Texas Hold'em Poker

There is no precise information in regards to where the first game of Texas Hold’em Poker was played. However, some thinks that the game was a kind of variation of the „7-Card Stud Poker” and that was probably invented in Texas.
For several years the Golden Nugget Casino in Downtown Las Vegas was the first and the only casino in Las Vegas to offer this game.
The game is delt with one pack of poker cards, 52 pcs. Minimum two players can start the game and maximum 11 players can play. Only the dealer is alowed to shuffle and to deal the cards. Players are gambling in betwen and the dealer makes shure that they are folloving the rules of the game. Minimums and maximums of the game are determined by players mutual agreement.

OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME
Like most variants of poker, the objective of Texas Hold’em is to win “pots”, where the “pot” is the sum of the money bet by oneself and other players in a hand. A “pot” is won either at the “showdown” by forming the best five card poker hand out of the seven cards available, or by betting to cause other players to “fold” and abandon their claim to the “pot”.
The objective of winning players is not winning individual “pots”, but rather making mathematically correct decisions. As a result of making such decisions, winning poker players are able to maximize their expected utility and win more money than they lose in the long run.

THE SHUFFLE, THE DEAL AND THE BLINDS
The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck. In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc – known as a “dealer button” – moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the deal was advanced from player to player as the game went along.
Most Texas Hold’Em Poker games start with two players, starting from the left of the dealer (“the button”) putting a predetermined amount of money into the “pot” before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there is something to play for on every hand. This is called “posting the blinds”. Most often, the "first blind" – the player to the left of the dealer – puts up half the minimum bet, and the “second blind” puts up the full minimum bet. Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are known as the “whole cards”.

BETTING BEGINS
A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two players who posted the blinds. Players can “call”, “rise”, or “fold” when it’s their turn to bet.

THE FLOP
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called “burning” the card. This is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card and to help prevent cheating. The dealer flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the “flop”.
NOTE: Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table. Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.
After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer (“the button”). During this and all future rounds of betting, players can “check”, “call”, “rise”, or “fold” when it is their turn to bet.

TURN
The dealer burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn" or "Fourth Street."
The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

RIVER
The dealer “burns” another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the “river” or “Fifth Street”.

FINAL BETTING AND THE WINNER
Players can now use any combination of seven cards – the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them – to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.
The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (“the button”).
After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last “rise” shows his hand first.
The player with the best hand wins.
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