Poker has grown in popularity over the past few years. So much so that it is now regularly televised event on several cable stations.

The popularity of Poker -- and specifically Texas Hold'em -- stems from the fact that Poker is so easy to learn. Beginners can comfortably start playing Poker within minutes. That being said, there is a significant amount of skill that can be learned over years of play.

This article discusses the rules for one popular version of Poker known as Texas Hold'Em.

Poker Hands

Poker is based on 5 card hands. These hands are ranked in order of the difficulty in achieving these specific combinations of cards.

Cards from a standard playing deck are numbered 2-10, J, Q, K, A, from lowest to highest value. Each card also has one of four different "suits" -- hearts (h), clubs (c), spades (s), diamonds (d).

Specific combinations of these cards represent the Poker Hands, and are listed here in descending order of rank:

Straight flush Consecutive #s, same suit
Full House Three of one #, Two of another #
Flush All the same suit
Straight Consecutive #s
Three of a kind Three cards of the same #
Two Pair Two Pairs of cards with the same #
Pair Single pair of cards with the same #

Examples:

Straight: 2 3 4 5 6
Flush: 2c 5c 9c Ac Jc
Two Pair: 3 3 8 8 X
Three of a kind: 9 9 9 X X

X = any card

Texas Hold'Em Rules

The game usually involves a table of about 10 players. One player is arbitrarily labeled the "dealer" (or "button"). Play starts to the left of the "dealer", and continues in a clock-wise order.

After each hand, the "dealer" designation moves one position to the left. So every player at the table has his fair share as "dealer". Note: in a casino, there is a designated dealer who physically deals the cards... but this naming convention remains to allow eveyone to have a fair turn in the "dealer" position. The "dealer" position is advantageous because that player is the last to act during betting. Everyone else must either bet or fold before the "dealer" has to act.

First 2 Cards

Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are the player's private cards and should not be shown to anyone else. Each player looks at their cards and a round of betting ensues. As always, play stars to the left of the dealer and each player can either "bet", "raise", or "fold" depending on how strong they feel their cards are.

If a player "raises" by increasing the bet, then subsequent players must either match that raise ("call") or fold (put down their cards). This way, everyone still playing (ie. hasn't folded) has contributed an equal amount of money to the "pot".

The Flop

Once the initial round of betting has finished, then three cards are dealt from the deck face-up in the middle of the table. These three cards are known as "The Flop" and represent community cards shared by everyone at the table. At this point, each player has a 5 card hand composed of two private cards and the three community cards.

Another round of betting/raising/folding ensues.

The Turn

After everyone has bet on The Flop, a 4th community card is dealt -- called "The Turn". Another round of betting ensues.

The River

After betting, a final community card is dealt -- called "The River". A final round of betting ensues. And once this is complete, players reveal their two private cards.

The player with the best possible hand out of their set of cards is the winner and wins the money from the pot. If at any point during the betting rounds described above, only one person remains betting, while all other people have folded, then that one person wins the pot by default.

Blinds

One additional rule that helps keep the game moving is the concept of "Blinds". The two players to the left of the dealer are known as the small and big blinds, respectively. These two players must put money into the pot before they see their first two cards (hence the name "blind"). This is to make sure there is always someone who has contributed to the pot so that there is always someone playing in each hand.

The small blind has to bet 1/2 of the minimum bet at the table, while the big blind has to bet equal to the minimum bet.