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Texas Hold ‘em is widely considered the game of choice among professional poker players. The most popular version played in tournaments is called “no-limit”. In this version players can go “all-in” (bet all their chips or money).
All You need to play is at least two players and a standard deck of cards.
The rules for Texas Hold ‘em are as follows:
Texas Hold ‘em starts with the two players to the left of the dealer putting out a predetermined amount of money (the blinds). The first player to the left of the dealer posts the “small blind”, which is typically equal to half of the posted table minimum bet. The second player to the left of the dealer posts the “big blind”, which is equal to the posted table minimum bet.
The dealer will start by handing out two cards to every player (one at a time) in a clockwise direction. The player to the left of the big blind (after assessing their hand) will be the first one to start the action. The player has three options, calling (by matching the big blind), raising the bet or folding the hand. Once the player has completed the action, play will continue around the table to the next player to the left in a clockwise manner. Each player has the same three options unless a raise has been made by a previous player, then the options are to call the bet (equal to the raise), raise the bet or fold the hand until all bets are equal.
Next, the dealer will discard the first card from the deck (“burn” the card) and then flips the next three cards (called the “flop”) face up on the table. These cards are called “community cards” and are shared by everyone at the table.
Action restarts with the player to the left of the dealer. In this round and future rounds of betting, the player can check, bet, raise or fold his hand. After each player has called the bets or folded, the dealer burns another card from the deck and flips over another card (called the “turn”) onto the table (next to the previous three).
The next round of betting again starts with the player to the dealers left. After the betting is complete, the dealer burns another card and flips over the next card (called the “river”) onto the table (next to the previous four).This is the last and final card.
You can now use any combination of the five cards on the table (community cards) and the two cards that you were dealt to form the best possible five card poker hand (see hand rankings).
If after one final round of betting, there is only one player left (if all players fold), that player wins the hand and rakes in the pot. If there are two or more players left, then you will have a showdown to reveal your cards. The player with the best hand wins the pot. If there is a tie, the players will split the pot.
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