Texas Hold'em Overview...

Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular type of poker to play and most online poker sites use this particular game in their rooms. So here is a basic overview of a texas holdem game. If you would like more details on Texas Hold'em poker rules then click here.

In Texas Hold’em, players get two down cards (private cards) and five community cards, which are placed face-up in the middle of the table. The objective is to make your best five card hand using any combination of the five cards on the board and the two in your hand that no one else can see. Click here to view Hands Rankings

The dealer button rotates clockwise around the table between every hand. This is important as the "dealer" is the last to act, and thus has the greatest advantage for that hand, as the dealer will get to see how others are going to bet before acting.

In Texas Hold'em there are four distinct times in the game where you must make decisions based on the hand you can make. After being dealt your two private cards you must decide if you are going to play them. Then comes the 'flop' - three cards dealt face up on the table, then the 'turn' - the fourth card dealt face up and then the 'river' the last card dealt face up. Each of these rounds is followed by a round of betting.

BETTING ROUNDS

There are four betting rounds in the game. In Limit Hold'em, one bet and three raises are allowed for each betting round. To continue to play, players must act on each betting round and call an action, unless you decide to fold your hand. Betting always proceeds in a clockwise rotation.

In the first two rounds of betting, all bets must be equal to the size of the low limit bet. In the last two rounds of betting, all bets must be equal to the high limit bet. If, for example, you're playing $2-$4 Texas Hold’em, all bets in the first two rounds will be in increments of $2, and all bets in the last two rounds will be in increments of $4. A maximum of three raises are allowed per betting round. If you're playing online these amounts are automatically calculated for you and you just have to click 'bet' 'call' or 'raise' buttons.

END OF THE GAME

A Texas Hold'em game can be won in two different ways - When all the betting is completed the players still in the hand reveal the two private cards and the player with the strongest 5 card hand wins! This is called the showdown. If all but one of the players folds his cards then the last remaining player wins. Many Texas Hold'em games never reach the showdown stage. Large bets will often force other players to fold there cards well before the final stages of betting.

Easy! So now you have the overview, let's move on to the indepth guide to Texas Hold'em Rules...