This article is about the texas holdem rules - or the rules for playing the 'Cadillac of poker' - Texas No Limit Hold'em. 

We have attempted to write these rules as simple as possible, leaving out some of the more advanced rulesets, so these are easy to comprehend poker rules for beginners.

Before we can dig into the texas poker holdem rules, there are a few definitions, that must be clear:

community cards: These are the cards, that the dealer puts on the middle of the table.

hole cards: These are the cards, that are dealt to each participating player.

the streets:  There are three streets, the first is the flop (where the dealer puts 3 community cards on face up on the table), then there is the turn, where the dealer puts one additional community card face up on the table, and lastly the river, where the dealer puts the fifth community card face up on the table.

The button is the player who deals this hand. When the hand is over - the winner of the hand has been determined, the button moves one seat to the left, and this player is then the button/dealer for the following hand. If playing with a fixed dealer, the button still moves around the table, to keep track of who is small blind and big blind, who should bet first to act, etc.

The blinds are the two players to the left of the button. The player to the immediate left of the button is the SB (=Small Blind). The player to the immediate left of the SB is the BB (= Big Blind). The BB has a forced bet of 1 BB, and the SB has a forced bet of ½ BB that they must put in the pot, no matter if they like their holecards or not. 

Once the button/dealer has dealt two cards face down to each player, and the two blinds (SB & BB) have placed their forced bets, the preflop betting round can start.

The first player to act preflop is the player to the immediate left of the BB. This player has the possibility to either fold, call (=limp) or raise. If he folds, he mucks his cards and is no longer part of this hand. Once this player is done, the player to the immediate left has the same choice between call, raise or fold. This continues clockwise all around the table until either all but one player have folded, or all remaining players have added the same amount of chips/money to the pot.

When the preflop betting round is completed - and if there are still more than one player involved in the hand, the first three community cards are revealed. This is called the flop. This is when the post flop game starts.

The flop:
Once the three flop cards are revealed, the next betting round starts. The first player on each subsequent street is the first remaining player counted clockwise from the button. This player now has the options of either checking or betting. If any player puts in a bet, all other (of the remaining players) have to call (= match that bet), raise - or fold. Again, once every remaining player have added the same amount to the pot, they have paid for the right to continue to the next street.

The turn:
The next community card is revealed. Notice that on the flop, there were three community cards revealed. On the turn and on the river, only one card is presented. Again it is the first remaining player counted clockwise from the button to act first. The options are the same (Check, bet or fold) as on the flop. When all remaining players once again have added the same amount of money/chips to the pot, the final betting round (the river) can start.

The river:
The final betting round. Once again the first remaining player clockwise from the button is first to act. The options are the same as on the turn. Assuming more than one player persists after this last betting round, the winner is the one who can make the best possible hand combination from his two hole cards and the five community cards.

The winning hand:
There can only be a maximum of five cards in the winning hand. These five cards can be any combination of the players own hole cards and the community cards.

Folding
Whenever a player folds, he loses whatever money he has already placed in the pot. Do not fold, until you have to. It is not uncommon in live poker, to see a player fold, when he could just checked. Another common mistake is when people fold, before it is their turn to act. If you fold, make sure no one sees your cards - as it may influence the way the remaining players would act.