Texas hold’em is a community card game in which each player is dealt two cards face down and there are four rounds of community cards each played with the button. The player with the best five-card hand, between their pocket cards and the community cards, wins the pot. The player with the best hand “hand” is the winner. Each player aims to make their best five-card hand. The best hand is a royal flush consisting of all tens and aces. This includes the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of the same suit. The second best hand is the straight flush consist of five cards in numerical order ranging from Ace to five. The third best hand is the four of a kind hand consisting of four cards of the same numerical rank such as four tens or four Aces. The fifth best hand is the full house, which is a combination of three cards of the same rank and two cards of the same numerical rank.
The first round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. This is the “7meter“. The player to the left of the small blind stakes small bet, which is referred to also as the “Small Bet”. The minimum bet a player can make is double the value of the big blind or the maximum bet remain when the blinds are played out. For example, in a $2/$4 game the small blind is $1 and the big blind $2.
In all cases except the very first round all players must remain in the game until the end of the hand, whether they have pocket Aces or pocket Kings.
The first round of betting, after the deal, begins with the player to the left of the big blind.
The player to the left of the big blind starts the second round of betting, which is also the second round of play for the hand.
The second round of betting commences with the player to the left of the dealer, and is also the second round of play for the hand.
The third round of betting on the river begins when the dealer pushes a stack of chips into the middle of the table. This is known as the “Turn”.
The third round of betting on the river continues until the dealer places a bet into the pot, which is now referred to as the “River”.
The final round of betting takes place after the river, and it is now time for the player to the left of the dealer to place a bet.
Players may check, raise, or fold during the last two rounds of betting.
The showdown will take place when all players have had a chance to bet or fold, and only two players remain.
The highest card in the final round of betting is designated as the winning hand. The player with the highest card wins even money on the river, but no other players win.
After the rules have been determined, the game is played with blinds using a cut-off board that is essentiallyPlackets;the player closest to the bottom puts up the small blind;the player closest to the top puts up the big blind.
When the blinds are placed, the dealer places one small and one big blind into the pot, placing them into the circle in the middle of the table.