Texas Hold'em
Game Rules
Texas Hold'em is the most popular variety of poker and can be played by 2-10 players. At the beginning of a round, each player is dealt two cards face down. Five communal cards are then dealt face up in successive rounds. These consist of the flop (first 3 cards), the turn (fourth card), and the river (fifth card).
| Flop | Turn | River |
   |  |  |
The player with the best hand at the end of the rounds, or if all the others fold the last remaining player, wins the aggregated bets on the round.
Game flow
Each round of play, called a hand, is divided into five basic phases.
Preflop-Round
All players are dealt two cards face down, caled the hole cards. These cards are only viewed by the player to whom they belong, and only he can use them. Chips can then be wagered or hands folded.
Flop
After the first round of betting has concluded, the first three community cardsa are dealt face up. These cards belong to all players i.e. any player can use them to build a hand. Betting ensues; players make bets or discontinue playing.
Turn
The fourth communal card is dealt, and the third betting round occurs.
River
The fifth and final card is dealt, after which the final round of bets is placed.
Showdown
After all the cards have been dealt and the final bets taken, the remaining players compare their cards to see who has the best hand.
Order of actions
In Texas Hold'em, there is always some player each round who will play the role of deler. This player is marked by a special chip, called the dealer button. We also say that that player finds himself on the button. The dealer button moves in clockwise fashion from player to player. The position of the dealer determines which players must pay the blinds, or forced starting bets, if these are being used. It also determines which player acts first.
Blinds
The small blind is payed by the player directly left of the dealer. The player to the left of him pays the big blind. 
 | Dealer |  | Small Blind |  | Big Blind |
Player order during a betting round
In the betting round before the flop, the player immediately to the left of the big blind acts first. In succeeding rounds, the player to the left of the dealer opens.
In every betting round, the action moves clockwise around the table. So if a player acts, e.g. places a bet, then the next action will be made by the player to his left.Flow of a betting round
In general, a player can take the following actions during a betting round:
| Check | The action is passed to the next player |
| Bet | The player makes a wager of money or chips. |
| Call (a bet) | A player matches exactly the wager of a previously made bet. |
| Raise (a bet) | A previous bet is called, and an additional wager made beyond the amount of the existing bet. |
| Fold | A player may lay down his cards and withdraw from the round |
If a player bets or raises, then the following players may either call or raise, provided the limitation on raises per round has not been exceeded. This is according to house rules, though four raises is often the limit.
If nobody has bet, then a player may check the action further without betting anything, or he may bet himself. The blinds count as a bet in the pre-flop round, so all players who have paid the big blind may check as long as nobody raises. A player may fold regardless of whether a bet was made or not.The action moves clockwise aroud the table until all players have folded or have matched all placed bets. The exception is when a player no longer has enough chips to match a bet. This player may wager all that remains to him and is then called all-in. This means he can no longer place or respond to bets, but his cards remain in play and he may take part in the showdown to determine a winner.
Related Topics:
Pokerhands, Blind, Flop, Turn, River, Showdown, All-In, Bet, Raise, Check, Fold