Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, or holdem) is a variation of the standard card game of poker. Two cards (hole/hold cards) are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt in three stages face-up, placed in front of the dealer. The stages consist of a series of three cards ("the flop"), later an additional single card ("the turn" or "fourth street") and a final card ("the river" or "fifth street"). The best five card poker hand is obtained by using the necessary cards from the community and/or a particular player's hole cards (if a player's best five card poker hand consists only of the five community cards and none of the player's hole cards, it is called "playing the board"). Players have betting options to check, bet/call, raise or fold. Rounds of betting include prior to the flop/"pre-flop", "on the flop", "on the turn", and "on the river". The betting pattern has variations, such as: all players might simply check on a particular round such as pre-flop.