Texas Holdem Rules Simple
Texas Hold'em
Texas Hold'em is arguably the most popular form of poker. It is widely considered to have the most strategy of all poker games, yet the rules are quite simple. Here is how a hand of Texas Hold'em is played:
Texas hold'em is a simple poker game, but it can be daunting to get to grips with. These hand rankings aren't specifically part of Texas hold'em rules, but apply to many different poker games. Texas Hold'em is a 5 card poker game where players make wagers on the confidence in their hand's chances of winning. This type of poker uses 5 community cards that all players can use and 2 hole cards that are face down. Like any poker game the styles and strategies of play can get very complex and take years of dedicated play to learn.
The five cards on the table are community cards. Your hand is formed by taking the best poker hand you can by using any five out of the seven cards (5 community + 2 hole cards). But remember, all the players have access to the community cards. When played for money, there is a round of betting after a round of cards is dealt (so four rounds of betting in total).
Example Hands
- Hole Cards: You are dealt A Q. Your opponent checks to you. You decide to bet with this hand and one player calls.
- The Flop: The board is A 10 9. Right now, you have a pair of aces. You make a bet and the other player calls.
- The Turn:10 comes on the board. You know have two pairs, aces and tens. Be aware that if your opponent has a ten in his hole cards, he now has a three-of-a-kind. However, you also now have the potential of hitting a flush if the river card is another spade. Again, you bet and the player calls.
- The River:2 comes on the river. The final board is A 10 10 9 2. You now have a flush. You make a bet and your opponent calls.
- Showdown: You show your flush. Your opponent shows J 10, so he has three-of-a-kind. You win.
Here are more examples of final Texas Hold'em hands after all five board cards have been dealt.
Example #1Texas Holdem Rules Simple Present
In this example, you have a flush, because you can use the three clubs on the board with the two in your hand.
Example #2
In this example, you have a King pair with Queen Kicker. The kicker is very important, because you would beat a player holding KJ or K5, but you would lose to a player with AK.
Example #3
In this example, you have a straight to the king, by using all the community cards and none of your hole cards. But just remember, everyone else has a straight too. How could you win the entire pot in this situation, instead of splitting it? You might bet and represent (pretend you have) the ace. However, if someone else really does have the Ace, you would be raised and put into an awkward situation.
Texas Hold'em Rules
Can you have three pairs in Texas Hold'em?
No, there is no such thing as three pairs. Only your best five-card poker hand counts in Texas Hold'em. Example:
Your final poker hand is two pairs, aces over sevens, with a king kicker, using A A K 7 from the board and the 7 from your hand.
How many kickers matter?
Texas Holdem Rules For Beginners Pdf
A kicker matters if it is part of a person's final five-card poker hand. Example:In this case, Victor would win. The nine is better than the seven, so Victor wins.
Victor's final poker hand | Stephen's final poker hand |
However, suppose the board is:
Then the outcome would be a tie. Both would have aces over queens with a jack kicker. Victor's nine would no longer be part of his final five-card poker hand, so it would no longer matter.
Wait, I'm confused. Another example please?
In Texas Hold'em, a player makes the best five-card hand using any combination of his hole cards and the cards on the board. Only the best five-card hand is considered.
This is a tied pot. Each player's final poker hand is A K Q J 10
Can I show my hole cards to my opponents before the showdown in order to psyche-out my opponents?
This depends on the rules of the house. Sometimes, when a player must make a large call, he displays his hole cards to his opponent to see if the opponent gives some sort of reaction. Certain poker rooms and home games allow this but other places would instantly call the hand dead and would make the player fold.
Who wins if two people each have a straight?
If one person has a higher straight, then that person would win. For example, if Tom has a straight 87654 and Jerry has a straight 98765, then Jerry would win the pot.
Please note that only the final five-card poker hand matters.
This would be a split pot. Each person's final poker hand is the board: 9 8 7 6 5. It does not matter that Peter also has a four, because it would not make him a higher straight.
For more information about tie-breakers among different poker hands, check out our Poker Hands section.
Hold'em Edges
In Game Selection and Your Best Game, we went over factors that will help you choose a poker game. Hopefully, these ideas will help you find games where you are more skilled than your opponents. But in addition to the relative skill level of you and your opponents, the types of poker games will lend themselves to certain edges.
