Texas Hold'em
Goal
Win the pot by making the best five-card hand or by having everyone fold.
Key Terms
- Blinds: Forced bets (small and big) posted before cards are dealt.
- Bet/Call/Raise: Put chips in, match a bet, or increase it.
- Fold: Give up your hand and any claim to the pot.
- Community cards: Shared board cards everyone uses.
- Pot: The chips in the middle that the winner takes.
- Check: Pass the action without betting when no bet has been made.
Setup
- Two players post blinds.
- Each player gets two private cards (hole cards).
- Choose a dealer button; it moves clockwise each hand. The player left of the dealer posts the small blind, the next posts the big blind.
Betting Rounds
- Pre-flop (after hole cards)
- Flop (3 community cards)
- Turn (4th community card)
- River (5th community card)
Actions
- Check, bet, call, raise, or fold.
Showdown
- If more than one player remains, the best five-card hand wins (using any combination of hole + community cards).
Example Hand
You have A♠K♠. The board is A♥ 7♠2♠9♦ K♦, giving you two pair (Aces and Kings).