Texas Hold'em is one of the most popular poker variations and certainly the leading "community card" poker variant. Much of the game's recent meteoric rise in popularity can be traced to TV - television Hold'em tournaments catapulted the game to the top of the charts, on land and online. Texas Hold'em is exciting, fast and challenging - it has everything a game needs to make it Number One.

Like most games of poker, Texas Hold'em starts with all participants putting money in the ante. This is the starting bet, so to speak, placed even before the first cards are dealt. The game is played with a 52-card deck and, after the dealer shuffles the cards, each player is dealt 2 cards (face down). Each player looks at his cards and the first betting round begins (it is called the pre-flop). Players can raise the bet (bet a higher amount than was initially put in); call (stay in by betting the same amount); or fold (stop playing the hand because his cards have no potential).

After the pre-flop round the dealer deals three cards face up in the middle of the table. (He does this after discarding the top card of the deck - called the burn card. This is a preventive measure against cheating.) This round - the 3 community cards - is called the Flop, and the cards can be used by all the players, along with the 2 cards they're holding, to form a 5-card poker combination. After the Flop, there is another round of betting. (In this round of betting there is also the "check" option, whereby a player can choose to proceed to the next round without betting.)

After "burning" another card, the dealer puts another card face up in the middle of the table. This is called the Turn, and players can use this turn card as a sixth card for his poker hand. Betting proceeds after the Turn, after which the dealer puts one more card - called the River - into the middle. This is the final card and players now have 7 cards (2 in their hand and 5 community cards on the table) from which to form the most advantageous hand. After one last round of betting, players who have remained in must show their hands - this is called the Showdown. The player with the best hand wins (see a list of poker rankings in the Glossary section).

Texas Hold'em - like all poker variants (including video poker) - is a game of skill. Patience is a virtue in Hold'em. The trick is not to play weak hands and to have the patience to wait for the good ones. Discriminate between hands and be selective, even if it means folding after the pre-flop. Certainly by the flop - and it almost always pays to see the flop - if you have nothing good, get out. Look for online Texas Hold'em strategy guides - these indispensable guides will tell you when to hold on and when to fold based on what you're holding and what you're looking at in the middle of the table. Stay calm, stay focused and, when that great hand comes along, go for it!

Ante: A compulsory bet made by all players before the cards are dealt as a way to get the game going.
Burn Card: The cards before the Flop, Turn, and River, which are discarded to prevent cheating.
Call: Matching a bet amount.
Check: To pass without betting.
Flop: The first 3 community cards dealt face up on the table.
Pre-Flop: The betting round after the first 2 cards have been dealt and before the Flop is dealt.
River: The fifth and final community card.
Showdown: The final stage after all betting has ended and players reveal their cards.
Turn: The fourth community card; the round between the Flop and the River.
Poker Hand Rankings (in descending order):
Royal flush: Suited 10, J, Q, K and Ace
Straight flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit
Four of a kind: Four cards with the same denominations (4 kings or four 4s)
Full house: A combination of 3 of a kind plus a pair
Flush: Any 5 cards with the same suit
Straight: Five consecutive cards of mixed suits
Three of a kind: 3 cards with the same denominations
Pair: Two cards with the same denomination