How to Play Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold’em begins with each player being dealt two down (hole) cards followed by a round of betting. Once the initial round of betting has been completed, 3 community cards** are placed in the middle of the table. These cards are called “the flop”. Another round of betting occurs. This is followed by another community card (the turn), and another round of betting. A final community card is revealed (the river), followed by a final round of betting. Any players still left in the hand turn over their cards and attempt to make their best possible 5 card poker hand using any combination of their down cards and the 5 community cards.

The player who assembles the best 5 card hand wins the pot. In the event two or more players assemble the same valued hand, the pot is divided equally among the winners.

Texas Hold’em Gameplay Review:

The dealer deals each player 2 down cards.
1st round of Texas Hold'em betting. The dealer burns** a card and deals the flop.
2nd round of Texas Hold'em betting. Another card is burned and a fourth community card, “the turn”, is dealt.
3rd round of Texas Hold'em betting. Another card is burned and the final community card, or “river”, is dealt.
The last round of Texas Hold'em betting. All remaining players participate in a showdown. Each player makes their best 5 card poker hand. The person who initiated the last round of betting shows his/her cards first.
Texas Hold’em 5 card hands may contain any combination of the following.
A. Both of the player’s hole cards plus any three cards from the community board.
B. One of the player’s hole cards plus any four cards from the community board.
C. None of the player’s hole cards and all five cards from the community board.

Rules for Texas Hold'em:

In the event that the first hole card dealt is revealed to all players, the dealer must reshuffle and deal again.
If any other hole card is revealed during the initial deal that card is taken by the dealer and replaced with an unseen card. The revealed card then becomes the burn card for the flop.
Each player is responsible for protecting their hole cards by either placing a marker on top of them or making it clear that they are still in play. In the event that a player’s hole cards are not marked and are taken by the dealer, the player is out of the hand.
If there is any error in the dealing of the flop, it must be reshuffled and re-dealt.
Whenever a dealer turns a board card before a betting round is finished it must be removed from play for that round.
A player who decides to play the board must declare so before throwing his/her cards away. If they do not openly declare that they are playing the board, their hand is forfeited.
When a player reveals his hole cards, he must not allow them to touch any of the board cards. If they become mixed with the board cards (even if it is possible to distinguish and remove them), the player’s hand is forfeited.

**Texas Hold'em Definitions.

Community Cards: Cards shared by all the players in a hand.
Burn Card: Card taken from the top of the deck before dealing the next community card.

Betting Rules for Limit, No-Limit, and Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em:

LIMIT HOLD'EM:

In limit poker, the amount you can bet is limited to the name of the poker game ($1/2, $20/40, etc.).
For example, if you were playing in a $2/4 limit game, the minimum sizes of the bets would be:

Pre-flop (before the flop): $2
On the flop (when the three first community cards have been dealt): $2
On the turn (when the fourth community card has been dealt): $4
On the river (when the fifth and last community card has been dealt): $4

All raises must be done in increments of the betting amounts and you can't make a smaller bet than the big blind.
For example, in a $1/2 limit game, the raises will be as follows, limited to four times the first bet that was made:

Pre-flop: $1, $2, $3 up to $4
On the flop: $1, $2, $3 up to $4
On the turn: $2, $4, $6 up to $8
On the river: $2, $4, $6 up to $8

Betting Rules for Limit, No-Limit, and Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em:

NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM:

In a no limit game there is no limit to the maximum bet that you can make in any betting round. However, the minimum bet has to be equivalent to the big blind.

The minimum raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. For example, if the first player to act bets $10 then the second player must raise a minimum of $10 (total bet of $20). There is no maximum raise – you can raise as much as you want. However, if you wish to call a bet but don't have the chips to cover it, you'll be 'all-in'. At this point, you can only win the portion of the pot covered by your chips.

POT LIMIT HOLD'EM:

Player’s bets must be an amount from the size of the blind to the size of the pot. The pot includes the sum of all bets and raises made during the current round.

Here's an example: The pot in the center of the table contains $100. On a subsequent round, one player bets $20, and two following players each call this $20 bet. The fourth player could call the $20 bet and then raise by a maximum of $180. This raise matches the $100 in the pot, the first $20 bet, the two additional $20 calls and the player’s own $20 call, which together add up to a $180 raise.