Texas Hold ’em is part of the poker game family and is considered its most popular member. The aim is to arrange your hand cards as well as community cards to the strongest possible hand at the table to win the pot.
This popular poker card game is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, but especially popular in the USA.
Texas Hold ’em is played with a standard deck of 52 cards and two to ten players. The dealer is considered rather impartial instead of a player. But in home settings, the dealer may also partake as a player.
Before the game begins, the dealer shuffles the cards and deals two cards face-down to each player. These are called hole cards and are for the respective player’s eyes only.
After the hole cards are dealt, there is a first round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Here, you estimate the potential strength of your hand compared to the other hands at the table.
If you consider your hand to be strong, you can choose to call (match the previous bet) or raise (increase the previous bet). Any bets go toward the pot, which will usually be poured out to the player with the strongest hand at the end of the round.
If your hand is likely weak, you can fold, giving up your hand and your chance to win the pot.
Standard poker hand rankings apply to determining the strength of a hand with the addition of the Royal Flush as the strongest hand. The royal flush consists of the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of the same suit.
Once the first round of betting is complete, the dealer will reveal the flop, as in three community cards face-up in the middle of the table. This is a particular feature of Hold ’em Poker games. Players can count the community cards toward their hand.
Then, another round of betting takes place, after which the dealer will deal another community card, the turn card, face up.
After another round of betting, the fifth and final community card, the river card, is revealed.
Then, it is time for the last round of betting. If there are still players remaining that did not fold after that, the remaining players reveal their hole cards, and the player with the best total hand wins the pot. In case of a draw, the pot is split.