Start Playing Texas Holdem Poker
By: MICHAEL GREENS

Start Playing Texas Hold'em

The "button" is used to indicate the dealer position, after each hand it moves one place to the left. Before any cards are dealt, the first player to the left of the dealer posts the "small blind". The player to his left posts the "big blind.”

In a $2/$4 Texas Hold'em game, the "small blind" is $1, and the "big blind" is $2. Blind bets are live, real money bets, and when the betting comes round to them, they have the option of folding, checking, calling or raising.

Beginning with the small blind, each player receives two cards face down, one at a time, in a clockwise direction.

The player to the left of the "big blind" is first to act, he must either fold, bet the minimum bet, raise or check. The next player must either fold, call the current bet, raise, or check (if no bets have been made). This continues all round the table until all players have bet the same amount of money.

There can be 1 bet and 3 raises maximum in each round of Texas Hold'em betting.

The Flop:

After all bets are equal, 3 cards are simultaneously turned face up in the centre of the table; this is called the "flop". There now follows a round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.

The Turn:

After betting is equal, the fourth communal card, the "turn", is turned face up in the centre of the table. This is followed by a round of betting.

The River:

After betting is complete, the fifth and final communal card, the "river", is turned face up in the centre of the table, alongside the previous four.

A final round of betting now follows. Once betting is finished the players show their best five card hand made from the 2 hole cards and the 5 communal cards. The first person to show their cards is the last person to bet or raise. The best hand wins the pot.

In limit Texas Hold'em poker, the lower limit is used for the first 2 rounds and the higher limit for the second 2 rounds

Michael Greens is a professional poker player, that just finished writing his poker book  "Texas Holdem for Dummies"

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