Limit Hold'em lends itself to a smaller edge. You are limited by how much you can bet, so fish are protected against making blatantly idiotic moves like calling all-in with bottom pair when you hold top set. Think about it mathematically. The bets are a mere fraction of the pot. So most of the time people call with a solid draw, they have good odds for the draw. Suppose you are playing a $1-$2 limit game (with no rake).
Three players besides you and your opponent see the flop. You bet and he calls through the river. How much did your opponent expect to lose? Excluding the expected preflop loss, your opponent did not expect to lose that much. The pot going into the flop was $5. He called $1 so the pot was $7 after the flop. He then called $2 so the pot was $9 going into the river. Let's see how much your opponent lost in terms of expected value on each of the postflop streets. His expected value is his expected win (chance of winning * pot) minus his bet.
Flop: $-.55
Turn: -$1.41
River: -$2
Total: -$3.96
While he actually lost $5 on postflop betting, he only expected to lose $3.96. So essentially, for every dollar he bet, he lost $0.79. Keep in mind this is one of the worst possible situations in fixed-limit Hold'em. Rarely is one dominated in a small pot. Most of the time when people make incorrect bets in limit hold'em, their losing edge is much smaller.
If this hand was played in a no-limit hold'em game, your opponent would have lost a lot more money. Your edge over him in terms of expected value would also have been greater. This is because your bets are a larger fraction of the pot. Assuming pot-sized bets were made beginning at the flop, this is the amount in terms of expected value that your opponent would lose:
Flop: (bet of $5):-$4.04
Turn: (bet of $15): -$12.06
River: (bet of $45): -$45
Total: -$61.10
This time, he made bets totaling $65 and expected to lose $61.10. Not only did he lose more money, he expected to lose an even higher percentage. For every dollar he bet, he expected to lose $0.94! That's a much bigger edge than the one in fixed-limit hold'em simply because the bets are a larger fraction of the pot. Please note that this example did not include implied odds. In that sense, it is an imperfect example. However, it illustrates the point that when you play no-limit, the edges can be huge under certain situations, whereas in fixed-limit they generally are not nearly as huge.
Does this mean that no-limit ring games are superior to fixed-limit ring games? Not necessarily. Because the edges can be so huge in no-limit games, most players tend to stay away from them unless they are good at playing no-limit hold'em, especially at higher stakes. Also, even poor no-limit players are wary of betting their money in situations like the one above. People will not throw their money away in situations where they expect to lose 94 cents on every dollar they bet, whereas they would lose 79 cents on the dollar in a Limit game. At no-limit hold'em, being caught as a huge underdog in a big pot is disastrous, so few people who survive to play no-limit hold'em make such critical errors. However, poor players will tend to stay at limit hold'em and continue to bleed their money away slowly.
Basically, a few big fish can greatly raise the expected value of a no-limit hold'em game. You will be able to find yourself in a few situations where your edge is huge and you can win a huge pot. It is possible to make huge, disastrous mistakes at no-limit whereas it is very hard to do so in a limit game. People tend to make more common, smaller mistakes at limit, so one cannot take too great of advantage of an opponent's huge error. Obviously a soft game is preferable, but the addition of one huge fish will alter the expected value of a No-Limit game much more than it will a limit game.
So when you think about your edge in a limit or no-limit game, realize that one's edge at a mo-limit game is much more dynamic. A player's edge at limit tends to stay in a certain general area, while a no-limit hold'em edge can vary greatly depending on the play of a few players. In the example of the K4 versus AK hand, you will more than likely win money in situations like those at limit (unless you play in a tough game). However, you may or may not win any money from your opponent in no-limit games. If you are able to extract huge bets from players with top pair and no kicker in no-limit hold'em games, then you may be able to retire from your day job a little earlier. But sometimes people will not pay you off at all,so your expected gain is contracted. Basically, the really big mistakes your opponents can make are either bigger in no-limit or they do not exist at all, and this will greatly determine your expected win or loss from a game.
Nonetheless, there is the possibility of a more general edge at low-stakes no-limit hold'em games. This is because these games attract so many poor players that the addition of one or two more poor players does not significantly alter the ecosystem of the game.
Longhand Limit Texas Hold'em Strategy
This section will give you the basic strategy for longhand limit hold'em (eight or more players). This section is intended for the beginner, so he or she can win at the lower limits ($2-$4 or lower).
Preflop Starting Hands
This is where most beginners make mistakes. They simply play too many hands. What beginners fail to recognize is that longhand limit hold'em is a game of patience. As boring as it sounds, you literally can just wait to be dealt the quality hands, and just win with those.
