Poker historians believe that Texas Hold'em evolved out of seven-card stud when there were more than 7 players at the table. The idea was to have as many players as can fit around the table, each with his or her own hole cards, but using a common door card and common Fourth Street, Fifth Street, Sixth Street and Seventh Street cards.

The difference is that the two hole cards are dealt first, and there is a betting round. Then the first three of the five common cards are dealt, and there is another betting round. These three common cards are called "the flop." Then Sixth Street is turned over. This is called the "turn" card, and finally, the last card, called the "river" card is exposed.

Unlike stud, and for obvious reasons, the river card is dealt face up.

Thus, even if 10 people were in the game, only 25 cards out of the deck would be used.

Texas Hold'em was a little-known game until the World Series of Poker selected it as the game of choice for its televised tournaments. Since then, Texas Hold'em can be seen almost any day, by virtually every person in the United States and elsewhere, for as far as TV cable broadcasts reach.

It is thought that the original game of Hold'em was indeed, Texas Hold'em and not one of the Hold'em variants. It is also believed that this card game actually originated in West Texas.

The surface appeal of Texas Hold'em is its apparent simplicity. Even though many may be participating in a given game, the player need only consider two hole cards and the five board cards. There is no need to analyze the board cards of several other players, as in seven-card stud. In Texas Hold'em, everyone shares the same board.

The limited amount of information on the table also makes Texas Hold'em a very sophisticated poker game, and explains why professional poker players prefer it. A player can only find his or her way through a game by lucid analysis of the possibilities enjoyed by other players, and by what information, if any, their bets convey about the identity of the hole cards.