Two cards, known as the hole or pocket cards are dealt face down to each player starting from the dealers left (the small blind). Furthermore, an absent player will not have the opportunity to win any pots. If a player is away and does not respond for a certain period of time, their hole cards will be folded and their blinds taken automatically. A player will always be dealt in to a tournament hand, even if they are sitting out. In tournament play, however, a player may not remove chips from the table or avoid paying blinds by sitting out. The blind moves to the next active player in a clockwise rotation. If they are seated in a table position that would have paid either a small or big blind, they are not charged the blind. In ring games, the online equivalent to casino cash games, a player may choose to sit out or even leave their seat with all their chips before any hand is dealt.

These bets are 'live,' and the players making them will have the opportunity to defend them by calling or raising other players’ bets. The size of these blinds is determined by the stake size at which the game is running. The cards are distributed (dealt) as though the designated player is the Dealer.īefore any cards are dealt, the player sitting immediately to the left of the Dealer must make a small blind bet and the next player around must make a big blind bet, which is usually twice the size of the small blind. In Replay Poker games, the beginning Dealer is always Seat 1 (the first seat to the left of the chip box at the top center of the game table). In online games, a player is nominated as the Dealer with a (D) Dealer button moving one place clockwise after each hand. In casino games a Dealer, who does not actively play in the game, takes charge of dealing the cards, managing the betting and awarding the pot. The five community cards are also used by any number of the other active players to make their best hands. It is described as a community card game because in addition to their two private hole cards, players are able to use five (5) cards on the board. Texas Hold'em can be played between two players or up to 10 or more if desired and uses a standard 52-card deck with no jokers.

Texas Hold'em (H) is a popular variation of the card game of poker.

Texas holdem blind deal small