Poker is one of the most popular card games around. It conquered the world and found a special place in casinos from the first day. But today poker is getting even more popular with the help of online poker rooms and the televised poker tournaments.Poker has many variants. Today the origin of poker is a disputable issue, because no one can say for sure. But one thing is sure, there is many poker variants developed over the years, and there is no poker variant which can't be found in one of the many online casinos. Still, it seems that there is one poker variant which is the most popular one, so it seems. Texas Holdem Poker is the first (and for some the only) poker game what comes into people's mind when they say the word poker. This is mainly because of the televised tournaments and for the simple fact that people seem to enjoy it more.

This is a quite simple yet in the same time complex game. The rules are quite easy to learn, and it's easy to play, but when you reach a professional level the game gets very complex, as every poker game. Lot's of calculations, possibilities, psychology and much-much more will get involved. But first let's see why it is a good game for beginners.

Since many are associating poker with this particular poker variant, there is one image in everyone’s mind: two cards in the players' hand, which are sitting around a big round green table, and constantly raising the bets or folding. But let’s see what they are really doing. The game begins with two blind bets. The blind bettors (first time) are the two persons sitting next to the dealer, on the left side. They will put the first wager in the pot, without receiving any cards. During the game every player will be a blind bettor, changing the role each and every time. Easy, right? When the blind bets are placed on the table, the dealer will give two cards for each and every player. Then, from the left to the right (and this is a universal role in poker, this is the sequence always, with no exceptions) every player will decide whether they will stay in the game or fold. If they stay in the game they will have to show their money, but if they decide that they have poor cards they can throw their cards, not loosing any money, unless they are the blind bettors. Then the dealer will throw up three cards. These cards will be dealt face up, and they are community cards. The role of the game is, like in every poker game to have the strongest poker hand, but in this game by using the two cards dealt exclusively for the player and three other cards on the table. After the dealer dealt these three cards another rounds of bets will be placed. Then, he will deal the fourth community card, and then another bet, until the last bets will be placed, when all five community cards will be dealt on the table. At this point everyone will show there cards, (those who are still in the game) and the strongest hand will win all of the money.

Of course if you find out that you don't have such a strong hand you can throw your cards but than you will loose the money you placed into the pot. Still, it is good to know when to stop. These are the basic rules. They are quite simple as you can see, so you don't really need a lot of learning to know this.
The poker hands are certain card combinations. The sequence is the following: the weakest is the high card. This is when you have no combination. The name comes from the fact, that if no one has a poker combination, than the highest card takes it all. The next poker hand is the one pair. This means that you have two cards with the same number, the highest (and of course the best) is two Aces. The nest possible hand is the two pair. The best one of this is two Aces and two Kings. The suits (spade, diamond, etc) are not important here. The next best hand is the three of a kind. I guess the name says it all: three cards with the same numbers. The next best hand is the straight. This means that you have five consecutive cars: like 2, 3,4,5,6. The best of this is of course the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10. The suits are not important here either. The hand that beats this one is the flush. The flush on the other hand, is the poker combination where the suits are important. If all cards are of the same suit, than you have a flush. The sequence or the numbers are not important here. The poker combination which beats all of these is the full house. The full house is basically a three of a kind and one pair in one place. But this is beaten by the four of a kind, which is stronger than the full house. The four of a kind is of course the hand where you have four number-matching cards. Suits are not important. And here we are now, at the most powerful two poker hands: the straight flush, which is a combination of a straight and a flush. If there are five consecutive cards with the same suit, than you probably hit the jackpot, because it is very rare, and that is why it is the strongest hand. But still, the dream of every poker player is having a Royal Flush, which is a straight flush but from the highest numbers possible: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all in the same suit.

These are the basic rules of Texas Hold`em poker. It is quite easy, and it is a great game for fun. As in every poker though, it is quite interactive. You are playing against other players, so you do have a certain level of interaction with them, no matter what you do. This is very important, because this is why the game is so exciting. Since it's so easy to play it is perfect for beginners, but be careful! There are also lots of professionals playing this game. It's not exclusively a beginner's game, so many might loose lots of money if they come across a good player. This is where many players do the mistakes. By simply knowing how to play a game no one will necessarily win. Practice makes perfect though, so all a beginner has to do is to play with caution. It is exciting, a great game, and easy to play. Fun is guaranteed and it is excellent to accommodate yourself in a new casino, to get the feel of the atmosphere in there. This is all you have to know in order to begin to play. As you play and get better you will know more information, but for this you have to read and document a lot, not to mention practice and learn new strategies, which might be the key of success.

Texas Holdem - Online Texas Holdem guide for beginners, intermediate and advanced Texas Holdem players.