Poker rules - for the Texas Holdem game

A quick summary :

The poker rules can seem a little complicated to the newcomer, hope this summary helps:

• Two players make small bets - little and big blinds.
• Two 'hole' cards dealt face down, one at a time, to each player.
• Players bet. They fold, raise or call.
• All players must call (match) the last raise to continue.
• 3 'community cards' dealt face up - for all to use.
• Players bet, they call, fold, raise or check.
• Fourth community card - the 'turn' - dealt face up.
• Players bet, they call, fold, raise or check - again.
• Fifth community card - the 'river' - dealt face up.
• Players bet, they call, fold, raise check matching any raises.
• Remaining players turn over their hole cards - the 'showdown'.
• Highest ranking hand wins using the best 5 cards - one winner.

In more detail :

1. The Number of players on your table will be from 2 to 10. The game is described as short-handed if there are less than 9 players.

2. The dealer is one of the players and is not usually provided by the casino. The dealer places a white chip in front and we call this position the button. After dealing for one hand the dealer button rotates to the left - each player getting their turn to deal. Why playing online is popular...

3. One pack of 52 cards are used - without the jokers.

4. The dealer has the best table position because they are the last player to bet - they can watch the moves of the other players first.

5. The dealer is usually chosen at the start of each poker game when a single card is dealt to each player - the highest becoming the dealer.

6. When starting out it is so much safer to sign up to:

• a Free-roll game. More on Free-roll tournaments here...
• a sit and go tournament for a $10+1 game, or less. More...
• a much riskier low limit cash game - try a $1/2 structure.

7. The poker rules require that the so called 'forced bets' are played before any cards are dealt. The player to the left of the dealer pays, or posts, the little blind. In a low-limit $1/2 Texas Hold'em game, then they start with a $0.5 bet and the next player on their left, the big blind, pays $1. After a few hands the blind are increased.

8. Once the two forced bets are made, the dealer deals two cards, one at a time, to each player around the table starting with the player to his left. These are called hole cards or pocket cards and are delivered face down. Once dealt then each player looks at their own two cards and decides what to do in the betting. The poker rules continue...

Here is a list of the best, and worst, hole cards