How to Play Texas Hold’Em Poker

There are many different versions of the classic poker game, but none is more popular than Hold’Em poker, the Texas poker game.

Texas Hold’Em poker is played with one 52-card deck. The objective of the game is to have the highest winning hand combination at the end of the game. Hand combinations consist of five cards that may be selected from both a player’s two private cards and the five community cards on the table. These five community cards are dealt in three rounds (the Flop, Turn, and River) and are shared cards that everyone on at the table may use to help them make the best hand.

Texas Hold’Em poker is played in several rounds of betting. The first bet is a forced bet called a “blind.” There is a small blind and a big blind. These bets rotate around the table through the poker game so that each player must pay them; they serve as a tax to encourage player participation.

Voluntary betting starts when players are dealt two private cards called “pocket cards.” Players may bet on these cards by “calling,” or matching the minimum bet, “raising” the bet to a new amount, or forfeiting the cards by “folding.” In Hold’Em poker, knowing when and how to bet is one of the most challenging parts of the game.