Quick Glossary
Before we get into describing the rules and game-play, here's a quick glossary of terms you'll encounter.
Blinds: Short for "blind bets," these are the forced bets made before the cards are dealt. In Hold'em, blinds take the place of the classic "ante."
Burn Card: The card dealt facedown before any community card is dealt.
Button: Nickname for the player acting as the dealer in current hand.
Check: Similar to a call, but no money is bet. If there is no raise preflop, the big blind may check.
Fifth Street: See River.
Flop: The first three community cards dealt.
Fourth Street: See Turn.
Preflop: Anything that occurs before the flop is dealt is preflop.
River: The final (5th) community card dealt; also known as fifth street.
Showdown: When players reveal their hands to discover the pot's winner.
Turn: The fourth community card dealt; also known as fourth street.
Overview
Texas Hold'em is a community card poker game, with game play focused as much on the betting as on the cards being played.
Although the rules and game play remain mostly the same, the end goal is slightly different depending on if you're playing a cash game or a tournament.
A Hold'em tournament is the same as any other game of Hold'em with a few added rules and twists. If you'd like to learn the rules unique to tournaments, head to this article. (There will also be a link at the bottom of the page).
Texas Holdem is played on a single table with two to 10 players. The goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time.
You win a pot by having the best hand, or by having all other players fold before the showdown.
The structure of Texas Hold'em can be broken up into three main divisions:
Setup
Betting Rounds
Showdown
Setup
Once you have your players sitting around the table, the first thing you need to have is chips. Before you can figure out what kind of chips to give each player, you need to understand how the game works a little better, so we'll get back to this.
For now, assume all players have chips in front of them.
The next step is picking the player who will start with the dealer button. Hold'em is played with what's known as a rotating dealer, meaning a player will act as the dealer for one hand, handing the role of dealer to the player on their left when the hand is completed.
To choose the dealer, either deal every player one card, or spread the cards facedown on the table and have every player choose one.
