The dealer and the button

Any game of poker requires someone to deal the cards. Players typically take turns dealing, passing this responsibility clockwise around the table. In casinos and card houses, however, a professional dealer will generally handle the distribution of the cards. The player, who is supposed to be dealing, is symbolically recognizable by a disc that is placed directly in front of him. This disc, and the player with the disc in front of him, is referred to as “the button”. The button will move clockwise around the table representing the current dealer.

Before a game can begin, a player must be chosen to deal the first hand. Typically this is done by having each player at the table choose a random card from the deck. The player with the highest card will become the first player to deal. Should two players choose a card with the same face value, the suits of the cards will determine who goes first. The importance of suits is as follows: 1) Spades, 2) Hearts, 3) Diamonds, 4) Clubs.

Once the dealer has been determined, players will first pay the blinds and antes (see next section). Afterwards, the deal goes as follows: one card is placed face down in front of each player, beginning with the player directly to the left of the dealer and moving clockwise around the table and finishing with the dealer. A second card is then distributed to each player in the same manner.

The cards distributed at this point are strictly private to each player and are known as hole cards.