No Limit Texas Hold’em has long been one of the most popular styles of poker. Since the sudden explosion of online poker during the mid 1990′s, it has become the industry standard due to its relative simplicity and exciting play.

During a hand of Texas Hold’em poker, each player is dealt two cards face down which only they may use. Starting from the left of the big blind, a round of betting takes place, with all of the chips going into the ‘pot’.

Three face up community cards are then dealt in the middle, referred to as the ‘flop’, which any player can use to try to formulate the best five card hand possible. When the flop has been dealt, another round of betting begins, starting with the first player to the dealer’s left.

After that round of betting has finished, one more card is dealt face up to the community cards – the ‘turn’ card. Once again starting to the left of the dealer, the players take it in turn to bet on the hand.

When the players have bet the turn card, the fifth and final of the community cards is dealt – known as the ‘river’. Any players remaining in the hand then have one final round of betting before revealing the best five card hands they can make between the five community cards and their pair of face down cards. The player who has made the best hand wins the pot.

May 14 2010