Official poker is a card game that involves a lot of strategy and etiquette. There are some unwritten rules and dos and don’ts that can help you win more often.

Texas hold ’em is the most popular form of poker. It’s played with two cards, known as hole cards, and five community cards (or “board” cards). Players try to create the best hand by combining their hole cards with the board cards.

The board cards are dealt in three stages: a series of three cards (“the flop”), an additional single card (“the turn”), and a final card (“the river”). The remaining players in the hand with hole cards then expose their holdings to determine a winner.

Betting

Players can bet on the flop, turn, and river, or raise. In no-limit hold ’em, raising is capped at exactly twice the big blind; in pot-limit hold ’em, the raise can be up to the total amount of the current pot.

Bets can be made with chips, cash, or a combination of both. If a player makes an all-in bet, they put all of their chips into the pot.

Exposed Cards

In hold ’em, exposed cards are any cards that have been shown to other players or to the dealer. If a player is exposed to an exposed card, they are required to play the hand according to the rules of the specific variation of hold ’em.

In a poker tournament, the blinds are required bets from two players before each hand is started. The blinds increase at regular intervals to both force action and adjust for players accumulating chips by eliminating other players.