Texas Holdem poker exploded in popularity thanks to televised events of big money tournaments. Through commitment and practice, people from different walks of life have a realistic chance of becoming an elite competitor vying for significant sums of money at major poker tournaments. There are stories of winners of million dollar Texas Hold’em competitions who originally started playing poker on the Internet.

Similar to other versions of poker games, the goal of Texas Hold’em is to take the pot by forming the best 5 card hand from 7 available cards or being the last player standing. Of these 7 cards, 2 are from the player (pocket card) and 5 from the community (board card). The winner is determined in a showdown that occurs in the final betting round. The player can win through bluffing. The strategy in this scenario is to cause other competitors to give up their claim to the pot and fold by giving them the impression that you have the superior hand.

Texas Holdem poker is commonly played between 2 to 10 people. Before the dealer (the player with the dealer button) deals the cards, all players must place their bets for each betting round. The betting starts off with two blinds to the left of the dealer, small and big. The dealer also burns a card before any cards are dealt. In the first round, all players are given two cards facing down. Three community cards are turned which is known as the flop. Another round of betting takes place. During each round, a player can decide to hold, bet or fold.

The dealer then turns another community card after burning a card. The fourth card is known as the turn. Another round of betting ensues. Finally, a card is burned and the fifth and last community card is dealt. This is identified as the river. Players can now incorporate any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to build the five card poker hand. The final betting round takes place.

A showdown takes place to determine the winner of the pot. There are two ways that a player can win, bluffing or building the best hand. By giving other players the impression that you hold the winning hand, the objective is to motivate them to fold and give up their claims to the pot. In this development, the winner does not have to reveal his cards.

To form their hand for the showdown, the players still active have various options:

• No pocket cards & five community cards or boardcards
• Two pocket cards & three community cards or boardcards
• One pocket card & four community cards or boardcards

Texas Hold'em Rules

• If the flop has too many cards, it needs to be re-dealt.

• If the first hole card (card face down) dealt is exposed, a misdeal is declared. The cards are then reshuffled and re-cut by the dealers. If any other hole card is turned up due to dealer error, the dealing continues. The exposed card cannot be kept. After finishing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck. The exposed card is utilized for the burn card. If more than one hole card is exposed, a misdeal occurs and there must be a new deal.

• If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is finished, the card is removed from play for that round, even if subsequent players decide to fold. The betting is then done. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card’s place

• If the dealer erroneously deals the first player an extra card after all players has their starting hands, the card will be returned to the deck and used for the burn card. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.