stud poker games
- Draw poker games
In days gone by, stud poker and draw poker were the most popular poker games. The older generation that is, folks in the 50+ age group when they first learnt poker back in the day did so playing either stud and/or draw poker. However, in recent times, community card games have eclipsed the other two in terms of popularity. It is this modern variation of poker (community card games) that Texas Hold ‘em falls into.
Texas Hold ‘em is a specific game which falls in the community card games category. As such, we can note here that poker is the umbrella term while Texas Hold ‘em is just a branch.
Notable Differences between Poker and Texas Hold ‘em
Having noted that poker and Texas Hold ‘em aren’t the same things, let’s further explore the differences between the two to get a better understanding of what encompasses poker and what encompasses Texas Hold ‘em.
| Poker | Texas Hold ‘em |
| Umbrella term which refers to a broad group of card games which use more or less similar rules | This is a specific card game which comes with its distinct set of rules |
| Players during a gaming session receive a different number of cards depending on the variant they are playing | Players receive two-hole cards only and they complete creating their 5-card hand by using the community cards which are dealt during the betting rounds |
| As there are several variants which fall under poker, players will find that there are some variants which are hugely popular (at times end up being interchanged with the umbrella term, poker) and some that aren’t hugely popular | Texas Hold ‘em currently ranks as the most popular card game under poker and it’s the game which is played at prestigious poker tournaments such as the WSOP |
| When playing poker, the number of players that participate in the game differ depending on the variant being played | When it comes to Texas Hold ‘em, the highest number of players that can play the game at any time is nine |
Deciphering if a Poker Game is Texas Hold ‘em
When entering a casino lobby as a newbie, it can be a daunting task to decipher which among the poker games being played is Texas Hold ‘em. With the chips all laid out on the table, it may seem like all the games in play are similar. There are three main things however which can help you decipher which game is Texas Hold ‘em. These are as follows:
- NL: Most tables with the denotations are No Limit hence they are likely No Limit Texas Hold ‘em
- NLHE: All tables with the denotations are No Limit Hold ‘Em hence they are guaranteed Texas Hold ‘em games
- $2/$5 (Or any other monetary format like this): All tables with the denotations are Texas Hold ‘em as the $2 refers to the small blind and the $5 to the big blind.
