### How to Play Texas Hold'em

The game of Texas Hold'em has many variations. We'll start by describing Fixed Limit Texas Hold'em which is the most common variant that is played in cardrooms. No-Limit Texas Hold'em has recently become very popular as well, due to extensive television coverage.

This section gives a high-level overview of the game of Texas Hold'em. For players completely new to Texas Hold'em, the next sections expand into much more detail about specific parts of the game.

#### Betting Limits

In Fixed Limit games all bet sizes are fixed to a specific amount, while in No-Limit games a player may bet any amount of the chips they have in front of them. This is the only difference in rules between these two forms of Texas Hold'em and yet the strategy and style of game play is changed dramatically.

Any game of Texas Hold'em, be it limit or no-limit, is played at a pre-defined stakes. The stakes dictate the fixed size of the bets in the limit game or the minimum bet size in the no-limit game.

#### The Button

At a poker table, players sit in a clockwise order, typically up to ten players at a table. Each hand, a specific player is given the dealer Button, usually a flat disc with a 'D' on it. This designates that player as the dealer for the hand. The cards are dealt relative to the dealer button, and all betting leads from the left of the button. The button advanced clockwise to the next player after each hand, so that all players get a turn playing as the button.

#### Blinds

Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the button must make forced bets, called Blinds. They are called blind bets because the players are betting before having cards, and are thus betting blindly. The player directly to the left of the button is called the Small Blind and the next player is called the Big Blind. The Big Blind places a full minimum bet size on the table (the minimum bet size is determined by the game's stakes), and the Small Blind places a smaller bet amount, typically one half the size of the minimum bet. For example, in a game that has a Big Blind of $10, the Small Blind size will be $5.

#### The Pre-Flop Betting Round

Once the blinds have been posted, the players are all dealt two cards face-down. The two-card hands are called your Hole Cards. The game of Texas Hold'em has four rounds of betting. The first round is called the Pre-flop. The pre-flop is special since the betting has already been started by the blinds. Since the small and big blinds have already bet, the first player to act is the player directly to the left of the big blind. This position is commonly referred to as Under the Gun. In a betting round, each player must have at least once chance to act. In order to stay in the hand, a player must match any bets made by other players. A player also has the opportunity to raise the stakes by betting. If a player raises, all players that haven't folded have an opportunity to call the new bet amount, and in most cases to re-raise. During the pre-flop, if no one raises and it comes to the big blind, the big blind is allowed an opportunity to raise, or they may check to end the betting round. In fixed-limit Hold'em, all bets made must be the size of the big-blind, and in no-limit all bets made must be at least the size of the last bet made.

Many novice players find it complicated to learn all of the rules of betting. See the section on betting rounds for more details on how betting rounds proceed.

#### The Flop Betting Round

When the Pre-Flop betting round is complete, three cards (the flop) are dealt face-up on the center of the table. These are community cards which all players may use to make their best 5-card poker hand. A second betting round commences, starting with the player to the left of the button. Since there are no blind bets, players may check (calling zero) as an action until a player decides to bet. In fixed-limit Hold'em, all bets made on the flop must be the size of the big-blind.

#### The Turn Betting Round

After the Flop betting round, a fourth community card is placed on the board, and a third betting round begins. In fixed-limit, all bet sizes must now be double the size of the big blind. If the big-blind was $10, then all bets and raises must be $20 on the Turn.

#### The River Betting Round

After the Turn betting round, a fifth community card is placed on the board, and a fourth betting round begins. In fixed-limit, all bet sizes again are double the size of the big blind.

#### The Showdown

If all players fold to a bet during any betting round, the hand is immediately over and the chips in the pot are awarded to the bettor. If players remain all the way to the end of the River betting round, the players now show their hands in order, and the best hand wins the pot. The best five-card poker hand formed from each player's two private hole cards and the five public community cards wins the pot. If a tie occurs, the pot is split.