When it is your turn!

To keep betting rounds organized, there are a few rules to know whose turn it is. Basically, the action goes round the poker table clockwise. When one online poker player has acted, the poker player to his left can act.

In the first round of betting the poker player on the left of the big blind is first to act. From the second round on, it is always the first poker player on the left of the button.

Once everyone has acted all the bets are collected and placed in the middle of the poker table. This is called the pot. Whoever wins the hand wins the pot.

The flop - The first three community cards!

After the initial round of betting the dealer deals three cards face up on the poker table, so that everyone can see them. They do not belong to one particular poker player; indeed everyone can use them to create their 5-card poker hand. This is why they are called community cards.

Now begins the second round of betting, during which you can place additional money in the pot, or fold. At the end of the round, the bets are collected as usual and put into the pot. Then comes the turn.

The turn - The fourth community cards!

A fourth community card, the turn, is dealt on the poker table. It is also used in combination with the other poker cards to form your poker hand.

The poker players who are still in the hand engage in a third round of betting, at the end of which the bets are collected and placed in the pot. After the turn comes the river.

The river - The fifth community cards!

The river is the fifth and final community card to be dealt. It is of course also used in combination with the other cards to form each player's hand.

In the fourth round of betting you can bet once more. After this round of betting, the poker players who are still in the hand show their poker cards. This is called the showdown.

The showdown

At the showdown all the players still in the hand reveal their cards, to find out who has the best holdings and wins the pot. Each poker player's hand is the best five-card hand he can make from exactly three of the five cards on the board, plus exactly two of his own cards. You may use different hole cards (secret poker cards) in making your low hand then you used in making your high poker hand, so long as you use exactly two hole cards and three board cards for each. The player with the best high hand wins half the pot, and the player with the best low hand wins the other half. If there is no qualifying low hand, the player with the best high hand wins the entire poker pot.