General Rules for Hold 'Em Games

Hold 'Em Poker is a combination of Community Poker and the use of blind bets in place of antes. The main Hold 'Em game from which all others branch is Texas Hold 'Em.

In addition to designations of minimum bet and maximum bet, in Hold 'Em Poker (with the exception of Home Hold 'Em), designation will need to be made for the "small blind bet" and the "big blind bet". Instead of starting the pot off with players' antes, Hold 'Em games start off the pot with two blind bets (bets made by players before they even see their cards). The small blind should be slightly less or equal to the minimum bet. The big blind should be twice as much as the small blind.

Before looking at their cards, the player to the left of the dealer throws their small blind bet into the pot and the player to the left of the small blind throws their big blind bet into the pot. The player to the left of the big blind is the first player who can actually look at his or her hand before deciding whether or not to see the blinds and call, see the blinds and raise, or fold. The rest of the betting round proceeds as a regular poker betting round, bearing in mind that the two blinds have already invested money into this betting round and only need to see the bumps that were made after them.

This applies only to the first betting round. All other betting rounds proceed as per regular poker betting rounds, following the flipping of the community cards. The standard number of community cards in a Hold 'Em game is five. Three cards are flipped after the first betting round ("The Flop"), a fourth after the second betting round ("The Turn") and a fifth after the third betting round ("The River").