After all active Holdem Poker players have received their Pocket Cards, the first round of betting will begin before the dealer lays out the flop. This pre-flop betting round starts with the player to the left of the player who posted the Big Blind. Since this player is responsible for beginning the first round of betting, they are referred to as being "Under the Gun." This player (3rd to the left of the Dealer) must do one of the following:

• Fold - throw in his Pocket Cards and drop out of the hand of holdem poker
• Call - meet the outstanding bet to his right, which is the Big Blind
• Raise - meet the outstanding bet to his right, and increase the bet by an additional amount.

In this example from our Online Holdem Poker Training Room, player Mallory is 3rd from the left of the Dealer, so he is "Under the Gun" and begins the first betting round. Actually, "Liz" and Hillary started the first round in this game when they posted their blinds, but Mallory is the first player to have a choice of calling or raising. Mallory decides to call the Big Blind for 1 chip, and so does Norgay, so it is Liz's turn to bet. The number in the lower right corner of the Call and Raise buttons indicates the number of chips Liz must post to take that action.

It will cost Liz .5 chips to call or 1.5 chips to raise (.5 chips to call Norgay's bet, plus 1 chip bet above that). Since this is Limit Holdem Poker, Liz cannot raise more than 1 chip above the call. If Liz raises, then Hillary will be faced with a 1-chip Call or a 2-chip Raise. A betting round in Holdem Poker ends when all bets or raises have been called.

Notice that Liz's Screen Name box has changed colour from black to gold, there is a red/yellow/green timer bar at her seat position at the Holdem Poker table, and the control panel has bright-green buttons in the left-hand side. These are all indicators that it is her turn to act.

When it is their turn to act, all players have a fixed amount of time to make a decision. The timing bar makes players aware of how much time they have left to decide. When it reaches the red zone, there are just 5 seconds left. Any player who doesn't act before time runs out will be presumed to fold or, when possible, to check (stay in the hand without putting up any more chips).

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