Most professional Poker players would tell you that Texas Hold 'Em is their favorite game. It's what you see the giants of the game playing at the World Series of Poker to carry away $1,000,000 and the champion's 14-karat gold bracelet.
Dealing a Hand
Each player is dealt seven cards, which they use to create a five-card hand. The two 'extra' cards are held by a player as pocket cards. The remaining five cards are open cards, which are shared by all players and dealt on the table.
The Seats
The player who has been designated as the dealer for a particular round can be identified by a flat disk called a button before him or her. It is Poker protocol for the dealer to be identified as seat one, the player to the dealer's left is identified as seat two, and so on in a clockwise direction.
As we progress to the next hand, the button (and in effect the designated dealer) rotates to the left.
Setting the Betting Limits
Most beginners games start with a betting limit as low as $1-$2, but in professional games, the betting limit could touch a high of $500-$1000. Hold 'Em uses two blinds or forced bets to get the betting underway.
Playing out a Hand
The first player to the dealer's left is the small blind (must put up half the value of the lower limit) and the second player is the big blind (must up the full value of the lower limit). This means that for a $20-30 betting limit, the first player would kick in $10 and the second player $20.
The players are now dealt their cards in turn. The player to the big blind's right (that is, the player designated as Seat Four) bets first. While Checking is not permitted, the players may Call, Raise or Fold.
The Flop
Once players have gone through the first round of betting, another round of betting begins. This is still at the low limit (in our example, this would be $20). This is referred to as the Flop and Checking is now allowed.
The fourth community card is then dealt and we move into the turn that becomes the most expensive street. Now, bets are placed on the high limit (in our example, $30).
Finally, the fifth and final community card is placed on the table. Betting continues at the high limit.
And the Winner is
Players may form their final combinations using either the pocket cards or the table cards. A player even has option of seeing another player's pocket cards once they've been mucked.
The hand with the best five-card combination wins.
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