In Texas Holdem, players are dealt two down cards as their personal hand (hole cards). After the first round of betting ends, the dealer burns the top card and deals three board cards face up (called the flop) and another round of betting occurs. The next two board cards dealt are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each.
The board cards are community cards, and a player may use any five-card combination from the board and personal cards. A player may even use all of the board cards and no personal cards to form a hand (play the board). A dealer button is used. The usual structure is to use two blinds, but it is possible to play with one blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.
Misc Rules
These rules deal only with irregularities.
1. If the first hole card dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer must retrieve the card, reshuffle, and then re-cut the cards. If any other hole card is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card may not be kept. After the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burn card. If more than one hole card is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a re-deal.
2. If the flop contains to many cards, it must be re-dealt. (This applies even if it were possible to know which card was the extra one.)
3. If the flop needs to be re-dealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the board cards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burn card remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.
4. If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth cards place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.
5. If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card will be returned to the deck and used for the burn card. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.
6. You must declare that you are playing the board before you throw your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.