Texas Hold’em is undoubtedly the most universally popular variation of poker, both in the live and online poker format, in the world. If you’ve ever watched poker on TV, chances are it was Texas hold ‘em.

It’s a very easy game to pick up – a few quick pointers and you should be able to follow the course of play, including betting and understanding what makes up a winning hand.

Most poker players enter the game of poker via Hold’em, which is why we suggest you learn these basic rules first before progressing to all the other variations on offer. These are the basic rules for Texas Hold ‘Em Poker: Texas Hold’em can be played by between 2 and 11 players. The game is won by the player that has assembled the best possible 5-card hand The Blinds A blind is a bet that is made before the pocket cards are dealt to each poker player. The first two poker players to the left of the dealer pay the blinds. The Small Blind is posted by the first player and the Big Blind by the second. The size of the big and small blinds are predetermined, as well as the regular bets. The size of the small blind is half the size of the big blind. Blinds and regular bets are displayed in this format: $2/$4 or $50/$100 The Deal When the dealer is not playing, such as in Casinos and some online poker tournaments, a round disc — known as a “dealer button” — moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer so the blinds to move around the table and players are aware of position. To start, you’ll be dealt two cards ‘pocket cards’ – which you’ll keep to yourself. The remaining five cards are community cards which are dealt in stages and are placed face-up in the middle to be used by every player to make hands.

Pre-Flop After the pocket cards are dealt a round of betting takes place, beginning with the poker player to the immediate left of the big blind. Players can then fold, call, or bet – depending on how good a hand they have. At this stage you have to at least call this bet to stay in the hand or fold if you don’t fancy your luck. Checking isn’t an option here because the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting The action moves around the table in a clockwise direction until each player has called, folded, or raised. If nobody has raised by the time the betting gets to the big blind, they can either check their own blind or raise. If everyone bets both blinds still have the option of raising if they want or folding if someone previously has raised. These are universal Texas Hold’em poker rules. The FlopThe dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the “flop.” This time the betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is still active in the hand or not. The player to the left of the dealer will keep the initial action for the rest of the hand. During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet. The turn card In this phase the dealer burns a card and then deals a 4th community card face up, otherwise referred to as the turn card. Again this is used by all players to construct their hands and is followed by a round of betting starting with the first remaining player left of the dealer just like after the flop.