Texas Hold'em
Hold’Em is a game in w hich each player receives two cards as his initial hand. Each player will use his/her two hole cards along with the five community cards to form the best five-card poker hand.
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Blind and Betting Structure
In order to start the betting action, Hold’Em uses what are called blind bets (blinds) to stimulate action and initiate play. Blinds are posted before the dealer deals the first cards.
Blinds are posted by players who sit in consecutive clockwise order from the dealer button, with the first player posting a predetermined amount called the “small blind”. The next person in order posts what is called the “big blind”. Action is initiated on the first betting round by the player on the immediate left of the big blind. The blinds act last on the first betting round and are “live”, which means the player is allowed to raise his/her own blind bet.
The board cards are dealt in three sequences known as the “flop”, “turn” and “river”. In Hold’Em there are four total rounds of betting, two at the smaller limit and two at the larger limit. The first round of betting takes place after each player has been dealt his initial two card hand. The second betting round takes place after the flop has been dealt. The third round of betting takes place after the turn card has been dealt and the fourth and final round of betting will take place after the river card has been dealt.
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A new player entering any Hold’Em ring game has several options to satisfy the initial blind requirements:
- Wait for his big blind.
- Wait until the button passes and then post his big blind.
- Post the big blind immediately regardless of seat position.
- If he/she chooses the second or third option, the blind acts as his/her opening bet.
Things to Know about Hold’Em Poker
A player may use any combination of five cards to determine his best hand:
- Two cards from his/her hand and three from the board.
- One card from his hand and four from the board.
- No cards from his/her hand and five from the board. This is referred to as “playing the board”.
Hold’em hand example:
Your starting hand: 
Your opponent’s starting hand: 
The board: (flop, turn and river):
flop turn river
Your hand:
You best five card hand is a flush, a, k, 8, 7 and 10 
Your opponent’s hand:
Your opponent’s best five card hand is three of a kind, k, k, k, a and 8
