Texas Hold'Em Rules
Starting Out
One player is designated the dealer at the start of the game, and the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. Mark that player with a dealer button. The player to the left of the dealer is called the small blind, and has to put in a bet equal to half the table minimum, before any cards are dealt. The player to his or her left is the big blind, and puts in a bet equal to the whole minimum bet. To avoid confusion, we usually call the casino dealer the dealer, and the player dealer the button.
Basic Set Up
Players: Texas Hold'em can be played with 2 to 10 players.
Deck: A standard 52-card deck is used.
Gameplay
The Deal:
Each player is dealt two private cards (hole cards) face down.
Betting Rounds: There are four betting rounds in Texas Hold'em:
Pre-flop: After players receive their hole cards, a round of betting starts with the player to the left of the big blind.
The Flop: Three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table, followed by a round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
The Turn: A fourth community card is dealt face up, followed by another round of betting.
The River: A fifth and final community card is dealt face up, followed by the final round of betting.
Betting Options: During each betting round, players can choose to:
Fold: Discard their cards and forfeit the round.
Check: Pass the action to the next player without betting (only if no bets have been made in the current round).
Bet: Place a wager.
Call: Match the highest bet made.
Raise: Increase the bet amount.
Showdown:
If there are two or more players remaining after the final betting round, a showdown occurs where players reveal their hole cards.
Players make the best five-card hand using any combination of their hole cards and the five community cards.
The player with the best hand wins the pot. If there is a tie, the pot is split equally among the winning players.
Hand Rankings are covered here.
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