Texas Hold'em
Players are dealt 2 cards and have to combine them with 5 community cards to get the best hand. A single hand of Texas Hold'em can end in either one player outbetting everyone else, forcing them to fold, or a showdown of the hands.
The Cards
In Texas Hold’em, you can bet on a maximum of 7 cards:
- holecards - two cards that you get at the beginning of a game in the pre-flop phase
- the flop - three cards dealt on the table after the initial betting phase
- the turn - one card dealt on the table after the flop
- the river - one final card dealt on the table
The Bets
Betting takes place after each round of dealing cards. All bets go into the pot at the center of the table, which eventually goes to the winner(s) of the hand.
There are four basic actions during a betting round:
- fold - when facing a bet or raise, pay nothing and throw away the cards in your hand (the hole), forfeiting your chance to win the pot
- check - if you aren't facing a bet or raise, opt not bet or raise yourself. Sometimes people use the word "pass"
- call - match the current highest bet on the table. If you don't have that many chips, you can go "all-in". If there remain other people in the hand, he difference between your stack and the highest bet will be put into a side-pot that those players will continue to play for (you are still eligible to win the main pot).
- bet/raise - increase the size of the pot. Other players who do not match your wager must fold. The big blind is always the lower limit on bets, and the size of the last bet or raise is the lower limit for a raise.