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Texas Hold'em (holdem) is a poker game where the best five card hand is selected from seven cards. The best hand wins based on the usual hand categories with a Royal Flush being the top hand. It is assumed that readers are at least aware of the winning order of poker hands.
The delivery of the cards by the casino dealer starts with two down cards given to each player. The casino dealer does not play. Each player looks at their down ("hole" or "pocket") cards. Then a betting round begins.
Most commonly, there are ten players at a table. Although I have seen more, especially in tournaments and often with player drop-outs, it can be smaller. We will assume ten players and later relax this assumption. The casino dealer is not among the ten players, as he does not play.
For each game, one player is considered to be the designated dealer, despite the deal actually being done by the casino dealer. For instance, suppose I am four seats to the left of the casino dealer (cards are dealt clockwise) and I am the designated "dealer." In front of me will be a little white "button" or "puck" with a "D" or "B" on it. This button rotates one seat to the left after each game so that you are the button once every 10 hands.
The player immediately to my left (if I am the button) is called the "small blind" (SB). The player on his left is called the "big blind" (BB). In a $1/$2 game the BB puts $1 out as an initial bet before the cards are dealt. The SB usually puts up half of this amount prior to the deal. Therefore, every pot has at least the blind money in the pot.
Every player receives two down cards - called pocket cards. The SB receives the first card and the BB gets the next card and this continues around the table, twice, ending with the button receiving his second card. Then the first round of betting begins.
Holdem consists of two cards face down for each player plus five face up cards which are common to all players. Each player uses their personal down cards plus the five common cards to make the best five card poker hand. There are four rounds of betting in holdem. After all the players have received their two face down cards there is a round of betting called pre-flop betting. After the pre-flop betting is completed three cards are placed face up in the middle of the table. Then the second round of betting begins and is referred to as betting on the flop. After the flop betting has been completed a fourth card is placed face up in the middle of the table beside the three flop cards. This card is called the turn card or fourth street. Then the third round of betting begins which is called the turn betting. After this round of betting is completed a fifth card is placed face up on the board and the final round of betting begins. The fifth card is called the river card or fifth street and this betting round is called "betting on the river".
This completes the betting.
You're betting and raising in any given game is limited to the amount of money you have exposed on the table. If you end up with all your money in the pot, it is called "all in". You continue to play but the size of the pot you can win is limited to the size of the pot after your "all in" has been called. Subsequent betting money is placed in a "side pot" and the others compete for it. If you have the best hand you win your designated pot but not the side pot. (You are not allowed to increase your table stake until the game is over which is the reason you are limited to your table money). The side pot is won by the highest hand owned by the others. If you do not have the best hand, all of the money goes to the player with the best hand.
While the players are trying to make money many also want to enjoy the game. Casinos have rules, such as, all players must speak English, and you are not allowed to criticize others and other helpful requirements are mandated. Casino dealers will answer polite questions with respect to rules etc., (but simple questions to the dealer will broadcast to players that you are a novice and this could affect how others play against you). It is a good idea to be polite and also not to unfairly delay the game by taking a long time to decide on your bets. Do not show individual players your pocket cards, even after the hand is over, if you do there are rules that apply and you could be required to show the cards to all the players. Do not intentionally show your pocket cards when you are mucking them. There are other polite and ethical considerations that you will learn as you play but if you are trying to be fair, you will be forgiven the occasional faux pas. Do not worry too much about etiquette, as players will recognize that you are learning and will make helpful suggestions.
It is customary to tip the dealer when you win a pot. By watching the other players you can figure out the tipping etiquette. In limit games of $1/$2 or lower a usual tip would be 50 cents and for larger limit games one dollar is reasonable. In very large pots or very large limit games the expectation might be a couple of dollars.
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