As a new poker player, We advise you to start off by playing the variation of poker called Texas Hold’em. It is without a doubt the best and most popular poker variation which can be played by up to ten players at any given moment. The game of Hold’em poker can be studied faster than the other poker games, though like we always say, you have to be sure you know all the rules and strategies in order to gain better winning odds.

There are enough online poker rooms that offer their new poker players the option to play poker online without having to place bets. in other words, you can practice playing texas Holdem until you think you are capable of placing bets. The Texas Holdem poker variation has a set of unique rules. We will try to explain them here briefly since this is only the introduction to the texas Holdem poker game.

Texas Holdem Poker Game Rules

The dealer starts by shuffling a deck of cards. (52 cards)

• Blinds – At the beginning of the game round, two of the players that sit to the left of the dealer need to place their bets before getting their cards. The amount of money that is placed is pre-determined in order to get an initial amount of money at the beginning of the game. this move is often called “posting the blinds”.
• Pocket Cards – After the blinds are placed, Every player gets two cards faced down. those cards are called hole or pocket cards.
• Round One – The bets begin with the poker player who is to the left of those who placed the blinds and continues clockwise around the poker table. Every player has the option to fold, call or raise bets. This round is commonly known as “pre-flop”. The amount of the bets depend on the betting structure, which is explained in our poker articles section.
• Burn Card – After the first betting round, the dealer takes off the first faced-down card of the deck. That move is made in order to prevent cheating.
• Flop Cards – The next step. The dealer flips three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the poker table. Those cards are called flop cards and can be used by any of the poker players to help them form a poker hand.
• Round Two – The second round goes as followed in round one. starting by the player which is left to the dealer.
• Turn Card – After the second betting round, another card is burned. same as after the first betting round. Then he flips a 4th card which is placed on the table facing up.
• Round Three – The same as the previous betting rounds with one exception. the players have the option to raise their bets.
• River Card – The dealer burns another card from the top of the deck. and places the 5th and final card on the poker table. this is the last card that is dealt face-up. The players can now either use any of the five cards that are placed face up on the table or the two cards they have, to form a poker hand.
  Round four – This is the final round which follows the same rules as the previous round.
• Showdown – After the final round, The players reveal their poker hands. The round starts from the left poker player of the last player to call. The player that shows the best poker hand wins. There is a possibility that two players have the same hands. if so, those players split the winnings.

If you know that you are about to lose the game, you can always “Muck”. Muck means giving up your hand and losing the pot. Do so only if you know that there is no chance you can win, and if you think it is wiser to forfeit the game and not reveal your cards.