Basic Texas Hold'em Play
The hand starts with the dealer dealing two cards to every player face down, these cards are known as a players "hole" cards. Hole card vales are not known to the others at the table they are private cards seen only by the player to whom they were dealt.

Players study their hole cards, mentally calculate the odds of them becoming part of a winning hand, and then decide what action to take in a round of betting.

With the first round of betting over the dealer then deals three cards face up in the centre of the table, these cards are known as "the flop". The flop is the first set of cards in a group of community cards that can be seen by all of the players at the table. The community cards can be used by all of the players in making the best five card poker hand they can.

After the flop has been dealt the players engage in another round of betting.

After this round of betting the dealer deals a single card, called "the turn". The turn is dealt face up for all to see and added to the community cards.

After the turn has been dealt the players once again go through a round of betting.

When the betting round is completed the dealer deals one last card, called "the river". This card is also dealt face up for all to see and is also added to the community cards.

After the river has been dealt all of the cards for use by the players have been dealt. Any players remaining then go through the last round of betting.

When this last round of betting is complete, assuming there are still at least two players left to play out the hand, the showdown takes place. All the players show their hole cards and the one who can make the best hand out of the seven cards available to them wins the pot. The players use the best five of the seven cards available to them to make their best five card hand they can use none, one, or two of their hole cards.

Poker Betting
Poker betting is such an important part of playing poker that players must understand betting basics.

Every time the dealer finishes dealing a set of cards (the hole cards, the flop, the turn, and the river) a round of betting takes place. The betting is done in an organized manner and each player, in order, is asked what action he/she wishes to do. A player has to do one of four actions when it's their turn, they have the option of folding, checking, calling, or raising.

Folding - To fold the player simply returns the cards to the dealer and sits out the rest of the hand. A player will fold when he/she feels that the cards they have can't be made into a strong enough hand to win the pot or when he/she has a feeling that another player has a better hand than they do.

Checking - When checking a player is declaring interest in remaining in the game but is unwilling to make a bet. Checking can only be done when no-one has made a bet in the betting round.

Calling - If a player has bet in this betting round and you wish to remain in the game but you don't want to increase your bet, you have to call. Calling means that you have to match the previous bet(s) (as all players have to contribute equally to the pot) but you don't increase the bet.

Raising - When you think that your hand is the best at the table or you wish to "bluff" (implying to the other players that you have the best hand and they would be smart to fold) you increase your bet. In the event that all of the other players fold you win the pot by default.

Different Texas Hold'em Games
The game of Texas Hold'em is only played one way. The different names given to Texas Hold'em poker refer only to different betting methods used by the players. There are three different betting styles to choose among; Table limit, Pot limit, and No-limit betting.

Table Limit
Table limit poker limits the betting amounts a player is allowed to wager or raise to a pre-set fixed amount. The poker games played at table limit tables are often referred to by these pre-set limit amounts. A $1/$2 Texas Hold'em table is a poker table offering a Texas Hold'em poker game with fixed limits of $1 for the first two rounds of betting and $2 for the last two rounds of betting.

Pot Limit
Pot limit poker limits the amount that can be wagered to the amount that is in "the pot". However the pot in this type of game is the sum of the money in the pot, all of the bets on the table, and the amount that a player must call before betting. This type of betting has low betting limits in the first round, but with each round of betting the limits can quickly rise as the pot size grows.

No-Limit
No-limit poker games have basically no limit on the amount that players are allowed to wager. The no-limit Texas Hold'em poker game is what is played in most major televised tournaments. This game is exciting for both player and spectators especially when a player goes "all in", betting everything they have and then hoping they get the cards needed to win.

The no-limit and pot limit poker games, because of the large potential bets involved, should be left to experienced poker players. Those who are learning Texas Hold'em (or any type of poker) would be well advised to stick to table limit games until they are ready to play against more experienced players.