Texas Holdem Rules:

Rules at The Open

Before the cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the dealer post forced bets called blinds. The person immediately to the left of the dealer posts a bet called the small blind, which is usually equal to half of the minimum bet. The person to the left of the small blind posts the big blind, which is equal to the minimum bet. This means that the first player to the dealer's left -- seat two -- is the small blind and must kick in half the lower limit (let’s say $5 in a $10-$20 game). Seat three is the big blind and must kick in the full value of the lower limit ($10 in a $10-$20 game).

The deal rotates clockwise around the table beginning with the player to the big blind's left. Each player is dealt their first pocket card in turn, then their second. So, the first two cards are dealt to each player face down (these are called the hole cards), and the person to the left of the big blind will start the first round of betting (the big blind and small blind do not get to look at their cards before betting).

Since the blinds opened with their forced bets, seat four, the player to the big blind's left, like we said before, bets first. They call by matching the big blind ($10, the lower limit) and may also raise by kicking in the big limit, $20 in our $10-$20 example game. In this round Checking is not permitted. If the player doesn't want to call, they may fold.

The blinds in Hold’em are live in that they can Call (check to seat three), raise, or fold when the betting has returned to them.

In the first round of betting, each player has three options: call, raise or fold. To call, the player must place a bet that is equal to the last bet placed (for the first player in the round, this would be equal to the minimum bet.) A player may choose to raise their bet by an additional amount, which the other players will then have to call. If one's hole cards are not favorable, the player may simply choose to fold and sit out the round.