Texas Hold 'Em poker is not only the most popular form of poker, it is also one of the easiest to learn. Hold'Em can be learned in a few minutes and you can be playing fairly well with just a little practice. However, in order to become really good you must play as often as you can. There is no substitute for experience!

Two different types of Hold'em are usually available, distinguished by the betting structure used. One type is called Limit, which simply means that each bet must be a certain fixed amount. In a Limit game, your only choice is whether to bet or not; you don't have to decide how much to bet because the bet sizes are fixed. The other type of game is called No-Limit, which means that you can bet any amount you choose up to your total stack. Obviously Limit games are simpler for beginners because there are fewer decisions to make, so most players will start there.

Whether the game is Limit or No-Limit, various "Stakes" will be available. Stakes refers to how much money the game is being played for. The lower the Stakes, the less money you need to play and the less you can win or lose. For a Limit game the Stakes are indicated by the allowed bet sizes, which will be part of the table description. A table described as "$2-$4 Limit Holdem" will typically have pots that are twice as large as a "$1-$2 Limit Holdem" table and will typically require twice as much of a buy-in. In a No-Limit game the Stakes are indicated by the size of the blinds (explained below). The bigger the blinds, the more money there will be in each pot.

Most games have two "blinds" (short for blind bets). The two players to the left of the dealer place out a predetermined amount of money before any cards are dealt, so there is an initial amount of money in the pot to get things started. This is called "posting the blinds". The first player to the left of the dealer posts the "small" or "little" blind, and the second player posts the "big" blind. For No-Limit games the exact amount of these blinds will be listed as part of the table description. For example at a table described as "$1-$2 No-Limit Holdem" the first player after the dealer must post $1 and the second player must post $2. For Limit games, the big blind is equal to the first number listed in the description and the small blind is usually 1/2 or 1/3 of that amount. For example at a "$2-$4 Limit Holdem" game the blinds will be $1 and $2, and at a "$3-$6 Limit Holdem" game the blinds will be $1 and $3.

Once the blinds are posted the deal begins. A complete deck of 52 cards is used and each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called your "hole" or "pocket" cards.

Then there is a round of betting starting with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. This round is usually referred to by the term "pre-flop". Betting always goes clockwise around the table with each player acting in turn. A player can either bet or check if no one else has bet yet, otherwise he must call, raise or fold. In Limit games, the amount of the bet is equal to the amount of the big blind (the first number in the table description).

After the betting round ends, the dealer then flips three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop". These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.

Now there is another round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer (the same one who posted the small blind--note that this is slightly different from the pre-flop round). In Limit games the amount of the bet is again equal to the big blind.

After the betting concludes, the dealer flips one more card onto the table. This is called the "turn" card. Players can now also use this card to form a five card poker hand.

The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In Limit games the bet size doubles (so that it is now equal to the second number in the table description).

The dealer now places a final card face up on the table. This is called the "river". Players can now use any of the five cards on the table and/or the two cards in their pocket to form a five card poker hand.

There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer. In Limit games, the bet size is again the higher amount (the second number in the table description).

After this final betting round is over all of the players remaining in the hand begin to reveal their cards, beginning with the player to the left of the last player to call. This is called the "showdown".

The player who shows the best hand wins! There are cases where players have equal hands, in which case they will share the pot.

That's all there is to it. Once you have learned this basic structure of the game, you can play hold'em and even some of the many hold'em variants out there.

Good luck!