Game

How to Play a Game of Texas Hold'em Poker

The layout of the poker table
Image: Wikipedia

• Sitting at the Table: The players seat themselves at the table - two for a heads-up game and usually not more than ten for other games.
• Deck of Cards: One deck of cards without jokers is used to play the game.
• Dealer: Players decide on who starts as dealer - commonly by dealing a card to each player (or letting a player choose). The player with the highest card starts as dealer and a disk or button placed in front of her or him. The position of dealer passes clockwise to the next player after each hand*. In an informal game, the dealer is one of the players. In a casino, the person who performs the function of the dealer does not participate in the game and one of the players becomes a nominal dealer with the button placed in front of her or him. Rather than calling that person a dealer, the player is said to be 'on the button'.
• [*'Hand' has two meanings: 1. The cards a player holds and 2. The playing of a game from the dealing of the cards to the winning of that 'hand' by a player.]
• Ante: If required, players pay an 'entry fee' or ante to play in the hand. Each player's ante becomes part of the pot - the pot of money or chips that players bet during the hand (see below).
• Blinds: In addition to the ante, the game may require two players to the left of the dealer to place forced bets called blinds. The second player to the left of the dealer places the game's minimum bet called the big blind while the first player to the left of the dealer places half the minimum bet called the small blind. The bets are called blinds because the bets are placed without the players having seen their cards.
•  In a heads-up game that has only two players, according to one convention, the dealer places the small blind and the second player places the big blind (we understand that some online sites reverse this rule). The dealer is dealt the first card. The dealer (small blind) acts first in the first pre-flop (the placing of the first three community cards - see below) betting round and last after the flop is placed.
• Pot: The accumulation of antes and bets is called the pot.
• Dealer Shuffles: The dealer shuffles the pack of cards.

• 

  The two pocket or hole cards
  Image: Wikipedia

  Dealing the Pocket Cards: Starting with the player to the dealer's left, (i.e., the small blind if the game requires blinds), the dealer deals each player two cards called the hole or pocket cards - one at a time, face down, in a clockwise direction.
• Betting Round Actions or Plays: The first player to the left of the big blind initiates the first betting round by deciding to play or not play this hand. The player continues to play by:
• Calling i.e. matching the previous bet in this case placing a minimum bet equal to the big blind (considered to be the first bet), or 
• Raising, placing a higher amount usually at least twice the amount of the minimum bet or any amount above the minimum raise.
• The player can go all-in if the game allows and if the player bets all her or his money or chips.
• The player retires from the hand by discarding or folding / mucking (giving the dealer) her or his cards. Folding forfeits the cards and any chance of winning the pot or game.
• Another possible action or play called the check is described below.
• Card & Chip Management: The dealer collects discarded cards in a small pile at the side and out of the way. At the end of a round of betting, the dealer may also collect the money or chips bet and similarly place them to one  side.
• First Betting Round Continued: The betting round proceeds  in a clockwise direction and the next player to the left has the option of betting or folding.
• Additional Betting Round Actions or Plays:
• Re-Raising: Re-raising increases a previous raise. As with a raise, the minimum amount for a re-raise is usually double the previous bet.
• Checking: If the player who has an option of increasing her or his bet chooses not to bet, the player checks by tapping the table twice. In the first betting round (based on the pocket cards), if no one has raised, only the person 'in' the big blind has the option of checking.
• If a player who has bet finds that a subsequent player has raised the betting, the round of betting comes back to that player who has the option of folding, matching the bet or raising the bet further.
• End of the First Betting / Pre-Flop Round: The first betting round - also called the pre-flop round - finishes when there are no further bets.

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  The community cards. Image: Poker Room

  Second Betting Round: At the start of the second betting round, the dealer discards or burns the first two cards on top of the deck face down to one side.
• Placing the Flop: The dealer then places the next three cards from the top of the deck face up in front of her or him (in the center of the table). These cards called the flop are shared by all the players and are the first three of five shared cards the dealer can place on the table called community cards.
• The next round of betting starts with the first active player to the left of the dealer, i.e. the player who had placed the small blind if the player has not folded. In the remainder of the hand, the first active player to the left of the dealer starts the betting. The betting in these rounds ends with the dealer unless the dealer has folded.
• The first player to bet in the next three rounds has the option of not placing a bet i.e. checking, placing a minimum bet equal to the big blind, or raising by betting at least twice the minimum bet. If the previous player has checked, the subsequent player may also check. If no player places a bet, the round ends with no betting.
• Third Betting Round, Placing the Turn Card: Once the betting following the flop is at a close and providing there are at least two active players still playing, the dealer collects any chips or money bet, burns a card, and places a fourth community board card called the turn to the right of the flop.
• A round of betting proceeds as before and if there are at least two active players remaining at the end of the round
• Fourth & Final Betting Round, Placing the River Card: The dealer burns a card and places the fifth and last community board card called the river to the right of the turn card.
• Showdown & Ranking: If there are active players left at the end of this fourth round of betting, the players display their cards in a showdown. They display their cards in the same order as the betting sequence i.e. starting to the left of the dealer. The players combine their pocket cards with any of the community cards (seven cards) to decide who has the highest ranking five-card hand. As the showdown proceeds, a player may decide to concede her or his hand by passing her or his cards to the dealer face down. (See our page on Ranking.)
• Winning the Pot: The highest ranking hand wins the round and the dealer shoves the pot - i.e. chips bet in that round - to the winning player.
• The cards are returned to or collected by the dealer and the dealer's button is given to the next player to the left of the dealer. This player becomes the new dealer for the next hand.