The unique feature of this game is the introduction or usage of the community cards and as such is also referred to as a Community Game.

The concept of poker is the same in this variation of the game, and the basic rules of the game apply to this game as well especially with regard to the type of hands and the betting. However, the other additions to the game such as the flop, the turn and the river and the resultant rounds of betting makes the game more entertaining as well as interesting.

The popularity for the game surged up since the early 2000s following the widespread coverage in the television and the films, though history reveals that the game was first played as early as 1900s in Robston Town in Texas.

The number of players in this type of game at the start is 10. The seating arrangement and the position that a player occupies in the game also makes an impact on the approach towards the game and the end result.

The first player who shuffles the pack of cards and starts distributing the cards to the other players is called as the Dealer of the game.

The dealer will distribute the cards in a clockwise direction, starting from the player sitting to the left and continues through the round. Two cards are distributed one after the other on a turn basis, face down. Once the cards are distributed to all the players, including the dealer, the balance pack of cards are kept in the centre of the poker table.

One interesting feature of this type of holdem game is that of forced bets. The two players sitting adjacent one after the other next to the dealer have to take the forced bets. The first player taking the bet, without even seeing the cards, is called as the “small blind”. And the next person sitting next to the player making the “small blind” is forced to make the “big blind”, which normally is twice that of the “small blind” made by the first player.

After the first two cards are distributed to all the players by the dealer, the betting procedure starts rolling. The players have been provided with either of the two options. They can either bet on the cards or may fold the cards and withdraw from the table if they feel that the hand is not strong enough or has very negligible options of any possible victory. Whatever money or chips he contributed to the game will be forfeited.

Once the betting round after the two cards is completed, the remaining players in the table who have opted to stay in the game and have not folded the cards go to the next stage.

In this stage, the dealer of the board, after having shuffled the balance cards placed at the centre of the table, takes out three cards and places them “face-up” at the centre of the board. This is called as the “flop”.

Betting round begins once again with the players calculating their hands taking in to consideration the two private cards they have in hand and the three cards that are placed in the center of the board face-up. Depending upon the strength of the cards the players hold and the combinations they can strive to form with the help of the cards in the table, betting between the players take place in a clockwise direction starting from the player sitting to the left of the dealer

In this round of betting the players can either call the bet, check the bet or the minimum betting that can be made, or else raise their earlier bet, all decided by the three flop cards at the table. A player can even fold and withdraw from the game even at this stage if he believes that there is little or no chance for him to take risk or play the game.

Once the betting round at the end of flop concludes, then the dealer will open one more card from the deck and places it face-up in the poker table. This fourth card can also be used by the player if he feels that he can make a better hand using the fourth card or turn.

Another round of betting will begin after the fourth card is placed face-up in the table. The hands might have been altered and depending up on the strength or the weakness of the cards both at the hand and on the table will decide the betting amount.

Players will be either checking the bet, or raising the bet. Some of the players may even opt out of the game at this stage as well and fold out, forfeiting the bets they had already placed.

At the conclusion of the betting round at the end of the fourth card, the dealer places one more card – the fifth card – in the table. This stage is called the River.

And the betting procedure commences yet again in the clockwise direction starting from the dealer. The remaining players in the board who have not folded out of the game will indulge in betting and will either check and or raise the betting.

Finally the betting is concluded and the active players in the board are called up to show the cards they hold – including the two cards in hand and any of the three cards lying in the table – to form a combination. The best hand having the right combination will be declared the winner and the total money put up in the form of betting by the players will be handed over to the winner.

This is all about the very basic rules and procedure of the Texas Hold’em Poker game.