Holdem Help

After the blinds have been paid, the dealer will give each player their "hole cards". these cards will be dealt face down.

Betting begins after the cards have been dealt. The player to the left of the big blind will be the first person to bet. As with most other games, players may call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

Once the first round of betting is complete, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is referred to as burning the card. This is done as a security precaution to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card. Burning a card helps to reduce cheating.

The dealer then deals the next three cards, face up, to the middle of the table. These community cards are called the "flop." Eventually there will be a total of five community cards. Players will use precisely three of the community cards in combination with exactly two of their hole cards to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

After the flop, another round of betting takes place. This begins with the person to the immediate left of the player who possesses the dealer button. In other words, the person who posted the small blind, begins all betting rounds after the flop. During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

The dealer burns another card and places a card, face up, to the middle of the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn" or "Fourth Street." Another round of betting takes place.

The dealer burns yet another card before dealing the final face-up card to the center of the table. This card is called the "river" or "Fifth Street."

Players now use exactly three of the five community cards and exactly two of their four hole cards to form the best possible five-card poker hand.

The fourth and final round of betting begins. By this point many players have usually already dropped out. After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game show their hands. Traditionally the first player to reveal their hand is the the player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise.

The player with the best five-card poker hand wins. The dealer button is now moved clockwise to the next player.