So what are the good hands? David Sklansky, a poker expert, groups hands into eight categories. I'm going to simplify his method a little bit for you. The main difference between my ratings and his ratings is that I don't give preference to suited cards. The only reason I do this is that beginners tend to play suited cards too much. Being suited is nice, but it's just a small bonus, it doesn't change the actual value of the cards as much as many beginners realize.
Category I
These are the best hands, bar none. You should raise or reraise with them preflop. If you hold AA, you especially want to jam as much money into the pot as possible.
Category I hands should almost always be played. The only exception is if you hold AK or JJ and you are positive that someone has AA or KK by the way they are raising (in other words, the person is a very tight player, but is acting like a maniac preflop). These hands generally should be raised from any position and you want to get a lot of money in preflop. However, for AK you need to hit an Ace or a King. So don't get in a raising war with one person because that person probably has a pocket pair already.
Category II
These are good hands, but they aren't amazing. You generally need help from the board. When facing multiple players in low-limit, you will almost always need to hit a set with TT or 99 to win.
Category II hands should generally be played. These hands work better with fewer players in the pot, so you should raise to try to knock people out. But these hands can be folded if there has been significant action before you. If a player raises, another player re-raises and a third player makes yet another re-raise, you can be quite confident that one or more of them have your hand dominated.
Category III
These are good hands. However, be careful playing AJ, AT, KJ as these hands are vulnerable to losing to a higher kicker (i.e. if an Ace is on the board, but someone else has AK, you would lose because he has a higher kicker).
You should play these hands more often when they are suited and when you are in late position. When they are suited, they have a higher chance of winning, especially in a multi-way pot. When you are in late position, you will have a better idea where you stand among other players. If there has been heavy action before you, you should consider folding because someone might have a hand that dominates yours. However, if everyone has folded to you or there is just a limper or two, a raise is probably in order.
Category IV
Category IV hands are very different. You want a large, multi-way pot, because these hands miss the flop often. However, sometimes these hands are amazing (if you hit a straight, flush, or trips). Therefore, you want to be paid off big when you actually hit something with these hands, which is why you want a lot of people in the pot.
You call a bet on flop, 9 comes on turn, and then you jam the pot. With these hands, you want to commit as few chips as possible preflop, while hoping that many people go into the flop. If you are the dealer, and one guy is in with a raise, fold. However, if you are the big blind, and 5 people have called a raise, go ahead and call and see the flop.
Flop Play
Once you hit the flop, you will be in one of four situations:
1. You are winning but have a beatable hand. For example, you have top pair plus top kicker or an overpair.
You want to jam the pot and knock people out. Thus, you want someone to bet to you and then to raise if you are in early position. If you are in late position and no one has bet, you must bet to encourage some folds.
2. You have a boss hand. You have three-of-a-kind or maybe even a full house on the flop. There is no reason to knock people out, because you will probably win (unless you have trips and there's a flush draw out there; then you need to make them pay). In these situations, it's generally best to wait until the turn to jam the pot, but jam the pot on the flop if a scary draw is out there.
3. You have the second-best hand.
In this case, treat the hand as a drawing hand or simply fold, unless you really believe that you may have the best hand at the moment (this is unlikely in a larger, multi-way pot because someone is bound to have a King).
4. You have a drawing hand.
For these hands, you must use outs and pot odds.
5. You have nothing.
You are clearly beat. Just fold at the first bet.
Number of Players in the Pot
One thing to always keep in mind are the number of players in the pot. This affects the types of hands you should play, and the likelihood that you hold the best hand.
In this example, you should be more careful if you are up against 6 players than if only one or two are in the pot. If there are many players, and if there is a lot of action (raising), you are probably beat by someone holding a Queen. However, if you are only up against one or two opponents, you still could very well have the best hand.
Those are the basics of longhand limit. If you play tight before the flop, there really aren't that many tricky situations you will encounter.
Shorthand Limit Texas Hold'em Strategy
Understanding how to play shorthand games (six or fewer people) is important to becoming a winning poker player. Most postflop play in longhand games involves critical shorthand concepts. If you are an internet player, you will find that shorthand games are very popular at online poker rooms. In fact, most high-limit games are played shorthand.
What type of game should I look for?
