Poker - Texas Hold'em Rules

::Found this just a couple of days ago, so read this !::

Poker - Texas Hold'em Rules

Thanks to televised tournaments and the highly successful World Series of Poker Tour, Texas Holdem has become not only the most popular poker card game, it has become one of the most popular gambling games in general. The game can be very exciting, and can produce sizable jackpots - Of course, depending on the stake limits of the game. All games are characterized by their betting limits. For instance, a $5/$10 Texas Holdem game simply means that $5 is the minimum bet and $10 is the maximum bet.

• That being said, the game begins with one of the players being classified as the "dealer" (even though they do not deal any cards). A "dealer button" sits directly in front of this player, and is rotated from player to player each game. To open the pot, the player to the immediate left of the "dealer" is required to make a bet in the amount of half of the minimum stake, called the small blind wager. In a $5/10 game, this would be $2.50. The next player over must also make a blind bet, (called the big blind) but in the amount of the entire minimum stake (This would be $5). After both players have made the blind bets, which is considered the stimulus for the entire game, the real dealer will dish out two face-down cards - also called pocket or hole cards - to each player.
  




• When all the cards are finished being dealt, the player to the immediate left of the players who made the blind bets will make the first action. This is considered the first round of betting. During this betting round, players can either fold, call or raise. A fold is forfeiting one's hand; A call is matching another players bet. A raise is putting down a larger bet (Once a raise has been made, all players must call it, in order to stay in the game). All bets and raises in this round must be equal to the table minimum. Also, there is a maximum of three raises per betting round.
  

• Now comes the "Flop". After the first betting round is completed, the dealer will expose three face-up cards in the center of the table. These are called "community cards", meaning although the players do not pick up these cards, the players original two cards will be weighed in combination with the community cards - forming the highest ranking hand possible.
  

• After the Flop, another round of betting ensues. The first player to act is the one who made the first blind bet (to the immediate left of the dealer button). This player has the option of betting or checking. Checking is when a player chooses to neither bet nor raise, but passes their turn onto the next player. Other players can do the same, but only if there is no bet or raise already on the table. When a bet is made, following players can either fold, call or raise. All bets and raises must still be in the amount of the table minimum.
  

• Next is the "Turn". This is simply the addition of another community card, giving a total of four.
  

• Again, another betting round ensues in the same manner as the previous. The only difference is that all bets and raises must be in the amount of the maximum stake this time.
  
  
  

• The last community card is revealed when the betting round is over. This is referred to as the "River" and brings the total number of community cards to five.
  

• The last betting round follows the "River", and is done with maximum stake amounts - as was the case in the previous betting round. When all players have finished, all hands are revealed and each player adopts (by default) the three best community cards that will help their two card hand to become the highest ranking poker hand possible. The highest ranking hand wins the pot.