Pass LineA pass line bet is a bet placed before the come out roll (i.e. the first roll of the dice in a new craps round) A wager on the pass line wins immediately if the come out roll is 7 or 11 (naturals), and loses if the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12 (craps numbers) If any other number (4,5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is rolled, that number becomes "the point." If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, your pass line bet wins. If the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again, your pass line bet loses. Don't Pass LineA don't pass line bet is essentially the reverse of a pass line bet, and is alsoplaced before the come out roll. If the shooter rolls 3 or 12 on the come outroll, a don't pass line bet wins immediately. If, however, the come out rollis 7 or 11, don't pass line bets lose. If the come out roll is 2, a don't passline bet is returned to the player in a push. If the come out roll is 4, 5, 6,8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the point. Once the point has been established,don't pass line bets win if the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again.If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, don't pass line betslose. ComeA come bet is placed before any roll of the dice, once a point has been established by the come out roll. Come bets win immediately if the shooter's next roll is 7 or 11, and lose if the roll is 2, 3, or 12. If the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes "the come point." If the shooter rolls the come point again before rolling a 7, the come bet wins. Don't ComeA don't come bet is essentially the opposite of a come bet. Don't come bets winimmediately when the shooter's next roll is 3 or 12, and lose if the roll is7 or 11. If the shooter rolls a 2, the bet will be returned to the player ina push. After the come point is established, don't come bets win if 7 is rolledand lose if the come point is rolled. OddsAn odds bet is a "back up" bet on an original pass line, don't pass line, come,or don't come bet. Gold Club allows odds bets of three times your original bets. FieldA field bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. Big Six and Big EightA big six bet is a bet that 6 will be rolled before 7. Likewise, a big eight bet is a bet that 8 will be rolled before 7. Place WinA place win bet is a bet that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a seven. Place LoseA place lose bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. BuyA buy bet is a bet that either 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7. A vigorish (vig.) of 5% is charged when placing the buy bet. LayA lay bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10. A 5% vig. is charged when placing the lay bet. Any 7An "any 7" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 7. Any 11An "any 11" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 11. Any Craps An "any craps" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, or 12. Horn A horn bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 11, or 12. HardwayA hardway bet is a bet that the shooter will roll either a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. Rolling a number by doubles is said to be rolling the number "the hard way."

Before any cards are dealt, the player must wager. He does this by placing his bet in the designated space in front of his table position. The dealer then deals two cards to each of the players, and two to himself (one of the dealer's cards is dealt face up and one is dealt facing down) Face cards (kings, queens and jacks) count as 10, ace counts as one or 11 (as the player chooses) and all other cards are counted at their face value. BLACKJACK - If the player's first two cards are an ace and a 10 or face card, he wins. However, if the dealer also has a blackjack, it is a standoff, as are all ties or pushes. A winning blackjack pays the player 3 to 2.HIT or STAND - Hit means to draw another card (which the player signifies by scraping the table with his cards or a similar hand motion) Stand means no more cards (which the player signals by placing his cards under his wager or moving his hand in a horizontal direction. If the player hits and busts (goes over 21), he immediately turns his cards over and his wager is lost. DOUBLE DOWN - The player is allowed to double the bet on his first two cards and draw one additional card only to improve his hand. SPLITTING PAIRS - If the first two cards a player is dealt are a pair, he may split them into two separate hands, bet the same amount on each and then play them separately. Aces receive only one additional card. After splitting, A-10 counts as 21 and not as blackjack. INSURANCE - If the dealer's up card is an ace, the player may take insurance, a bet not exceeding one-half his original bet. If the dealer's down card is a 10 or any face card, the player wins 2 to 1. Any other card means a win for the dealer.SURRENDER - Where permitted, a player may give up his first two cards and lose only one-half his original bet. The dealer must draw on 16 and stand on 17.

The popularity of Poker and in particular the variant called Texas Holdem has grown very rapidly over the last several years. The games reputation has benefited off of the publicity provided by all the televised games on cable TV such as the WPT, WSOP, and celebrity poker to name a few.

Additionally easy access to poker via the Internet, the ease of learning how to play the game, and the exiting entertainment it offers players of all skill levels has played an important role in its recent attractiveness.

You may have heard the holdem cliché which states it's a game which takes only a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Well hopefully we can kick start your desire to play and give you the tools needed with a brief synopsis about the game.

Texas hold'em poker can be played between as few as two players, but more commonly you will find tables of 9 or 10 players. One player at the table is designated as dealer and a dealer button indicates this position. Game play starts to the left of this dealer and will move clockwise around the table. At the completion of each hand the button or dealer also moves clockwise around the table.

Prior to dealing the two players to the left of the dealer ante chips to sweeten the pot and keep the game moving. These players and their ante are referred to as the blinds. The first one is the small blind the second is the big blind. The small blind is ½ of the big blind and the big blind will be equal to the minimum bet.

To start the hand each player is dealt two cards face down. These cards called the hole cards are private to each player. Each player then looks at his or her two cards and calls, bets, raises, checks, or folds according to their hand strength. If a player raises the following players must then match that raise by calling the raise or folding.

After this round of betting has been completed the dealer will burn a card or remove a card from play then deal three community cards face up. These cards are referred to as the flop and each player may use them in the creation of their best 5 cards. Another round of wagering ensues.

The dealer then burns another card and deals one more community card face up. This card is referred to as the turn or 4th street. After this another round of wagering ensues.

If multiple players still remain the dealer then burns another card and deals one final community card face up. This card is referred to as the river or 5th street. After this another round of wagering ensues. After this final card the player with the best possible hand constructed of the seven available wins the money in the pot.

That should give you a very basic understanding of how the game is played. More than likely as a result of seeing the game on TV you already had that knowledge and are now ready to try the game out for yourself. Below is one of the more popular online poker rooms offering Texas Holdem poker. You will find plenty of games and enough action to keep you happy for a quite some time here.