One of the most important skills in poker is simply playing in the right game. This is a very under-appreciated weapon in a poker player's arsenal. Unless you just want to practice, there's no reason to play against professionals! The best way to examine a game is to watch how much betting and raising occurs. If there is a lot of raising and folding, stay away! If people limp in a lot preflop and then just call bets, join the game! The reason you want to play against passive players is that selective aggression is the key to winning at shorthand.
Preflop Starting Hands
So what types of starting hands should you look for when playing shorthanded? Many articles have been written about this, but I'll briefly summarize what I believe are the playable hands.
One thing to remember is that hand values are relative, so a hand can be good under some situations and total trash under others. For example, if there has been a lot of action, like a raise, a reraise, a call, then a cap, I would fold anything besides AA, KK, AK, QQ, and JJ. You should always think about what the other guy has and guess whether you have a better starting hand than him before entering a pot.
Hands to raise with:
Hands to call a raise with:
Hands to reraise with:
This depends on the raiser. Reraise a maniac with any pair or A9+, because you'll probably be winning at the flop. This sort of player could easily be raising with A4, so you want to isolate him, even when holding a hand like 66. Against other types of players, reraise with strong hands like AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ (although you may want to smooth call with JJ). You should consider just calling with AK and AQ because it does very well 3- or 4-handed. If you hit top pair with one of these hands, there is a good chance you will get paid off if the pot is 3- or 4-way.
Suited connectors and small pairs are only playable under certain conditions. If people are not aggressive, it may be possible to limp with these hands and play multi-way pots. If there are four or fewer players in the game, there will not be any multi-way pots. So when the game is very short, suited connectors have very little value. For small pairs, you want to play a heads-up pot if the game is very shorthanded. Thus, if you are in early position, you should usually fold small pairs. If you are on the button and everyone has folded, you should raise with a small pair.
Flop Tips
When you have a made hand, bet it. Whenever you have a hand that is top pair or stronger, you should usually just bet. If your opponent raises you, you should probably respond with a reraise. Your opponent may be trying to buy himself a free card on the turn by raising you. Or he may have a weaker hand and is trying to raise for value in his eyes. Nevertheless, generally the best move is to bet or reraise with top pair and good kicker or better.
However, if you make a pair, but it's not the top pair, you have a decision to make. This decision will be highly situational, but here are some general tips. First, you must analyze how strong your hand is relative to the board.
It is unlikely that someone holds a nine. You should bet this hand if it is checked to you and probably call down if someone bets at you. Let's look at another example.
In this situation, your hand is extremely weak. You should fold this hand on the flop. Basically, measure how good your hand is against other likely hands.
Another important idea revolves around when to fold your hand. If you are going to fold, you want to do so earlier in the pot. For more discussion about this topic, check out 'When To Fold' on the Expert Poker Player section.
Drawing Hands and Pot Odds
Always know how many outs you have, or the number of cards that will make you a winning hand. But don't be too liberal when counting your outs.
In this example, you cannot count the Ace as an out. After all, someone could easily have AK or hold a Jack.
Bluffing
Flop bluffs. If you are the preflop raiser, the flop is a very good time to bluff.
Suppose you raised preflop, and it is heads-up on the flop. Your opponent checks to you. Bet! You have nothing, but he probably has nothing, too. Go ahead and try to steal. In pots that are contested between just you and one other player, often mere aggression is enough to win the pot, so your cards don't matter as much.
Semibluffing. Semibluffing is betting when you don't have a made hand yet, but you are on a strong draw.
You have a flush draw. Go ahead and bet. Not only do you have a good chance of hitting, you might steal the pot right here.
Other Bluffs. These don't work too well at fixed-limit, but they do work at times. Suppose the flop is checked and a Queen comes on the turn. Go ahead and bet. Your opponents are likely to fold unless they hit a draw or they have a hand themselves. Please realize that some opponents will call you down with Ace high. Against these players, don't bluff much. Instead, value bet often, and win a lot of chips whenever you have any sort of hand against them.
Advanced Shorthand Limit Strategy
This section will provide tips for some troublesome situations in shorthand fixed-limit games.
Small Pocket Pairs (sevens or lower)
Preflop:
Small pocket pairs work best in a large, multi-way pot (you're hoping to flop a set) or heads-up. Therefore, your preflop strategy should reflect this. If you're on the button, one guy has raised, and another has folded, your best strategy would be to shut out the blinds and make it heads up. So in this case, reraise. However, if you're the big blind and three other people have already called the big blind, it's best to just check and hope to hit a set on the flop.
