Texas Holdem Poker is currently the most popular form of poker played around the world. This is due to the fact that it is very exciting, especially in the No Limit form. This poker game takes a great amount of skill and dedication to learn if you want to become a profitable player. Below we will explain how to play Texas Holdem poker.

Blinds and Dealing Rules

The Texas Holdem poker game can be played with anywhere from 2 players on up to 10 players. In this poker game the dealer is designated by a button on the table, and a small and big blind are placed clockwise from that button. The small blind is equal to around half of whatever the big blind is decided on. In Texas Holdem poker blinds are put in place of Antes for a very good reason. This allows the other eight players at the table a chance to simply fold their cards for free. Two people under the blinds are considered already in the hand.

The Dealer will then deal cards one at a time to each person clockwise around the table starting with the small blind. This continues until two rounds are made, leaving each player with two cards of the their own as seen above. Dealing should end with the last card being dealt to the dealer.

Preflop Rules

Preflop action in Texas Holdem poker begins with the person to the left of the big blind and continues on around the table with the big blind acting last. Each person along the way may choose to simply fold their hand for free. They might also Call the big blind value if they choose to play in the hand. Lastly, they can Raise the big blind value to a value of their own. This value is based on whether or not the poker game type is Limit or No Limit. Action continues until there are no more raises and all bets have been called or poker hands have been folded.

Flop Rules

The next stage in Texas Holdem poker is the Flop. The dealer begins by "burning" a single card by placing the next card face down on the table, followed by the next 3 cards face up on the table. These 3 cards make up the flop. Each player now uses the 2 cards in their hand along with the 3 on the table to form their own 5 card poker hand.

This next round of betting on the flop will begin with the small blind, leaving the dealer last to act. Each player may Bet, Call, Raise, or Fold based on their current 5 card poker hand. Action continues in a clockwise order until all raises have been called or all poker hands are folded.

Turn Card Rules

The dealer now proceeds to "burn" another card face down on the table, and then deals a single card known as the turn card. There are now 4 cards on the table, however in Texas Holdem each player still may only use 3 of those cards to make their 5 card poker hand. Once again poker action begins with the small blind and the dealer acts last. Check, Bet, Raise, or Fold.

River Card Rules

The dealer now proceeds to "burn" one last card face down on the table, and deals the final river card to the board. There are now 5 cards on the table, however in Texas Holdem each player still may only use 3 of those cards to make their 5 card poker hand. Poker action begins with the small blind and the dealer acts last. Check, Bet, Raise, or Fold. Once this round of betting is complete, the showdown will take place.

Showdown Rules

When all poker betting is complete the remaining players will turn their two cards face up to display their best 5 card hand. The best 5 card hand will win the pot. Consult any Hand Ranking page for information on hand ranks. The person who initially bets and gets called will show their hand first, generally. The round of play is over, and the next round will begin by shifting the dealer button and blinds clockwise one spot. Wash, rinse, and repeat to have yourself a great time playing Texas Holdem Poker!