Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker game online. It can be played by using any of three different betting formats. No Limit is the most popular of the three variants which also include Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Hold'em.
In No Limit Texas Hold'em you can bet all of your chips at any time, referring to an 'all-in' bet. Each hand will have between 2 and 10 players depending on where you play and the size of the table.
One player is give a 'dealer' button and the two players to his immediate left make a forced bet called the small blind and big blind. The amounts of the blinds will vary depending on the limit of that particular table. Cash games are played differently from tournament games as far as blinds go, in that during tournament play the blinds will increase as the tournament goes on. Blinds in a cash game will stay the same with every hand played. Each player is initally dealt two cards face down. These two 'hole' or 'pocket' cards are for your eyes only. Once the hole cards are dealt a single round of betting begins starting with the player that is seated to the left of the player who made the 'big blind' bet. Players will then have the option of calling the bet, raising or folding. After that round of betting is done three community cards are dealt in the middle of the table. Those cards are called the 'flop'. After the flop is dealt betting begins again. Once that round of betting is complete a fourth community card, or the turn card, is dealt and the betting round begins again. The last card dealt is called the 'river' card. The last round of betting begins after the river card is dealt. Once all bets have been made players will turn over their two hole cards and any 5 card combination of the players cards and the community cards will be used to make the best hand.
The player with the best hand wins the pot unless there is a tie, in which case the pot is split. There are several other things involved in No Limit Hold'em including all in bets that are different from other Hold'em varieties.
For beginning players it is best to start at play money tables or freeroll games where none of your bankroll is at risk while you are still learning the game.
Pot Limit Texas Holdem
Pot Limit Texas Hold'em is played very similar to No Limit. The difference here is the size of the bet players can make. During the betting rounds of this game the maximum bet a player can make is equal to the size of the Pot, thus the name Pot Limit Hold'em.
Pot Limit Hold'em. just like No Limit, starts with the two forced bets, the small and big blinds. Again the size of those bets will depend on the table limit or the level of the tournament you are playing in. All players are dealt two face down cards which can only be used by that player. A round of betting ensues and the flop, first three of the five community cards are dealt. Another round of betting is made and the fourth community card, the turn is dealt. After that another round of betting goes on. Maximum bet size here again is still equal to the size of the pot. Once that round of betting is complete the last community card, the River card, is dealt and the final round of betting begins. Once all bets are placed the showdown starts and the player with the best 5 card hand wins. Those five cards can be either two, one or none of the players hole cards and three, four or five of the community cards, provided that only five cards are used.