

bet nothing) or bet any amount of chips they wish (as long as it is more than a big blind – see below). If there is no bet to call, players may ‘check’ (i.e. Players may use any combination of community cards and their own hole cards to make the strongest hand, as illustrated in our guide to poker hands.Īlmost all poker games feature betting rounds and they tend to all follow the same patterns, so these rules can be applied to most poker games you’ll come across.īetting moves clockwise around the table, usually starting with the player to the left of the ‘Dealer’ button.

The pot is awarded to the player who has the best five-card poker hand, or to the last player remaining who hasn’t folded. Known as 'the turn', this is followed by a third betting round.Ī fifth and final community card is dealt, known as 'the river'. A fourth community card is then dealt face up. This is followed by the second round of betting. These are known collectively as 'the flop', and all players may use these cards to make their best five-card hand. Three community cards are then dealt in the middle of the table, face up. These are known as 'hole cards', 'down cards', or 'pocket cards'. Texas Hold'em uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards.Įach player is dealt two cards, one at a time, face down.

Need a reminder of what beats what? Just check out our guide to all the different poker hands. As five cards are shared between all players (the ‘community cards’ or ‘the board’), everyone has some idea of what the other players may have. Texas Hold’em poker sees players attempt to make the best poker hand they can out of seven cards – two of which can be seen only by them.
