Texas Poker
Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular version of poker played online.
The game is usually
played between up to 10 players, each of whom are dealt two “hole
cards” face down. The player must then combine these cards
with the five “community cards” dealt face up on the table to
form a five-card poker hand.
The dealer is
marked by a circular “Button” that is moved one place in a
clockwise direction at the end of every round.
The hand begins when the two players
to the left of the dealer post an obligatory stake called the “Small Blind” and the “Big Blind”. The Big Blind is usually twice the Small Blind.
When these stakes have been laid two
cards are dealt face down to each player. These are private cards and
must not be shown to anyone prior to the showdown.
The first round of betting is begun by
the player on the right of the big blind (called “under
the gun - utg"). This player can either call
(with a stake the same as the big blind), raise (stake
depends on the betting structure adopted in the game) or fold
(leave the game for this round).
The following player
can then either call
(with a stake the same as the big blind or the raised stake), raise (if the pot has not already been raised) , raise
again (to raise the pot further) or fold.
The same options are
available to all players until everyone has
made their play.
After the first
round of betting, three community cards are
dealt face-up on the table. These three cards are called the "Flop."
A new round of betting is then started by
the first player on the left of the button who is still in the game
(has not folded).
After this
round of betting, a fourth community card is dealt face-up on the
table. This card is called the "Turn" and it is
followed by another round of betting.
Last of all, a fifth community
card called the “River” is dealt face-up on the table and the
last round of betting takes place.
