In community card poker games, each player is dealt privately an incomplete poker hand (hole cards) which is then combined with the community cards to make a complete hand. The set of community cards is called a board, and may be dealt in a simple line or arranged in a special pattern; rules of each poker game determine how the community cards may be combined with each player's private poker hand.
The most popular community card poker game today is probably Texas hold'em (and variants thereof), originating sometime in the 1970s. In home games, it is typical to use an ante, while casinos typically use only blinds for these poker games. Fixed limit games are most common in casinos, while spread limit games are more common in home poker games. No limit and pot limit games are less common, but some poker games play particularly well with those structures. As with stud poker, later betting rounds often have a higher limit than earlier betting rounds. Each betting round begins with the player to the dealer's left (when blinds are used, the first round begins with the player after the big blind), so community card games are generally positional games.
Most community card poker games do not play well with lowball hand values, though some do play very well at high-low split, especially with ace-to-five low values, making it possible to win both halves of a pot. When played high-low split, there is generally a minimum qualifying hand for low (often 8-high), and it is played cards speak.
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