In hold’em, the first step is to get the game started, and for this the competitors put out a set total of money. ‘Posting the blinds’ is the commonly used term for this play. In the next step, the croupier shuffles the deck of cards and deals two cards face down to all players. A regular deck of fifty two playing cards is used in the deal. Then there is the initial round of wagering. This round is often known as a "pre-flop".
Following the first wagering round, the top card is discarded. This thrown away card is called the "burn card", and this is done to ensure there is definitely no treachery. The following three cards are then dealt face up on the poker table. These cards are known as ‘the flop’. Now comes a second round of betting, after which the croupier tosses out another card and deals 1 more card onto the poker table. Following this, players can employ the sixth card to create a 5card poker hand.
A further sequence of betting follows, and in many styles of games, here is where the wager size increases. There is an additional round of burning a card, and a last deal of a card face-up on the table. This is called the "river". Competitors can now make use of any of the 5 cards on the table, and/or the two cards that they are holding, to assemble a five-card poker hand.
To wrap it up there’s another round of wagering. Then, all the players left begin to reveal their hands. This is known as the "showdown". Clearly, the player who holds the best hand is the winner. When competitors have tied hands a splitting of the winnings is used.
Holdem is a simple game to pickup, but to acquire knowledge it requires a large amount of studying.
