Here's the basic setup to get started playing texas Hold'em poker online

Getting started is the easy part.... don't forget to read more of our Poker Articles so you'll be better prepared before betting your hard earned cash..

1. Before the cards are dealt the two players to the left of the dealer (D) put out blind bets (the amount of the blinds are set before the game starts and in cash games they are the same all the time but in tournaments the are raised after a certain amount of time). The player directly to the dealer's left puts out the small blind (S) and the player after him puts out the big blind (B).


2. Every player is then dealt two cards, face down. These are called hole or pocket cards. When playing online these cards are the only ones that you would see.


3. Now the player next to the big blind makes the first move. He/she can either call (place same amount as the big blind) raise (call plus raising the bet) or he can fold (give up).


4. After all of the players around the table has made their betting, three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. These three cards are called the flop. These cards are community cards. This means that everyone can use them to combine the best hand possible (since you have 2 cards and there are 3 cards on the table this is your best hand so far).


5. Now that the flop has been dealt another betting round begins starting with the player next to the dealer. He/she can either check or bet (you can also fold but that would be kind of foolish since if nobody else raises you you can wait till the next card is dealt and maybe get a better hand).


6. Then a fourth card is dealt on the table and put next to the 3 from the flop so you now have 4 cards on the table. The fourth card is called the turn.


7. Now another round of betting starts.


8. The fifth and final card is dealt and it's called the river.


9. Once again a round of betting starts.


10. Then the player with the best combining hand of 5 cards selected from the total of 7 (2 in his hand and 5 on the table) wins. Sometimes the best hand is actually put together by the 5 cards laying on the table and in that case the betted money is divided amongst the ones left in the game (in other words the ones that hasn't folded).