The flop in poker refers to the dealing of the first three face-up cards to the board, or to those three cards themselves. This occurs in community card poker variants, particularly Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em. In poker, a card dealt face-up to the table (not to any one player) that is shared by more than one player is called a community card or shared card or widow card. ... Probably starting about the time of World War II, many modern poker games used community cards (also called shared cards or widow cards), which are cards dealt face up to the center of the table and shared by all players. ... Texas hold em (or simply hold em or holdem) is the most popular of the community card poker games. ... Omaha holdem (or Omaha holdem or simply Omaha) is a community card poker game based on Texas hold em. ...

The three cards are dealt simultaneously following the completion of the opening round of betting. After the flop, there is a second round of betting - associated with the flop - which is then followed by the deal of a turn card. This article describes the common terms, rules, and procedures in the game, but does not cover the strategic impact of betting. ... The turn, or fourth street, in poker is the fourth of five cards dealt to the board, constituting one face-up community cards that each of the players in the game can use to make up their final hand. ...

The three cards are often dealt facedown in a stack and then that whole stack is turned faceup and quickly slid to one side to expose all the cards such that a player cannot be seen to be reacting to one particular card.

It is often considered that the flop is key to a game of Texas hold 'em, since by the conclusion of the flop a player will have seen five of the seven cards that will make up his hand at the showdown. It should be noted that while the flop marks the point at which players have a lot of information about the cards, most of the betting rounds are still to be played out. Texas hold em (or simply hold em or holdem) is the most popular of the community card poker games. ... A hand in poker can mean any of the following: A unit of play consisting of a deal, one or more rounds of betting, and possibly a showdown. ... In all poker games, if more than one player remains after the last betting round, all of the players expose and compare their hands to determine the winner or winners. ...

See Also

River (poker) The river, or fifth street, in poker is the final fifth card to be dealt to the board, consisting of a face-up community card that each of the players in the game can use to make up their final hand. ...