Professional Texas Hold 'Em Tournament Rules (1):
Amerifun Poker Tournament Rules (.pdf)     Poker Software Info     

Other Resources:
Robert's Rules of Poker (.pdf)     Tournament Director's Association Rules (.pdf)     WSOP 2009 Rules (.pdf)

Online Resources (external links):
Wikipedia Glossary of Poker Terms     Dictionary of Poker (comprehensive)     Poker Dictionary

Poker Games Index (extensive, the best we have seen)

Home-style Texas Hold 'Em Quick Rules:

1. Texas Hold ‘Em can be played with as few as two players, or as many as ten, at a single table.

2. The game begins with two players, left of the dealer, placing an initial bet. This is called posting the blinds. In Texas Hold ‘Em, there are no antes but forced bets, or blinds, are used.

3. The person to the left of the dealer posts a bet called the small blind, which is usually equal to half of the minimum bet.

4. The person to the left of the small blind posts the big blind, which is equal to the full minimum bet.

5. The dealer shuffles on full deck of 52 playing cards. (In a Texas Hold ‘Em game, a disc or other marker is used to indicate which person is the “dealer” for the round.)

6. Each player is then dealt two cards face down. These are called your hole or pocket cards.

7. Next is a round of betting starting with the person to the left of the two players who posted the blinds. This round is usually referred to by the term pre-flop. Much like most games of poker, players can check, raise or fold.

8. Players can bet, raise or re-raise any amount equal or greater than the minimum bet, which should also equal the amount of the big blind.

9. In No-Limit Hold ‘Em, the number of chips you have in front of you determines the maximum bet. A player can go “all-in” by pushing all their chips toward the center of the table. At this point, either the player or the dealer should “count them down”, or calculate the amount of the player’s all-in bet. To call, the other players at the table must match the value of the chips.

10. In the event a player cannot match the value of another player’s bet, but would still like to call, he or she can go all-in and play for a portion of the pot. Should this happen, the dealer should divide the original, larger bet into two stacks: the first stack should match the amount of the caller’s all-in bet. This stack is pushed into the original pot along with the caller’s all-in bet. The second stack is placed into a side pot- for which the all-in caller is not eligible. This enables the rest of the table to continue play- raising and re-raising as they normally would. At the conclusion of the hand, the all-in bettor is eligible to win the original pot, but not the side pot.

11. After the initial betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card. This is done to prevent cheating.

12. The dealer then flips the next 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.

13. Next is another round of betting- starting with the player to the left of the dealer.

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

15. The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games, this is where the bet size doubles.

16. Finally, the dealer burns a card and 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 or the two cards in their pocket to form a five card poker hand.

17. There is now a final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.

18. After this round of betting, all of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. It’s called the showdown.

19. If two or more players have the same hand, the next highest card in the player’s hand is used to break a tie. This is called the kicker.

20. If there is no kicker card and the tied players have used both hole cards, or have the exact same hand, then the pot is split between them.

21. The dealer position then moves clockwise to the next player (unless a dealer is designated for the entire game) and another round of play begins.

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Rank:

    ( 5 of a Kind: Only possible with wild cards or a joker.)

    Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J, 10 of same suit.

    Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of same suit. Example: 4,5,6,7,8 of hearts.

    Four of a Kind: Four Cards of same value. Example: Four Queens.

    Full House: Three of a kind and a pair. Example: Three 7’s and a pair of 8’s.

    Flush: Five cards of same suit. Example: Q, 7, 5, 4, 2 of diamonds.

    Straight: Five cards consecutive any suit. Example: A,2,3,4,5 any suit.

    Three of a Kind: Example: Three 4’s.

    Two Pair: Example: Two J’s and two 9’s.

    Pair: Example: Two Deuces.

    High Card: The highest card if no players have a pair or better.

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Using Jokers:

Traditionally, jokers are used as an ACE or for Straights and Flushes.  Some folks also designate "Jokers Wild" in which the joker is a wild card for which the player chooses the value.

Universally, most industry poker tournaments do not use jokers especially in Texas Hold 'Em tournaments.  If you like the addition of a joker to your game, feel free to use them in your home games for added excitement.  Another twist is to designate additional wild cards... such as 2's, 3's & 4's wild... or Dr. Pepper-style 2's, 4's & 10's wild... or any combination.  The fun thing about using wild cards in your home game is that if the board ends up with the highest hand then it is a "wash" and no player wins - thus causing a re-ante and another round of play for a larger pot!  Want to et even crazier??  Consider a "two-feet-in-to-win" game in which player must win twice to take pot (this will make for a nice big fat pot!!).  And speaking of 'two-feet-to-win' games, we here at Amerifun would like to introduce a new poker term: "soak".

Professional Texas Hold 'Em Tournament Rules (1):

Amerifun Poker Tournament Rules (.pdf)     Poker Software Info     

Other Resources:

Robert's Rules of Poker (.pdf)     Tournament Director's Association Rules (.pdf)     Poker Terms Glossary

Online Resources:

Wikipedia Glossary of Poker Terms     Dictionary of Poker (comprehensive)     Poker Dictionary

Poker Games Index (extensive, the best we have seen)