Texas Hold’em is the most popular form of poker, and has been front and center of all card games in popular media.
How is it played?
At the start of the game each player is dealt two cards faced down, referred to as “hole cards” or “pocket cards”. After this, five “community” cards are dealt, face down, on the table. Each player now gets to check their cards, and have an opportunity to fold, call, or raise the bet. Betting continues if there are two or more active players who have not folded and have placed their bets in the pot.
At the start of the next round of betting, three cards are flipped face-up. The players can call, raise, fold, or check. If the game doesn’t conclude at this round, the fourth community card is revealed, and starts another betting round.
For the final betting round, the final community card or the “river” gets dealt face-up. The betting round ensues. If more than one player remains after the betting round, the players reveal their cards clockwise, with the best hand winning the game. In cases where two or more players have identical hands, the pot will be divided equally between them.
