Poker Rules

Poker Rules - these are the official rules of Texas Holdem poker. Texas Hold'em is one of the many variations of poker and has the easiest poker rules to follow. It is the most popular game and also the fastest and most exciting.
That's why we love it!

BLINDS
The game of Texas Holdem poker is played by up to 10 players at a time, the dealer's position is indicated by the "button". The player to the left of the dealer posts the "small blind". This means that he places a set amount of money into the pot before seeing his cards. The player to his left posts the "big blind".
In traditional poker rules a limit Holdem game is described as a particular amount of money, for example a $2/$4 game. In this case the small blind would be $1 and the big blind $2. The blinds ensure that there is always some money in the pot for every hand. 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.
The Texas Holdem rules for tournaments are special. In tournaments, the blinds are increased according to a pre-set schedule. This is done to control the length of the tournament. If the blinds stayed the same all through a tournament, it would take a very long time for the tournament to end. Of course, the players have to adjust their Texas Holdem strategy to the increasing blinds in tournaments.

BETTING
Betting is crucial part of poker rules. Each player receives two cards face down, dealt one at a time, called the hole cards. The players look at their hole card and decide on their next move based on these two cards.
The player to the left of the big blind must act first and he has one of three choices, he can "fold" - i.e. throw his cards in; he can "call" - i.e. bet the minimum bet; or he can "raise" - i.e. he can increase the betting to a higher level. If there is a raise each player must either call the raise to stay in, re-raise, or fold.
Play continues clockwise and each player in turn can either fold, call the current bet, or raise.
There are a maximum of 3 raises in each round of Texas Hold'em betting.

THE FLOP
After the initial betting is complete, three cards are turned face up on the table. This is known as the "flop". There is now a further round of betting starting with the player in the small blind position, i.e. immediately to the left of the dealer, or if he has folded the next person to his let who is still in the hand. As well as calling, raising or folding, there is now a fourth option - checking. This means that you want to stay in the hand to see the next card, but you don't want to pay. You can only check if nobody before you has bet.

THE TURN
After betting on the flop is complete, a fourth card is turned face up. This is called the "flop" and again there is a round of betting based on this card.

THE RIVER
After betting on the turn is complete, a fifth card is turned face up on the table. This is the "river" and there is a final round of betting.
Players must now use the two "hole" cards that they were dealt along with the five community cards which are face up on the table to make the best possible five-card hand. Here's how the poker hands rank

Enjoy your poker and be lucky!