Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is a game of ever-growing popularity. It is very easy to learn and to play and will offer several hours of great game play. This article is designed to offer a basic knowledge of the rules and object of the game. The object is to create the best possible hand out of the two Pocket cards you are dealt and the five community cards presented.
To begin a game, the Big Blind and the Small Blind, the two players to the left of the dealer button, post their respective Blinds. The dealer then deals the Pocket Cards, consisting of two face down cards, to each player and the PreFlop betting round begins with the third player from the left of the dealer button. Now the dealer reveals the Flop or the first three community cards. Yet another round of betting begins, this time (and from here on out) with the player to the left of the dealer button. On to the Turn, the fourth community card and the subsequent betting round. Finally, the River (the fifth and final community card) is dealt and the remaining players make their bets. Now, the most important part of the game, the Showdown, begins. This is where the remaining players make the best hands that they can with their Pocket cards and the five community cards showing. The winner is determined by the highest ranking hand shown. The rankings of each hand are shown in descending order in the table below.

Hand Description
Royal Flush Any hand consisting of five cards of the same suit in sequential order with the specific combination of A, K, Q, J and 10
Straight Flush Any hand consisting of five cards of the same suit in sequential order
Four of a Kind Four Cards of the same rank
Full House A pair and three of a kind
Flush five cards of the same suit
Straight any five cards in sequential order
Three of a Kind three cards of the same rank
2 Pair two sets of cards of the same rank
1 Pair a set of cards of the same rank
High Card the highest card in your hand