Texas Hold'em

Object: The best possible five card poker hand, using any combination of hole cards and community cards, wins the pot.

Betting Rounds:

• The dealer deals each player their own two cards face-down (pocket cards)
   
• 1st betting round
   
• The dealer burns a card then turns over three community cards face-up (this is called the flop)
   
• 2nd betting round
   
• The dealer burns another card then turns over 1 more community card (called the turn or "4th street")
   
• 3rd betting round
   
• The dealer burns another card then turns over 1 final community card (this is called the river or "5th street" )
   
• Last betting round
   
• Showdown (Every remaining player shows hand with bettor showing first)

All remaining players must use one of the following choices at the showdown:

1. Two pocket cards & three board cards
2. One pocket card & four board cards
3. No pocket cards & five board cards
   (called playing the board)

Rules for Betting

There are four betting rounds in Texas Hold'em.

Bets and raises on the first two betting rounds are set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. In a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $2 for the first two rounds.

Bets and raises on the last two betting rounds are set at the higher limit of the stakes structure. In a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $4 for the last two rounds.

Four bets per player during any particular round is the maximum. This would consist of (1) a bet, (2) a raise, (3) a re-raise, and (4) a cap. Once the pot is capped, players will have only the option of calling or folding. There is no limit on the amount of raises once the hand becomes heads-up.

Dealer Button

In Texas Hold'em a disk called the dealer-button is used to indicate the dealer of each hand.

The dealer button moves clockwise after a hand has been completed to the next active player and this player will be playing the button for that game. The player to the left of the button is first to receive a card and is required to post a small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower limit bet rounded down to the nearest dollar. The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind. The big blind is equal to the lower limit bet.

The blinds are live bets and have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes back around to their position. After the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act.

Poker Hands Ranking