Poker vs. Texas Hold’em: What’s the Difference Between Them?

All casino poker games enjoy some level of popularity. However, none of them can compete with poker.

This casino classic has the most extensive and globally widespread fan base. People center entire social gatherings around this game, organize numerous tournaments based on it, and travel great distances to get to it.

Still, plenty of gambling fans can’t answer the fundamental question — what’s the difference between poker and Texas Hold’em? If you’re one of them, stick around. This article will reveal all the details.

Is There a Difference Between Poker and Texas Hold’em?

The short answer is yes — there’s more than one difference between poker and Texas Hold’em. So, let’s start with the most obvious.

One glance at our answer here, and you’ll notice that poker’s spelled in lowercase letters, while Texas Hold’em has uppercase capitals. Therein lies the foundation for all discrepancies between these two concepts.

Poker is an umbrella term, meaning it used to represent a single game when it originated. However, it has since developed and expanded to represent a category of games. Texas Hold’em is a poker variant, a single game that falls under the category of poker. Its rules and gameplay structure are more specific.

Let’s place these terms into context to explain them better. Imagine someone has asked you to play poker. You wouldn’t be able to start the game without determining what kind of poker they want to play. You wouldn’t know how many cards you should deal, how you should bet, and more. On the other hand, if someone asked you to play Texas Hold’em, everything would be due to clear rules and gameplay.

Basic Rules

All poker games, including Texas Hold’em, share the same basic rules. That’s what makes them fall under the same category. For the sake of clarity, let’s review them here.

All poker variants include an ante. Ante (pronounced an-tee) is the bet players at the poker table have to make before the start of the game. The game usually determines the minimum amount an ante can be worth. Some variants require all players to put forth an ante, while others target only players sitting in specific positions at the table.

Betting rounds are another aspect that all poker variants feature. They represent turns when each player gets a chance to act. They can call, raise, or fold. The available options at any moment in the game may also differ depending on the specific variant you’re playing.

Poker players decide on their next move based on their hands. That brings us to poker hand rankings. All famous poker versions use the same poker hand ranking system. From highest to lowest, poker hands include Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High Card.

The last basic poker rule has to do with this game’s structure. Poker requires at least two players to work. No poker game out there can be played by a single player. There are always multiple players facing one another. The actual number of players depends on the variant.

Gameplay

Poker games offer different gameplays depending on the type of game. Texas Hold’em is part of community card poker games, one of the players’ favorites. This group also includes Omaha, Pineapple and Courchevel.

In community card games, players receive a fixed number of hole cards that are only theirs to use. The dealer also places several cards at the center of the table throughout the game. These cards are called community cards, and all players at the table can use them in combination with their cards to make hands.

Community card poker games differ in the number of cards the players receive, the number and order of community cards placed on the table, and how both card groups can be used.

In Texas Hold’em, all players receive two hole cards and then bet in the first round, called Pre-Flop. The dealer places the first community card, the Flop, on the table, and the players proceed to bet again. This process repeats two more times as two more community cards — Turn and River — are dealt. If there are players still in the game after the betting round after River, the outcome is decided in the Showdown. In this phase, all remaining players must show and compare their cards to determine the winner.

As mentioned, community card poker games are only one subcategory of his casino classic. You can also play Draw and Stud Poker. Draw Poker games don’t include any community cards. In these poker variants, players receive all their cards before the first betting round and can trade them in for new ones from the deck. Draw poker variations include Five-Card Draw, Seven-Card Draw, and Double Draw, which differ in the number of cards and draws they allow during the gameplay.

Stud poker doesn’t use community cards or allow players to draw cards like the previously-described versions. Instead, it deals players with a fixed number of hole and face-up cards throughout the game and lets them bet after each deal. Stud poker includes Seven-Card Stud, Five-Card Stud, Razz and Mississippi Stud.

Betting Structure

Poker games come with three betting structures — no-limit, pot-limit, and fixed-limit. No-limit (NL) doesn’t restrict the amount of chips players can bet or raise in the game. Pot-limit (PL) requires players to make no bet or raise bigger than the amount in the pot when the bet/raise occurs. Fixed-limit poker is a game where bet and raise amounts are fixed in all rounds. This betting structure usually features two bet sizes — a small and a big bet.

Poker variations can feature any of these betting structures but most commonly use one more than the others. Most Texas Hold’em games have a no-limit structure. The minimum bet size in this type of game is equal to the size of the big blind. The maximum bet is equal to the worth of all your chips and is called the all-in bet. Once all the bets have been made, the minimum you can raise is the size of your last bet, and the maximum you can raise is your entire chip stack.

Hold’em’s no-limit betting structure is one of the main reasons this variation is so popular on the gambling scene. It opens doors to plenty of possibilities and makes the game more unpredictable and exciting.

Complexity

Poker is one of the most demanding casino games because it’s more than a game of chance. Even at the beginner level, players must have a certain skill level and knowledge to play it. But is Texas Hold’em more complex than other variants of this game?

Not really. Most players don’t consider Texas Hold’em to be the hardest poker variation available out there. Another popular community card poker game, Omaha, is known for being more challenging. The game is played with four hole cards, which significantly increases the number of possible combinations. Things get even more complicated when community cards are added to this mix. It’s much harder to develop a viable strategy in these circumstances.

Texas Hold’em plays with two hole cards and doesn’t feature complicated rules, so most people shouldn’t have trouble learning to play it. Still, that doesn’t mean mastering this game will be easy. The game has intricacies, and its no-limit betting structure only accentuates them. It takes a lot of time, practice, and effort to reach a decent level of skill at Hold’em.

Conclusion

Poker and Texas Hold’em aren’t the same thing. Poker is a casino game category, while Texas Hold’em is a popular variant that belongs to that category. Hold’em shares the basic rules with all other poker games but differs from them in gameplay, betting structure, and complexity. Each has pros and cons depending on one’s player’s preferences and tastes. The best way to find one that works for you is to play these games yourself.