Game Set Up: Let's Play some Cards
First are the positions, these position indicate where to deal, who posts blinds, and the betting order of the game.
The positions are: “The Button” or Dealer, First Position, Second Position, you will then have subsequent positions around the table until it returns to the dealer. All positions are in order to the left of the dealer.

“The Button” or Dealer: All positions revolve around the dealer or what is called the “button” position. In a typical home game the dealer changes positions one seat to the left after every hand is completed, this type of game is called “pass the deal”. However, casinos have a permanent dealer who sits in the center on one side of the table. To indicate where the dealer would be sitting, a “dealer button” is passed around the table one position to the left after each hand is completed to keep track of this cornerstone position. That of course is where the “button” position gets its’ name.

First Position: Located in the first seat to the left of the dealer, this position posts the small blind. This position is dealt first each hand. It is also the first person to act (check, bet, or fold) after the flop. All play would follow first position after the flop and for each subsequent betting round.

Third Position: This position is only mentioned because this position is the first to act before the flop or after all positions receive their starting hands.

Dealing: Shuffle Up and Deal
The game is played where each player is dealt two cards called “hole cards”. Then there are five community cards dealt that every player uses to make the best five card hand. The community cards are divided into different stages, the “flop”, the “turn”, and “river”. Each stage has its own betting round associated with it.

“Hole Cards” and “Pre-Flop”: The dealer should first discard (placed to the side face down) then the dealer will deal everyone two “hole cards” beginning with the first position one card at a time and dealing himself the last card. After the hole cards are dealt, a betting round begins with the third position, each betting round should end before more cards are shown. This stage is also known as “pre-flop”.

“The Flop”: Then the “flop” is dealt. One card should be discarded (placed to the side face down) then the three next cards in the deck should be placed face up. After the flop, another round of betting will occur before the next card is exposed.

“The Turn”: Then the “turn” will be dealt. Another card should be discarded then the next card in the deck should be placed face up on the table. After the turn, another round of betting will occur before the next card is exposed.

“The River”: Then the river will be dealt. Another card should be discarded then the next card in the deck should be placed face up on the table. After the turn, the last round of betting will occur and the hand will be concluded.

Betting: “Check”, "Call", “Bet”, “Raise” or “Fold”
Check: If you have already satisfied the minimum bet by posting a big blind for the pre-flop round or no one has bet in front of you in subsequent rounds you may check and hopes to see a “free” card. Bet: If you like your hand or want to narrow the competition you may want to bet. A bet should be at minimum the amount of the large blind. In NL Hold Em you may bet any amount up to the amount of chips you have in play on the table.

Call: For pre-flop play you must atleast call the big blind in order to proceed. In all subsequent betting rounds if someone has bet in front of you and you like your cards enough to play but not raise you have the option just to call that bet.

Raise: If someone has bet in front of you or the big blind is not a large enough bet for the pre-flop play you may raise the previous bet or blind by one increment of the big blind. Example: Small Blind $1, Big Blind $2. In order to raise you must raise any bet by atleast $2. In the event you only have $1.50 left in front of you, you may raise by that amount and that will be the bet amount. In this case a “side pot” may be formed if a larger stack where to re-raise your raise. In such case you may only win what you put in and is matched by all players. All amounts above would be in play between the larger stacks that can continue to meet larger bets. NOTE: Once a raise is made that will open the field for a re-raise from any player to the left of the raiser until the action returns to the raiser. If no re-raises are made then the betting round ends and the next round should occur or end in case it is the last betting round.

Fold: If you don’t believe you can win with your hand you can fold at any betting round. Note: if no one has bet in front of you, it is a good idea to check to see a “free card” just in case it may improve your hand and it will cost you nothing.

Betting Rounds
Pre-Flop: In this stage the betting begins with third position. All players who want to play their hole cards or see the flop must complete the large blind in order to proceed. If a player in front of your betting position has raised the pot, you must then at least match that bet in order to proceed with your hand. If at any point you do not want to call or raise the current bet, you must concede or “fold” the hand from that point and play will continue from your position on until the hand is over. First Position (small blind) is already in for the small blind, so in order to proceed they must put the difference between what they have in the pot and the largest bet. If they do not wish to continue play they must fold and forfeit their blind. Second Position (big blind) is already in for the big blind, so in order to proceed they must put the difference between what they have in the pot and the largest bet. If they do not wish to continue play they must fold and forfeit their blind.

Note: There will be cases where the largest bet is the big blind because no one has raised pre-flop.

Flop, Turn, and River: In these stages all betting begins with first position, all other directions are the same.

If a hand is played until the river anyone who wishes to remain in the hand must atleast meet the minimum bet, unless it is checked around, in either case after the betting round is concluded all remaining hands (all hands that have not folded) should be turned over face up to determine who wins the pot. If you need to remember the hand rankings or have trouble remembering, click here. At any stage from pre-flop to the 5th card is dealt if a player bets or raises and no player calls the bet or raise the player who bet or raised wins the pot.

Ante:
In later stages of tournament play or in some cash games there is an ante in addition to the small and big blind that is assessed to each player. Each player must post an ante into the pot whether they enter the pot (calling the big blind) or otherwise. An ante is not always used, in most cases it is not.

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