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Texas hold'em is the most popular poker game. It is played with a typical 52 card deck. You can find it in countries all around the world in casinos to cardrooms, online and in home games. Hold'em can be played with as little as two players, up to a max of eleven players.


THE DEALER
A round disc known as the "dealer button" moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player should be the dealer. In practice, casino Hold'Em has a fixed (house) dealer and the button rotates around the table simply to mark the rotation of theoretical dealer. Betting position significantly affects a player's opportunities so the button's position in not simply symbolic.


THE GOAL OF THE GAME
The best possible five card hand, using any combination of pocket(hole) cards and community cards, wins the pot.


HAND RANKINGS
The following is a list of texas hold'em poker hand rankings from strongest to weakest:

SEE HAND RANKINGS


PLAYING THE GAME
For the explanation of this section we will use FIXED LIMIT $2-$4 betting structure (see below for other modifications). Game proceeds as follows:

1. The player sitting to the left of the dealer must place $1(called "small blind", half of the min bet) in the pot before any cards are dealt, and the player sitting to HIS left must place $2(called "big blind", equal to the min bet) into the pot before any cards are dealt.
   
   
2. Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the pocket(also hole) cards.
   
   
3. First round of betting - Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player can CALL the big blind, RAISE, or FOLD. The big blind has the option to raise an otherwise unraised pot. The bet will be the lower limit of the stakes structure($2 in this case). The maximum allowable number of bets and raises during any betting round usually is 3.
   
   
4. The flop - The dealer burns a card, and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards are referred to as the flop, while all of the community cards are collectively called the board.
   
   
5. Second round of betting – Starting with the player to the left of the dealer button, each player can CHECK or BET. Once a bet has been made, each player can RAISE, CALL, or FOLD. The bet will be $2 again.
   
   
6. The turn – The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as "the turn" card, or fourth street.
   
   
7. Third round of betting – It follows the same format as the second round, but the size of the bets is usually changed to the higher limit of the stakes structure($4 in our case).
   
   
8. The river – The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fifth and final card to the community cards. This fifth card is known as "the river" card, or fifth street.
   
   
9. 4th(Final) round of betting – It follows the same format as the previous round.
   
   
10. The showdown – Using the best five-card combination of their pocket cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. In case of a tie, the pot is evenly split among the winning hands.
    
    

BETTING STRUCTURE VARIATIONS

FIXED LIMIT: The stakes are fixed. In a $10-$20 game the player should place $10 bets in the first two betting rounds and $20 in the second(3th and 4th) rounds.

NO LIMIT: No limit Texas hold'em rules are the same as FIXED LIMIT Texas hold'em rules, with the exception that there is no maximum bet. A player may bet or raise any amount they wish, up to the amount they have in front of them. There are still minimum bets, however. If you're playing $10-$20 no limit Texas hold'em, for example, then you have to bet at least $10 in the first two rounds, and at least $20 in the latter two rounds. In addition, all bets and raises must be greater than or equal to the previous bet or raise, with the exception of a player that is raising all-in. If a player does raise all-in, and that bet is not greater than or equal to the previous raise, then the door is not opened for the original raiser to reraise. For example, if Player A bets $30, Player B calls, and Player C raises all-in for a total less than $60, Player A would not be able to reraise that bet. In some casinos, when playing NO LIMIT, the number of raises per betting round are unlimited.

POT LIMIT: Pot limit Texas hold'em rules are the same as FIXED LIMIT Texas holdem rules, with the exception that the maximum bet is equal to the current pot size. A player may bet or raise any amount they wish, up to the amount that is currently in the pot. There are still minimum bets. If you're playing $10-$20 POT LIMIT Texas hold'em, for example, then you have to bet at least $10 in the first two rounds, and at least $20 in the latter two rounds. In addition, all bets and raises must be greater than or equal to the previous bet or raise, with the exception of a player that is raising all in. If a player does raise all in, and that bet is not greater than or equal to the previous raise, then the door is not opened for the original raiser to reraise. For example, if Player A bets $30, Player B calls, and Player C raises all in for a total less than $60, Player A would not be able to reraise that bet. In some casinos, when playing POT LIMIT, the number of raises per betting round are unlimited.