Texas Hold’em is the most popular form of poker. It is widely considered to have the most strategy of all poker games, but the rules are very simple. Here is how Texas Hold’em is played:
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Hole Cards. Each player is dealt two cards face down.
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The Flop. Three cards are dealt face up on the table.
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The Turn. A fourth card is dealt to the table.
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The River. Finally, a fifth card is dealt to the table.
The five cards on the table are community cards. Your hand is formed by taking the best hand you can by using any five out of the seven cards (5 community + 2 hole cards). But remember, all the players have access to the community cards. When played for money, there is a round of betting after a round of cards is dealt (so four rounds of betting in total).
Example #1
Here you have an flush with 3 cards in the board and 2 in your hand
Example #2
you have a King pair with Queen Kicker. The kicker is very important, because you would beat a player holding KJ or K6, you would lose to a player with AK because he has a higher kicker.
Example #3
Here you have a straight to the king, by using all the community cards and none of your hole cards. But think about the fact that everyone else has a straight too. How could you win the entire pot in this situation, instead of splitting it? You might bet and represent (pretend you have) the ace. However, if someone else really does have the Ace, you would be raised and put into miserable situation.
