ROUND ONE – THE PREFLOP
As soon as a dealer has been selected and the blinds posted, the game begins with the dealer dealing each player two hole cards clockwise round the table. Once this is complete, the first round of betting starts and things begin to get interesting!
ROUND ONE – BETTING
At this point of the game, players must carefully consider their hole cards and determine if they have potential. Betting commences with the player to the immediate left of the big blind player, and follows clockwise round the table.
In this betting round, each player, with the possible exception of the player who posted the big blind, may either choose to fold (quit the game), call (meet the bet) or raise, increasing the big blind to a full bet. If players still left in the round choose to only call the big blind, then the player who originally posted the big blind is the only player who has the option to check (stay in the game without calling or raising) their own blind.
Players wager using the smaller level of the stakes at the table (Note: Refer to the section about betting structure listed above to see the example about the limits and rules for the betting rounds).
ROUND 2 – THE FLOP
By this point of the game, the excitement increases as the dealer deals the first three community cards face up on the board (the middle of the table). Now players can use these three communal cards in combination with their two hole cards to determine their hand possibilities.
ROUND 2 – BETTING
For this round, betting commences with the first player closest to the dealers left (it doesn’t matter if the dealer folds, betting always commences with the player closest to their left) and continues clockwise round the table. Betting follows the same structure as in the first round, with players able to fold, call, and raise. The first player to make a wager may check, and if no other raises are made, the other players may check also. Like the first round, players wager using the smaller level of stakes at the table.
ROUND 3 – THE TURN
Once the second betting round has come to an end, the dealer deals the fourth community card on the board. Now the game becomes even tenser as the players left in the game now have 6 cards to work with.
ROUND 3 – BETTING
The third betting round follows the same as the second betting round, with the exception that now players must wager using the higher level of the stakes at the table.
ROUND 4 – THE RIVER
At this point of the game, palms really start to sweat as the fifth and final community card is dealt on the board. Players now have all 7 cards at their disposal, and must make the best possible 5-card hand.
ROUND 4 – THE FINAL BET
Betting commences as it did in the last round, with the higher level of stakes at the table making up the wager.
SHOWDOWN
Here it is, the moment every player waits for – when their blood runs cold with defeat or pumps hot with the victory! Each player left in the hand show their cards, beginning with the last player to bet and continuing in that pattern. During the showdown players may also choose to “muck” (fold out of the game, without showing their cards) their hand. If in the event, a player wins by default, which means that every other player in the hand folded, no showdown will occur, and the winner is given the option to show their cards or not. For the most part, players choose not to show their winning hand, as it adds to the drama of the game, and keeps the other opponents guessing what the great hand was.