Playing Texas Holdem online might even be the easiest way to get comfortable with the rules of Texas Hold’em as you can play hands at a much faster pace. You can choose to play for real money, of course, or you can start playing the free Texas Holdem games offered at every site. When playing Texas Holdem poker, every player is dealt two cards face down – these are called your 'hole cards'. Then there is a round of betting where you can Check, Bet or Fold. This stage of the game is known as pre-flop and what you should do is dependent on those hole cards, or starting hand.

In hold'em, players receive two down cards as their personal hand (holecards), after which there is a round of betting. Three board cards are turned simultaneously (called the flop) and another round of betting occurs. The next two board cards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. The board cards are community cards, and a player can use any five-card combination from among the board and personal cards. A player can even use all of the board cards and no personal cards to form a hand ('play the board'). A dealer button is used. The usual structure is to use two blinds, but it is possible to play the game with one blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.
Rounds of Betting

• Opening deal- Each player is dealt two cards face down, which are known as hole cards or pocket cards.


• First round of betting- Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The big blind has the option to raise an otherwise unraised pot.
• The flop- The dealer burns a card, and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards are referred to as the flop, while all of the community cards are collectively called the board.


• Second round of betting- Starting with the player to the left of the dealer button, each player can check or bet. Once a bet has been made, each player can raise, call, or fold.
• The turn- The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as the turn card, or fourth street.
The Turn



• Third round of betting- It follows the same format as the second round, but the size of the bets have usually doubled in limit games.
• The river- The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fifth and final card to the community cards. This fifth card is known as the river card, or fifth street.
Flop

The River



• Final round of betting- It follows the same format as the second and third rounds.
• The showdown- Using the best five-card combination of their hole cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. (In case of a tie, the pot is evenly split among the winning hands.)

Other Texas Hold'em Poker Rules

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These rules deal only with irregularities. SeeButton and Blinduse for rules on that subject.

• If the first or second hole card dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer retrieves the card, reshuffles, and recuts the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card can not be kept. After completing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one hole card is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.
• If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it is possible to know which card is the extra one.)
• If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the board cards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burn card remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.
  See Explanations,discussion #2, for more information on this rule.
  
• If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card's place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.
  See Explanations,discussion #2, for more information on this rule.
  
• If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card is returned to the deck and used for the burn card. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.
• If you are playing the board, you must so declare before you throw your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.

Texas Hold’em is a popular poker game played against other players. During the game, there will be seven cards in play, including two private hole cards and five board cards laid across the middle of the poker table. The player with the strongest five-card hand will win the game.

How to Play Texas Hold’Em Poker

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To begin playing Texas Hold’em, each player receives two private hole cards as their initial starting hand. After seeing their cards, a player can do one of three things: fold (a player drops out of the hand), call (match the highest bet so far) or raise (increase the previous high bet).

Next, the dealer will draw three board cards simultaneously, this is called the flop. Once revealed, the players will compare these cards with their starting hand and a second betting round occurs.

After this, the fourth board card is turned down called “The Turn.” Then another round of betting occurs.

Finally, the final fifth board card is turned down called “The River.” The players will once again bet on this final betting round.

Keep in mind, board cards are community cards, and a player may use any five-card combination from both the board and their personal cards. Additionally, a player may even use only board cards and no personal cards, which is called “playing the board.”

Betting in Texas Hold’em Poker

On the poker table, there is a dealer button and everyone takes their turn to be the dealer. The dealer button will move counterclockwise after every hand to the next player.

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To the left of the dealer, is the “small blind” or the player that starts the betting off in every poker hand.

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Players who sit in consecutive clockwise order from the button post a blind bet. Betting action is initiated on the first betting round by the player on the immediate left of the person who posted the big blind.

On all subsequent betting rounds, the betting action is begun by the first active player clockwise from the button.

A bet and three raises are allowed in all limits below 15-30. In 15-30 and above a bet and four raises are allowed.

There is no limit on raises with only two players remaining. Any strange money on that round limits the raises.

In a game which requires a player who wins two consecutive pots to kill the next pot, a marker called a “kill button” indicates which player has won the previous pot. The winner keeps this marker until the poker hand is completed.

If the player who has the kill button wins a second consecutive pot and it qualifies momentarily, that player must kill the next pot. There is no pot-sized requirement for the first pot or “leg” of a kill. For the second “leg” to qualify for a kill, the player must win at least 5x the big blind and there must be a flop.

“No Limit” Texas Hold’Em Poker

“No Limit” means that the amount wagered is limited only by table stakes rules, so any part or all of a player’s chips may be wagered. With No Limit Texas Hold’em:

• All bets must be at least equal to the big blind, unless a player is going all-in.
• All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise on that betting round, except for an all-in wager.
• When raising, a player must either put the amount of the raise out in one motion, or state the raise amount.
• The number of raises in any betting round is unlimited.

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