The Texas Hold’em is the more commonly played online poker version. Its popularity was greatly increased at the beginning of the present century, due to the retransmission of its various competitions on the television as well as its presence in well known movies and books.

It is also said to be the easiest version to learn whether online or in land based casinos, and therefore is frequently played by professionals and beginners alike.

The betting structure of the game can differ slightly, but in general there are two options. The game can start with an Ante, when all the players participate in the bet with an equal amount of money, or it can start when the two players at the left of the dealer place the small and big blind bet.

After that, the dealer distributes two individual cards for each player, which they must keep till the end of the game. Those cards are called hole or pocket cards. After that, the person on the left of the player who had placed the big blind starts the first betting round, which is known as preflop.

From this time on, the players have the possibility to match the bet (call), increase the bet (raise) or discard their own hand, which give them no obligation of betting but also discard them from winning (fold).