A Novices Guide to Texas Hold'em Poker

Frequently known simply as Hold'em, it is presently the most widely played poker game in the world, and is used in the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. It's typically played with up to ten players and a dealer who generally doesn't participate in the game, however in casual games, dealing will move from player to player.
Before the poker hands are dealt, the first player to the dealer's left antes one half of the minimum bet (referred to as the 'first' or 'small' blind), with the player to his / her left anteing the minimum bet (the 'second' or 'large' blind). 'Posting the blinds' proceeds clockwise around the table with every subsequent game, making certain there is always some money in the pot.
Every player is then dealt two down (hole) cards known just to them, which forms the basis for their hands. Betting commences with the player to the left of the players who posted the blinds. The betting happens as in a regular game of poker, with players having the choice of seeing, raising or folding.
Once this round of betting is completed, the dealer discards the top playing card from the remainder of the deck (known as 'burning the card') and deals three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the flop, and are community cards that can be used by all the players to help them create the best possible five-card poker hand. The second round of betting then begins, again with players seeing, raising or folding.
The dealer then burns another card and deals an additional card face up next to the other community cards. This card is termed 'Fourth Street' or the 'turn'. Once again, there is another round of betting. The dealer then burns one last card, and deals the final face-up community card, referred to as 'Fifth Street' or the 'river'.
After all the community cards have been dealt, players will use any combination of their own two face-down cards as well as the five community cards to form the best possible five-card poker hand.
The last round of betting starts, and then all players who've remained in the game reveal their hands. As in standard poker, the player with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot. If a player chooses the five community cards as their best hand, this is known as 'playing the board', and will usually result in a split pot.
If you think that these rules appear complex, please don't worry! Texas Hold'em is actually one of the easier card games to understand the rules to, and within a few games you'll be in a position to remember precisely what to do.