Texas Hold'em is the most popular form of poker played today. This is also the game that you will see played in televised poker tournaments cropping up on tv schedules everywhere.

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Texas Hold'em is a seven card game, and players may use any of the 7 available cards to make up their best five card hand. You are allowed to use any combination of the two cards that you're dealt face down (known as the hole cards) and the five community cards which are dealt face up in the middle of the table.

As with all variations of poker, the aim is to win the pot. This can be done by either having the best hand when all cards have been dealt & betting concluded, or it can be done by being the last unfolded hand left at the table.

The dealer button

The dealer button is a small disk marked with a D. The dealer button marks the position of a virtual dealer. The "button" rotates around the table clockwise to the next player to the left at the conclusion of each hand. The position of the dealer is important, as the two players to the dealer's immediate left must make the first bets. This is known as "posting the blinds". Because the dealer button moves to the left after each hand, everyone at the table takes a turn to be the virtual dealer and to post the blinds. Seat position relevant to the dealer is an important part of advanced poker strategy.

Posting the blinds

The player to the immediate left of the dealer "posts the small blind", and the player to their left "posts the big blind". The "blinds" are the initial bets that are placed in the pot prior to any cards being dealt. The blinds ensure that there is always money in the pot.

The size of both the small & big blinds depends upon the stakes of the table that you're playing at. The small blind is normally half the minimum bet of the game, while the big blind is normally the same as the game's minimum bet. It's probably best illustrated by an example: if you're playing at a $1/$2 table, the small blind will be $0.50 and the big blind $1.

The opening deal

Once the blinds have been posted, the first cards are dealt. Moving clockwise round the table from the dealer, each player is dealt two private cards face down. These are called "hole cards" and remain unseen by the other players at the table.

Pre-flop betting

Before the next cards are dealt (known as the flop), there is a round of betting based upon th epotential of the hole cards. The betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the big blind. Each player has three choices: to fold, raise, or call the big blind. As the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting, each player has to at least call this bet to stay in the hand, so "checking" isn't an option at this stage.

The betting goes round the table in a clockwise direction until each player has either called, folded or raised. If no-one has raised by the time the betting returns to the person who posted the big blind, this player may check his own blind, fold or raise.

The first round of betting is at the lower level of table stakes, so in a $1/$2 game all raises are increments of $1. Betting is not open-ended. There can only be 1 bet and a maximum of 3 raises in each round of Texas Hold'em betting. After the third raise, betting is "capped" and the game proceeds to the "Flop".

The Flop

The flop is the set of three cards that are dealt face up in the middle of the table, and each player can use these community cards to build their hand. The middle of the table where these cards are dealt is commonly known as the board.

Following the flop, there is another round of betting at the lower levels of the table stakes. This time, the betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the dealer button. After betting is equal, the next card is dealt.

The Turn

The fourth community card, known as the "turn", is dealt face up in the centre of the table. All players can use this card to improve their hand. The "Turn" is followed by a further round of betting, but this time at the higher level of the table stakes. Once again, when bets are equal, the next card is dealt.

The River

The River is the fifth and final community card to be dealt. Players now have access to seven cards from which to make their best poker hand. At this point, the hole cards remain private, and a final round of betting is held at the higher level of table stakes.

The showdown

The first person to show their cards is the last person to bet or raise. The best hand wins the pot. The winner is decided using these poker hand rankings .

"All-In" - An explananation

If you run out of chips during a hand, but don't wish to fold, you can continue playing by going all-in. This term meant that you can still win a share of the pot up to and including your last contribution to that pot, but you cannot share in any bets added beyond that point. Those bets form a side-pot.

Ok, so now you understand how the game is played you can either go & start playing at one of the poker rooms on the left, or, learn about advanced strategy for playing Texas Hold'em.

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