Hold Em Basics

These pointers will help you get acquainted with the basic rules of the game.

1. Every player is dealt with 2 cards of their own that are dealt face down and 5 communal cards that are dealt face up. What each player has to do is to make the best possible 5 card hard amongst the 7 cards available. The betting rounds are limited to four and the first of these two have a lower betting value than the next two. You must bet or raise only the amount of the limit for that round.
2. The game starts with the person sitting to the left of the dealer. He places a blind bet which is half of the minimum bet. Then the player sitting to the left of the player that just played posts a bet that is equal to the full bet amount for that round. The rest of the players do not put up any money. Since the deal rotates around the table, each player will play the part of the big bet, the small bet and the dealer.
3. The next step in the game is each player deals with two cards that are face down, with the player on the small blind receiving the first card and the player on the dealer button receiving the last card. The first round of betting begins with the player sitting to the left of the big blind either calling the bet, raising it, or folding. The betting continues until it reaches the player who posted the small bet. The player can call the bet by putting in the remaining money. The last person to play is the person with the big blind. If the dealer finds that no one has raised the bet, he can ask all the players if they would like the option, which is basically implying that the big blind has the option to either raise or just 'check'. By saying check, the player does not put in any more money.
4. On the completion of first round, the dealer put out three cards and turns them face up on the table. This is called the flop. These are community cards.
5. On the completion of that round, the dealer puts up a fourth card face up on the deck, which is known as the turn. Betting begins with the person sitting on the left of the dealer.
6. Another round follows the same procedure and this is called the 'River'
7. The final stage is when the players use any combination of the two pocket cards and five board cards to form the highest playing hand.

These rules should get you started with Texas Hold Em Poker.

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