Let’s pretend that there are 6 players around a circular table. I will simply refer to them as player 1, player 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, or P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6.
Texas Holdem setup

Every player is given an equal amount of poker chips to being with. 1500 total is a good number. If you have a basic poker chip set, you should have at least 4 colors of chips (white, red, blue and black). Pretend the white chips are worth 10, the red are worth 25, the blue 50 and the blacks 100. Give each player 40 whites, 20 reds, 6 blues and 3 blacks. This totals 1500. (you can distribute however you want, this is just an example).

Next, you need to determine who will deal first. The easiest way is to pick a card, say “Jacks” and start dealing everyone one card at a time face up until someone gets a Jack. That person will be the dealer. Place the dealer button (DB) in front of him or her. The person sitting to his left will have the small blind marker (SB), and the following person will have the big blind marker in front of them (BB). The dealer shuffles the deck and deals everyone two cards face down (one card each on the first pass, one more card each on the second pass). Do not reveal what your two cards are. Let’s start the blinds at 10/20. This means that right now, the person who has the SB must put 10 down in front of them, and the person who has the BB must put 20. Now, you are ready to play the first hand!
The first hand

We will assume that P1 is currently the dealer, meaning that P2 is the SB and P3 is the BB. The person to the left of the BB is the first to act, in this case it’s P4. P4 has three options:
Folding

This means he throws away his cards face down and chooses not to play this hand.
Calling

This means he’ll match the current bet (in this case, it’s currently the value of the BB which is always the minimum starting bet. Right now, that would be 20)
Raising

This means he’ll increase the wager by at least twice the current bet, in this case that would be 40 or more.

P4 opts to call and lays 20 down in front of him. It is now P5’s turn and he is presented with the same options (fold, call, raise). P5 folds.

P6 calls and puts his 20 in front of him.

P1 also calls and puts his 20 in front of him.

P2 chooses to call as well, put since he is SB and already has 10 down, he only needs to put 10 more down to make a total of 20.

P3 checks. Checking means you’re not folding, you’re not raising, and you’re not calling because calling requires you to put money down. Because P3 is the BB and already has 20 down, checking is simply a statement that indicates he’ll p[lay this hand using the money in front of him. You can only do this if your current bet matches the current minimum bet.

The first round of betting is over because we have gone around the table at least once, and the last raise was called by all players still in the game. Right now, everyone only has their own two cards in their hands, which they have kept secret. At this point, all the money that was bet is pushed in a pile at the center of the table. This is “the pot” to be won. The pot may grow bigger as there are more rounds of betting to come. Now, the dealer will lay down 3 cards on the table, face up. Eventually, there will be a total of 5 cards laying down on the table. These are community cards, meaning that each player forms a poker hand with either the 5 community cards, or a combination of cards they have in there hands and other cards laying down on the table. Essentially, you’ll have access to a total of 7 cards (5 community cards + your own 2 cards). Of those 7 cards, you’ll pick 5 to make the best poker hand you can.

Now that three cards have been laid down (these are called “the Flop”), the second betting round begins and the person to the left of the BB begins. P4 can check, fold, or bet. Right now, because this is a new betting round, checking means betting 0. P4 decides to check.

P5 also decides to check, meaning he also bets nothing. P6 decides to raise and puts 40 down in front of him. P1 folds, P2 calls and matches the current bet which is 40. P3 folds. Now we’re back top P4. P4 had checked initially but because he was raised, he now has to decide if he’ll fold, call or reraise. P4 calls so he puts 40 down. P5 can now fold, call or reraise. P5 decides to raise. The minimum raise is 80 (double the current bet of 40). P5 raises to 100. Now it’s back to P6 who must decide if he’ll fold, call the 100, or reraise. Because he already has 40 down, calling will cost him an additional 60. He decides to fold.

P1 had folded so we skip him. P2 has to decide if he’ll fold, call the 100, or reraise. He calls and adds 60 to his current 40 for a total of 100. P3 had folded so we skip him. P4 currently has 40 down and he calls, putting an additional 60 down. Now, the betting is done because the next player to go is P5, but he was also the last one to raise. He can’t raise again unless someone had reraised him and that didn’t happen. Everyone pushes their money in, even those who folded. If they had 20 or 40 in front of them, they push it in the pot.

Now the dealer lays down the fourth community card (this card is called “the Turn”). A third betting round now begins. To recap, players who are still in this game (the ones who have not folded) are P2, P4 and P5. Everyone else folded. Again, P4 begins the betting round because he is to the left of the BB. He bets 20, which is the minimum bet. P5 calls and puts 20 down, P2 also calls and puts 20 down. They each push their bets in the pot and the final community card is laid down (this card is called “the River”). At this point, all 7 cards are into play and we get into the final round of betting starting with P4. He checks (betting 0). P5 bets 100. P2 raises to 300. We’re back to P4 and it will cost him 300 more to call. P4 decides to fold instead. P5 must now fold, call or raise. Calling will cost him 200 more because he already has 100 down. He chooses to call the 300. All players push their bets in the pot and the winner, P2 or P5 will now be determined. Because P2 was called, P2 MUST show his cards. If P5 beats him, he must also show his cards as a proof that he has the best hand. However, if P2 did beat P5, then P5 does not have to show his hand to anyone, but can show if he wishes. Generally, people don’t show…

OK, that was the first hand. The winner took the pot and added the chips to his own. Now, we are ready for a new hand. The dealer button (DB) moves to the next person in play to the left, in this case P2. The SB moves to the player left of the DB which is P3, and the BB moves next to the left of the SB which is P4. People pay up their blinds and the round begins, just as described above.

Summary of rules: To recap, you place the DB, SB andBB where they belong, the blinds are paid, two cards are dealt to each player and the 1st betting round occurs. Next, the Flop is laid down, a second betting round follows. Then, the Turn card is laid down, another round of betting goes by. The River card is laid down and the final round of betting occurs. A winner is determined and the hand is over. The DB moves one spot to the left, the blinds are placed accordingly and a new round can being!

Don’t forget that a round may end prematurely. If a player raises and all other players fold their hands on any betting round, the round is over and the player who raised wins the pot. He also doesn’t have to show his hands. It’s actually quite common in Texas Hold’em that many pots will be won without players having to reveal their own cards.
Betting Actions:
Open the bet

The act of making the first voluntary bet in a betting round is called opening the round. You open by making the initial bet.
Calling

To call is to match a bet or a raise. A betting round ends when all active players have bet an equal amount or no opponents call a player’s bet or raise. If no opponents call a player’s bet or raise, the player wins the pot and the hand is over.

Check: If no one has yet opened the betting round, a player may check, which is equivalent to calling the current bet of zero. When checking, a player declines making a bet; indicating that he does not choose to open, but that he wishes to keep his cards and retain the right to call or raise later in the same round if an opponent opens.
Raising

To raise is to increase the size of the current bet, forcing all subsequent players to call the new amount (or to fold, or to re-raise). If the current minimum bet amount is nothing, this action is considered the opening bet. A player making the second (not counting the open) or subsequent raise of a betting round is said to re-raise.

Standard poker rules require that any raise must at least equal the amount of the previous raise. For example, if a player bets $20, the next player may raise by another $20 or more, but he may not raise by only $10.
Folding

To fold is to discard one’s hand and forfeit interest in the current hand. Folding may be indicated verbally or by discarding one’s hand face down into the pile of other discards called the muck.

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