How to play Texas Hold'em

There are two face down cards for each player and five face up community cards.  The player who makes the best five card poker hand with any combination of their two face down cards and the five community cards wins the hand.  There are no antes in Texas Holdem; instead, forced wagers called blinds are used.  Before the cards are dealt, the person to the left of the dealer posts a wager called the small blind, which is usually equal to half of the minimum wager.  The person to the left of the small blind posts the big blind, which is equal to the minimum wager.  The dealer deals two clockwise rounds giving each player a single card down during each round (known as hole cards).  (Notice that the big blind and the small blind do not get to look at their cards before wagering, thus the term “blind”).  Wagering begins with the first player to the left of the big blind.  Each player may call (equal the wager that has been placed), Raise (increase the original wager) or Fold (remove themselves from the hand).  If any one raises, each person thereafter, will have the same opportunity to Fold, Call, or Raise.

            After the first round of wagering is over, the Flop (the first three cards of the community) is dealt.  The community cards are common to all the players participating in the hand.  These cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table.  Wagering will begin with the first player to the dealers left.  The player now has the option to Check (no Bet).  By checking, the player indicates interest in the pot without placing a Bet.  If any player Bets, each player clockwise may either Fold, Call, or Raise.  If anyone Raises a Bet, each person thereafter will have the same opportunity to Fold, Call, or Raise.

            After wagering is complete, the fourth community card is dealt face up to the center of the table, this is known as the Turn.  The third wagering round begins and proceeds as per the second round.  In limit games, the minimum bet doubles in the last two rounds of wagering.  After wagering is complete, the fifth community card is dealt face up to the center of the table, this is known as the River.  The fourth wagering round is as per the second and third rounds.  After the final round of wagering, its time for the Showdown.  This refers to the action of deciding the winner.  Five cards of the total of the hole and community cards are to be used for deciding the winning hand.  If any time during play no one calls a Bet, the Bettor wins and does not have to show his hand.

            There are three kinds of Holdem games.  In Limit Holdem games, Bets and Raises are set at a fixed amount.  Each round of betting is capped at a maximum number of raises.  In No Limit Holdem, the maximum Bet is determined by the number of chips you have in front of you.  Players can Bet and Raise by any amount, and at any time, a player can go “all-in” by pushing all their poker chips towards the center of the table.  Remaining players may Call this Bet but cannot Raise.  Pot Limit Holdem is similar to No Limit, except that the maximum Bet is determined by the number of chips currently in the pot.