Hot on the heels of Split Hold'em we are launching Showtime Hold'em - another new cash game format designed to get players questioning their strategy and thinking outside of the box.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, we are focused on developing exciting twists on classic games that we think have the potential to both engage current poker players and bring back those who may have drifted away from the game as it became predictable or stale for them.

Download PokerStars Poker - Texas Holdem & Omaha Free Poker Games - NET for iOS to pokerStars is the worlds largest poker site. Come play free poker with us today on our play money poker app. Become a Poker Champion. Get tips and poker strategies from the game’s best players. 1,000s of free games and tournaments - take part in daily free tournaments, Sit & Go’s and ring games in a variety of formats and hone your skills. Holdem Holdings, LLC is a Washington Foreign Limited-Liability Company filed on November 1, 2010. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is 603060768. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Jerome F Eline II and is located at 1010 Esther St, Vancouver, WA 98660. The company has 2 principals on record. Holdem Holdings LLC H. Holdem Holdings LLC. Since 2011 the company has been providing Holding Companies, Nec. VERIFIED Status: UNVERIFIED.

Showtime Hold'em will be extremely easy to grasp for anybody familiar with No Limit Hold'em. It is, in fact, the same game with one small but significant change. When you fold, your cards are shown face up to your opponents and will remain that way for the rest of the hand!

Will conservative players be forced to loosen up to avoid being labelled as nits? Will aggressive players still be able to represent strong hands with multiple cards exposed? Will you keep bluffing the opponent folding big hands... until they catch on?

Holdem Holdings Ltd Stock

Testing the game internally was a lot of fun and I'm confident that Showtime Hold'em will provide loads of exciting moments as new dynamics emerge and players learn to play with more and more information as a hand develops. As with Split Hold'em, this game will not be a permanent addition to the PokerStars offering so play while you can!

We will continue to use the Seat Me system which means that when taking your seat at a Showtime Hold'em table, instead of manually choosing a table and a seat, you simply choose the stake that you want to play. For more information on Seat Me please see this previous blog post.

Dan Price, Ring Games Manager

The two players to the left of the dealer must post these compulsory “blinds” – so called because they are placed before anyone even sees their cards. The player on the dealer’s immediate left posts the “small blind” and the player one further seat round the table posts the “big blind”, which is usually twice the size of the small.

In the illustration, the dealer is in seat five with the button in front of him. The two seats to his left are “in the blinds”.

After every hand is complete, the dealer button moves clockwise one position around the table, which means that players take turns to be the dealer, the small blind and the big blind.

After the blinds have been posted, all players are dealt two cards face down. These are known as “hole” cards, and can only be seen and used by one player. By the end of the hand, five more “community” cards may have been dealt, face up in the middle of the table, which are available for all players to use.

The first three of the community cards are exposed together (known as the “flop”), then a fourth card (known as the “turn”) is dealt individually, and then a fifth (known as the “river”) is exposed. A betting round separates each deal.

The aim of poker is to make the best five-card hand out of the seven available – two in an individual’s hand and the five community cards.

The Four Betting Rounds

If a hand of poker is played all the way to its conclusion, there will be four betting rounds – or four periods during which players can commit their chips to the pot. A player can also “fold” their cards and leave the action at any time (see below).

A betting round must be concluded satisfactorily before the remaining players see more cards and another betting round begins.

Pre-Flop – The First Round of Betting

The first betting round takes place before the first three community cards (the “flop”) are dealt. This action is described as “pre-flop” and at this stage players are wagering based solely on the strength of their two concealed “hole” cards.

The player sitting to the left of the big blind acts first – a position known as “under the gun”. Players then act in turn, moving clockwise around the table.

Hold Em Holding Limited

You have the following options when it is your turn to act:

• Fold: This means that you no longer want to play the hand, and are throwing your cards away. You no longer have any claim to the money in the pot, even if you paid one of the blinds.
• Call: This means that you want to play the hand by matching the size of the current bet. Pre-flop, this will be at least the size of the big blind, and may be greater if any other player has raised.
• Raise: This means that you want to raise the size of the current bet. If nobody before you has made a raise, you can make a raise yourself.
• If you are sitting in the big blind and no else has raised before you, you have the option to check. This means that you do not wish to commit any more chips to the pot. You can only check pre-flop if you are in the big blind and no one else raised.