I don't want to be accused of plagiarism so I have to say that WHAT FOLLOWS IS COMPLETELY COPIED AND PASTED. The rules are the rules, there are not a lot of things I would write myself that would be different from what I took on the Internet. My information comes from this site:
http://boardgames.about.com/cs/poker/a/texas_rules.htm
Don't worry, 661 words are still from my own in this post (Jennifer, it will be a real pain for you since it's quite long :P). For those who didn't know (and if anyone in the world have read any of my articles, this blog was originally made for an english class, but don't worry, I'm really interested in poker).
By now, the only things that will written from my own are the sentences between these : [ ]
[Now for the rules:]
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 were advanced from player to player as the game went along.)
Most Texas Hold 'Em Poker games start with the two players to the left of the dealer (the button) putting a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there's 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.
[If you play a regular cash game in a casino, the blinds may be, for example, 1$-2$. This means that on the table, you have the dealer button, then the next person is the small blind for 1$, and the next person to the small blind is the big blind for 2$. The first person to play is the person to the left of the big blind.]
Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the "hole cards."
Betting Begins
A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.
[There are different actions you can do when it is your turn to play that are listed above. The most easy one is to fold. This means you throw you card to the middle (or to the dealer if you are in a casino) and that you won't play that hand. It means it didn't cost you anything to see these cards and that you can wait another turn before you play.
Another action you can do is to call which means you want to put the necessary amount of money to see the next cards that will come. The amount is equal to the big blind, so in this case, it would be 2$.
You can also raise, which means you want to make the necessary amount of money to see the cards to be higher. For example, the blinds here are 1-2$ and if you raise you must at least put twice the minimum bet. It means you have to raise to at least 4$. Then when it is the turn of another player, if he wants to call, he will have to put 4$ instead of 2$ to see the next cards. When everyone at the table have put the same amount of money in, you can see the flop.]
The Flop
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.
The dealer then 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, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.
[Checking means that you don't put in more money, but that you want to see the next cards. When you check, it is your opponent's turn. If everyone checks, you can see the next card (the turn or the fourth street). You can also bet some money and then your opponent(s) would have to call to see the next card. That move means you have a good hand and you want it paid off or that you want to see your opponent(s) fold so you can win the money that's already in the pot. If someone bets, the other player can raise it up so that the price to see the next card is higher. He can also just call to see the turn or he can fold and let you win the pot.]
Fourth Street
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.
[It is the same pattern as the flop. The players have the right to do an action, beginning by the person next to the dealer.]
Fifth Street
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 raise shows their hand first. [Then the player with the best hand wins the pot. If two or more players have the same hand, the pot is then splitted among them.
That's about it for the rules, now let's see the ranking of the hands. I found another poker sites where you can see the rank of the hands. It comes from this site : http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/handrank ]
Rank of Hands in Texas Holdem
In texas hold em poker, players compare five card hands against each other to determine who wins. A player with a flush has a better hand than a player with a straight, for example. The following list is from best to worst, so any hand on the list beats any hand below it and loses to any hand above it.Royal Flush - An Ace-High straight of one suit.
Straight Flush - A straight of entirely one suit.
Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) - Four cards of the same rank.
Full House (Full Boat, Boat) - Three-of-a-kind and a pair. The example below would be called "Queens over Aces" or "Queens full of Aces".
Flush - Five cards of the same suit.
Straight (Run) - Five cards of sequential rank. Note that in holdem, Aces can be high or low.
An example of a straight where the Ace is low:
Three-of-a-Kind (Trips, Set, Triplets) - Three cards of the same rank.
Two Pair - Two cards of the same rank and another two cards of the same rank. The example below would be called "Jacks and Twos".
One Pair - Two cards of the same rank.
High Card - When you don't have any of the above, your highest card determines your hand. The example below would be "King High" or "High card King".
[I thought that the examples were easy to understand and that the images were helpful, that's why I chose this site. When you play texas hold'em, you have 5 community cards (that every players can use) and 2 hole cards (the face down cards you possess) and you can use any of them to form the best hand you can.]
