In Texas Hold’em, five shared community cards are dealt to the middle of the table in three stages: the flop, the turn, and the river. Everyone uses these cards, combined with their two hole cards, to build the best five-card hand. Here’s what each stage means.
The flop
The flop is the first three community cards, dealt face up all at once. It arrives after the preflop betting round and is the biggest single moment in a hand — you go from two cards to five available cards instantly. Suddenly you can have a pair, a draw, or even a made hand. A second round of betting follows the flop.
The turn
The turn — sometimes called "fourth street" — is the fourth community card, dealt face up by itself after the flop betting round. Now four of the five shared cards are visible. The turn often decides whether a draw is worth chasing and typically brings bigger bets as hands take shape.
The river
The river — "fifth street" — is the fifth and final community card. After it’s dealt, there’s one last betting round, and then any remaining players go to showdown. Because no more cards are coming, river decisions are the purest test of hand-reading and nerve.
Why the "burn card"?
Before the flop, turn, and river, the dealer discards ("burns") the top card face down. This is a fairness tradition that prevents anyone from gaining information off a marked or glimpsed top card. You’ll see it every hand in a proper game.
Reading the board as it develops
As the flop, turn, and river appear, keep asking what the best possible hand — "the nuts" — could be. A board like 9♥ 8♥ 7♠ is dangerous (straights and flush draws everywhere), while K♦ 7♣ 2♠ is dry and safe. Learning to read how hands rank against the board is what separates winners from beginners.
A quick example
You hold A♠ K♠. The flop comes Q♠ J♠ 4♦ — you have two overcards and a flush draw. The turn is the 2♠, completing your flush. The river is a blank. You now hold the nut flush, built from your two hole cards plus three community cards. That journey — flop to river — is the story of every hand.
The takeaway
Flop (3 cards) → turn (1 card) → river (1 card) = five community cards, dealt across three stages with a betting round after each. Know the stages, watch the board build, and plan your hands accordingly.
See the board come alive
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