There are many different betting rounds or structures that have to take place during a game of poker, this can be quite confusing if you have never played before, so below is everything you need to know about the betting rounds in a game of poker.
Posting Blinds - In Texas Hold'em Poker before a game can begin two players must place a compulsory bet. The Dealer button moves around one position at the end of each game and it is the two players sitting to the left of this button whose
turn it is to place these bets.
The player sitting directly next to the Dealer has to post a Big Blind bet and the next player a Small Blind bet. The Small Blind is exactly half the cost of the Big Blind bet.
Pre-Flop -
All players will be dealt two cards and these are commonly known as the Pocket Cards, they get these dealt face down and only the player can see his own cards. The player
who posted the Big Blind bet now has to start the action and he can either call, raise or fold his hand at this point.
All other players then have to make the same decision until
the action has worked its way round to the Big Blind bettor again and when he checks it's onto the next round of betting.
The Flop - This is when the Dealer shows the first three Community Cards, he does this by placing them face-up so all players can see what they are.
The player who is sitting to the Dealers left hand side opens this betting round, and players take it in turn to either check, call, raise or fold their hand
The Turn - This is more commonly known as Fourth Street and this is where the Dealer now shows the fourth community card, and then an identical betting round to the previous one takes place.
The River - This is when the Dealer places the fifth and final community card face-up and the last round of betting takes place.
The Showdown - This is when all players who are still in the game show their hand to their fellow players, with the strongest poker hand being deemed the winner.
The last player to bet or raise is the first person who has to show his hand, however should no-one have bet during the last round of betting, I.E. they all checked
then the player to the left of the Dealer must show his hand first.
For a complete round-up of all the poker hand rankings make sure you visit and checkout our Hand Rankings section of the website.
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