Each poker player will receive two cards faced down. These cards are called the players ‘pocket’ cards, (hope for aces) and only he or she can see them. The first round of betting begins with the dealer, and ends with the player that made the big blind. The player can either call the bet made by the big blind, raise it to any amount allowed by the betting restrictions, or fold. Up to this point we have discussed Texas Hold’em and why it has become so popular. We briefed you on the different types of pots and some of the basic rules. We talked about no limit verse pot limit. We also covered how the cards were dealt. Then we tied in how each round of betting happens. Below we will go into more details on things such as blinds, rivers, and how to determine who wins a hand.

Texas Hold’em uses blinds rather then your typical antes. The blinds often increase with time pasting. Blinds are forced bets that are usually larger than an ante would be, however they are only made by two of the players for each hand. The player to the right of the dealer must ante the ‘big blind’, and the player to his or her right must make the ‘small blind’ which is half the amount of the first blind. Once the 2nd round of grueling betting completes another card is turned over called 4th street. Again, betting begins to the left of the dealer, and ends with the dealer. A final community card called ‘the river’ is dealt, and is followed by a final round of betting in the same order. Whoever has the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.