There are multiple forms of the game of Poker, but we will start off with explaining the rules of the most played form: Texas Hold ‘Em.

Before the game starts, a dealer has to be chosen. The person who is chosen will get the dealer chip. This chip indicates which player is the dealer. The dealer chip will move to the next player (left side) after every round.

At the start of every hand, before the cards are dealt, the two players left of the dealer have to put in a “blind“. The player left of the dealer puts the ‘Small Blind’ (SB). The player left of the Small Blind will have to put in the ‘Big Blind’ (BB).

After the blinds each player is dealt two cards on which he has to base his next decision. The player has five decisions he can make:

Check

If you choose to check, you will remain ‘idle’ until his next turn. You will still be in the game, but you also make no move. Checking is only possible if there hasn’t been a bet from another player before you. Blinds are considered bets, so checking after the blind is not possible. After you have checked, the turn is given to the player sitting left of you.

Fold

Folding your hand means you will lay down your cards and remove yourself from the current round. You will not be able to take part in the game until your next hand is dealt.

Bet

A bet is when you are the first to raise the original “pot“. You will choose a reasonable amount of chips based on your hand and raise the pot with this amount. The player left of you now has the option to fold, raise or call. Players who have checked before you, will also need to make this decision, so everyone on the table puts in at least the same amount of chips or folds. These bets can be limited if you play ‘Limit Texas Hold ‘Em’. In this form of Texas Hold ‘Em bets are limited to a maximum. This limitation does not exist in ‘No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em’. The same rules apply for raising and re-raising (see further down).

Call

Calling means you will put in the same amount of chips as the one who has bet or raised. This is the cheapest way to stay in the current round if a bet or a raise has occurred.

Raise

A raise means you will raise the bet a player before you has made. It works the same way as a bet, besides the fact that you raise another player’s bet in stead of the original “pot“. If one of the players after you wants to raise your raise, it is called re-raising.

These steps are repeated until every player that’s still in play has had the chance to react on the moves made by the other players.

When this stage of the round is completed, it is time to get the dealer to show the “flop“. Before the flop is shown the dealer “burns” a card. When the flop is shown, the same sequence of decisions, as shown above, is followed.

After the flop and the second sequence, another card is burned before showing the “turn“. This card is followed by the sequence above again. After the turn and the third sequence, another last card is burned before showing the “river“. This fifth and last “community card” is followed by the last sequence of the game. If there’s still more than one player active in the game, this last sequence is followed by the “showdown“, otherwise the last player left is the winner. The winner can also be clear in one of the earlier stages if all but one give up then.

If you follow these rules closely and strictly and know all the different Poker Hands, you are ready to play Texas Hold ‘Em!

Enjoy!