Texas Hold’em is an easy, yet elegant game to play, with up to 8 players per table, each taking turns to deal.

Each player is dealt 2 cards face down (hole cards) that no other player can see. These 2 cards are to be used in combination with the 5 cards face up on the table to make the best poker hand.

Before any cards are dealt, compulsory bets have to be made by the two players on the left of the dealer. The first player on the dealers left has to put in a predetermined amount called the small blind, the next player has to put in double the amount of the first player, called the big blind. (Blinds steady increase through the course of a tournament, so careful selection of which hands to play is necessary!).

All other players have to match the big blind bet to stay in the game (call), or they can fold, or if they have two good starting cards (say AA or QQ) they can raise the stakes by betting multiples of the big blind*.

Because this is “No Limit Texas Hold’em” a player can bet up to all of their chips at any time in the game, when it is their turn to bet.

Once every player has put the same amount into the pot, the dealer discards the first card in the deck called a burn card, and the next three cards are dealt face up on the table called the flop. Another round of betting takes place starting with the player on the dealers left. They can Check and choose not to bet any more chips, or bet by placing multiples of the big blind “raise” or fold.

Once every player has put the same into the pot, the dealer burns the next card and a fourth card is placed face up with the other three cards (turn card). Another round of betting ensues, as above.

After all players wishing to remain in the hand have put in an equal amount into the pot, the dealer burns the next card and a fifth card is placed face up with the other four cards (river card). Another round of betting ensues once again, when every player has put in an equal amount into the pot, all remaining players turn over their cards to determine the hand winner. The best 5 card hand using the seven available (your 2 personal hole cards and the 5 face up) wins the pot.

A more detailed and comprehensive “how to play” can be found on any casino web site or the World Series of Poker site.

The winner of each poker hand is the player who has the strongest combination of cards, using any combination of "pocket" cards and "community" cards. The combinations are listed here from strongest to weakest hand. Each combination is illustrated by an example, where the following abbreviations are used: c - Clubs, d - Diamonds, h - Hearts, s - Spades; J - Jack, Q - Queen, K - King, A - Ace.

	Royal Flush Straight flush from 10 to the ace. Example: 10s, Js, Qs, Ks, As
	Straight Flush Straight with all five cards of the same suit. Example: 7d, 8d, 9d, 10d, Jd
	Four of a Kind Four cards of the same rank. Suit is irrelevant. Example: Jc, Jd, Jh, Js, 6h
	Full House Three cards of one rank together with two cards of another rank. When more than one full house is competing, the one with the highest ranking group of three wins. Example: Kd, Kc, Kh, Qh, Qs
	Flush Five cards of the same suit. When more than one flush is competing, the one with the highest card wins. Example: As, Js, 9s, 7s, 5s
	Straight Five cards in sequence. When more than one straight is competing, the one with the highest card wins. An ace can be taken as either high or low. Example: 8h, 9s, 10s, Jd, Qc; suit is irrelevant.
	Three of a Kind Three cards of the same rank. When more than one hand has three of the same rank, the hand with the highest card outside the three same rank cards wins. Example: Kh, Kd, Kc, 10s, 7h
	Two Pair Any two cards of one rank together with two cards of another rank. When more than one hand has two pairs of the same rank, the hand with the highest card outside the paired cards wins. Example: Qs, Qd, Jc, Jh, 4h
	One Pair Two cards of the same rank. In case two hands have pairs, the highest pair wins. When more than one hand has a pair of the same rank, the hand with the highest card outside the pair wins. Example: 10c, 10s, 7d, 6h, 2d
	Highest Card When players have none of the above, the hand with the highest card wins. Example: Qh, 10d, 8s, 6c, 4h