Texas Holdem Poker

• If you play in a Limit $10/$20 holdem poker game, each bet and raise must be $10 before the flop and each flop round of betting. After the flop, bets and raises increase to $20 during the turn and river rounds of betting.

• Pot Limit holdem poker means that the largest sum which can be bet is the amount in the pot at that moment but the sum that the pot would increase, if it has already been raised, if you re-raised.

• No Limit means you can bet any sum you wish. You can go "all in" and bet all of your chips on one hand if you wish.

In games of holdem, specific players pay blinds, on a rotating basis, rather than each player placing an ante onto the pot so that a pot exists before the cards are initially dealt.

In holdem poker, the designated dealer is rotated; in a USA Casino venue where a dedicated dealer is present, the designated dealer is marked by the movement of a 'dealer button' which is moved around the table with each hand. The small and large blinds are the responsibility of the players to the immediate left of the player that is the dealer or has the dealer button.

The two blinds, "small blind" and the "big blind", are set bets. The amount of the small blind is established and the big blind is normally double that amount. The betting minimum for each hand is normally equal to the amount of the big blind, twice the amount of the small blind.

The game type is normally explained to those entering a game and the type explains the rules. If you enter a No Limit 10/20 game, there are no betting limits, the small blind is $10 ad the big blind is $20. You'll see these terms often notated in written material as SB for small blind and BB for big blind.

The player to the immediate left of the deal must put the small blind water into the pot before seeing any cards. The player to the left of the small blind places the big blind into the pot.

The player to the immediate left of the big blind sees their cards first and can decide whether to call the blind bets or not. This player is often referred to as "under the gun" because they must make the first decision about betting their cards.

As the playing action moves around the table to the left of the dealer and blinds, each player can choose to bet, raise, or fold their cards. Unlike games where an ante is placed in the pot, the blinds are real wagers, so the big and small blind players only need to match raises to the first round of betting because they have already entered the pot.

After the initial round of betting, three of the five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the playing area. The dealing of these three community cards is called 'the flop'.

After the flop is exposed, another round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. There are no blind bets wagered in any betting rounds except the initial round. The dealer will be the last player to call the action on all other wagering rounds.

After the second betting round is completed, another community card, called the "turn" card or 'fourth street', is dealt in the middle of the table. A round of betting based on the additional of this card follows.

The fifth and last community card is dealt into the middle of the playing area. This final community card is called the "river" card. The final round of betting follows beginning with the player to the dealer's left and ending with the designated dealer.

After the final wagering, players reveal their hands, beginning with the player to the designated dealer's immediate left. If you know you have lost the hand, you can choose to 'muck' your cards, which means throwing them away without showing anyone what cards you held.

It is important to know the order of winning poker hands, so be sure to check out the poker hand ranking chart. Many of the top sites that have the best poker client also provide an option that will display your winning hand on the table, so you'll never have to guess how big or small your hand really is.