Basic Explanation and Terms
First of all, in Texas holdem, each player will get 2 cards that are placed right in front of them facing down. This means that the player can view the cards without showing it to the other players and the dealer. These are called ‘hole cards’. After the first two downcards are dealt, there is a quick round of betting based on the hole cards.

Then comes the ‘flop’ where 3 boardcards are turned up in the middle of the table. These boardcards are dealt face up. Another round of betting will occur after the 3 boardcards are dealt.

Following that, the dealer will deal one more community card in the middle of the table, followed by a round of betting. The fourth card is often called the ‘Fourth Street’ or ‘turn’. Lastly, the last community card is dealt in the middle of the table followed by another round of betting. The last card is called the ‘river’ or the ‘fifth street’.

The 5 board cards are called ‘community cards’ and the player can choose to combine any 2 (or both) of their cards with the community cards to form a hand. There are no restrictions as to which card can be used. The player can choose to combine some or all personal cards with some board cards to form the hand or he/she can choose to use all the board cards and not touch the personal cards.

And the objective is to form the best possible 5 card hand using these cards to win the pot money!

Betting rounds in Texas Holdem
There are four betting rounds in Texas Holdem. One after the first 2 personal cards are dealt, another one after the first 3 board cards are dealt, then one round of betting for each of the next 2 board cards.

Texas Holdem do’s and don’ts
1. If the hole card or personal card is accidentally revealed, it is called a misdeal. The dealer is required to retrieve ALL cards from ALL the players. The cards will be reshuffled, re-cut and re-dealt. If the exposure of the hole card is caused by the dealer, the deal continues but the exposed hole card must not be used. The dealer will replace it with another card from the top of the deck and place the exposed hole card to be used as the burn card. More so if more than one card is exposed, the dealer will have re-deal.

2. The top card from the deck is always discarded and this is called the burn. This is done so that no one (including the dealer) saw the card. By burning the top card, it also prevents cheating.

3. The player who made the last raise (bet) will show his or her hand first.

4. Playing a Fixed-Limit Texas Holdem game means that the bet and the raise amount are predetermined. If the limit is fixed at $5/$10, both the bets and raises for the first 2 rounds can only be for $5 each time. Subsequently, players can raise $10 for the last two rounds of betting.

5. In a Pot Limit Texas Holdem game, the raise and bet can never be more than the existing pot amount. For example, if the pot stands at $50, the raise or bet cannot be more than that amount.

6. The final popular type of Texas Holdem is the No Limit Texas Holdem whereby there is no limit to the bet and raise amounts.

7. The cap is what we call the number of times it permitted to raise against a bet. If the cap is at three, only three raises are allowed.

8. Buying the Pot means that if you make a bet or make a raise and all remaining players fold, you’ve just bought the pot. At this point, you can either show your hand or muck it…up to you.