INTRODUCTION TO TEXAS HOLD'EM

Are you new to Texas Hold'em poker? If you’ve never played at all, you’ll soon realize that this variation of  poker is one of the easiest games for a beginner to learn. As they say on TV, it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. You can expect to be able to play the game fairly well within a few hours. But to get really good, you have to pay your dues at the tables. In short, you have to play.

So, let’s get started with How to Play Texas Hold’em.

                 
Binnon's Horseshoe Club, Downtown Las Vegas

The game has a dealer but to even things out, one player is determined to be the theoretical dealer. This person is known as the button because of the dealer button that’s put in front of him. After each deal the button moves to the next person, from right to left.

The betting structure can vary, but the game actually starts before the cards are dealt. Two players put chips into the pot to ensure that each deal gets some action. This is called posting the blinds and the amounts differ depending on the monetary limit of the particular game. These players are the two to the left of the dealer. Normally most on-line poker rooms will tell you the size of the blinds at the top of the web page (room) but you can expect a small blind and a big blind, with the big blind commonly twice as much as the little blind.

The dealer shuffles up a complete deck of 52 playing cards.. 
  Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called your hole cards or pocket cards and they are the only cards you will get.  
  Betting then starts with the player to the left of the big blind. This round is usually referred to by the term pre-flop.
The amount you bet depends on what kind of game you are playing. The two most common games in terms of betting are limit and no limit (although pot limit is fairly common). As a beginner, you should be playing limit hold’em where the bets are structured. (IE: if you are playing $1 - $2 limit then the most you can bet or raise pre-flop and on the flop is a dollar. After the flop, the bet doubles to $2 on the fourth and fifth community cards). This is drastically different from the high stakes no limit games seen on TV where you can bet any amount at any time up to and including all your money.
  Much like most games of poker, players can check (do nothing), raise (increase the bet), or fold (throw your hand away).
  After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card.
  The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the flop. These are community cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.

There is another round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
  After the betting concludes, the dealer burns another card and flips one more onto the table. This is called the turn card. Players can use this card now to form a five-card poker hand.
  After the turn, the player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games such as limit hold’em, this is where the bet size doubles.
Finally, the dealer burns a card and places a final card face up on the table. This is called the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five-card poker hand.
  One round of betting starts again with the player to the left of the dealer.
  After that, all of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. It's called the showdown.

The player with the best hand wins!
  The best way to learn to play Texas Hold’em is to actually play.