Note: Don't use the reraise to make it heads-up strategy against a very tight player. There's a good chance he has a higher pocket pair. In these situations, your opponent will dominate you. For example, you do not want to reraise when you hold 8 8 and the other player holds 10 10. The reraise move only works if you think your opponent has two unpaired cards or a lower pocket pair than you.
On the flop:
If you're in a multi-way pot, the answer is simple: fold if you don't hit a set, jam the pot if you do. The only exception is if you hit a weird flop, like 552 or 666 when you hold like 77. In this case, you might have the best hand and could consider betting or calling one bet.
If you're heads-up, it gets a little tricker. If the flop is mainly low cards, bet at it. Your opponent probably has nothing. However, if the flop is AQJ, you're probably toast. You can try to bet at it (in case he has a low pocket pair also), but if you encounter any resistance, you must fold.
Flop bluffs
Flop bluffs work best against one or maybe two opponents. The method is fairly simple.
Suppose you raised preflop. You have nothing on the flop, not even a flush draw, but your opponents may also have nothing. Go ahead and bet at it, you might steal the pot right there.
If they just call you, you have a decision. They may have Ace and a low kicker or they may have something like K 9. In either case, you're losing. You should generally check and fold. Do this about 80% of the time. However, you don't want them to be able to crack your bluffing strategy by just calling you on the flop and then seeing what you do on the turn.
Because of this, I recommend slowplaying occasionally. For example, suppose you have A 9 at this flop. You can bet the flop, then check-raise the turn. In other words, you must punish them for just calling on the flop. People should never be allowed to just call with a second-best hand if they hope you're bluffing; they should be forced to raise to see where they are. If you suspect that they just call you with the second-best hand, you should bet until the river when you have the goods, but don't always check-fold when you don't. You should sometimes bluff on the turn too (but most of the time, don't).
Slowplaying
I'm not a huge fan of slowplaying because I like to run flop bluffs, and flop bluffs are only successful if you actually bet with the goods at the flop. However, sometimes it's best to just wait to jam the pot. I like to slowplay in multi-way situations when I really have the goods.
In this example, I have the stone nuts. I'll generally wait for a bet if I think one will happen and then raise it. Slowplaying and jamming the pot on the turn can be very profitable in multi-way pots, but I don't recommend it in heads-up situations. In this situation, someone with a King may call my bet but probably will not make a bet himself.
Slowplaying is successful when:
Slowplaying a set with a flush draw on board is dumb because you could be allowing them to develop a hand that can beat yours without having to pay to do so. You should think, what can they develop that won't beat me, but will still make them bet so I can raise them? Don't slowplay just because you have a good hand. Slowplay when the two conditions above are met.
Paired board when you have the third card
This is a troublesome situation. You may have the best hand or you may be toast. However, the situation is pretty simple. If it's checked around to you, check. After all, what will people call you with? The only thing people will call you with that can't beat you is A7 or maybe a pocket pair (few will call with this hand, though).
So, when you're in this trouble situation, you have to consider two factors: What will people call you with that won't beat you, and what are the chances they have the better hand? The higher the board pair, the higher the chance they have the trip. If you have K J, AAJ is far more scary than J44. I would treat the AAJ with caution and play it passively, while I'd bet at J44 and be fairly aggressive.
That brings up the question: What do you mean by 'play it with caution'? Well, if I have K J and someone bets at me with the board AAJ, he may have QJ, so I'd go ahead and call. But if someone bet, I called, someone else raises, I'd get out. I would also be prepared to fold if they bet again on the turn.
Play against a CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY maniac
Maniacs can be a real pain in shorthand. However, they are generally best dealt with by just calling (but raise them if you hold a very strong hand). They will increase the variance of the game, but you will win more in the long run. For example, in a $100-$200 game, I was dealt Q Q, a nice hand. Anyway, someone calls, the maniac raises, I reraise, the maniac caps and there is one other normal player in the pot. The flop comes A K 4. This is one of the worst possible flops for me. I go ahead and bet, the normal player folds, and the maniac raises me. Normally, I would fold, but this guy was so crazy that I decided to check-call to the river. I won the pot. The maniac had 5 3.
Don't pay them off
Sometimes, when your opponent is on a flush draw, and you have top pair, they will attempt to check-raise on the river. If you put them on a flush draw, and then the flush card hits on the river, don't pay them off. Just check down the river. Think about the math. If you are in position and check the river, you save yourself 2 big bets (4 small bets). There was probably a raise preflop and a bet on the flop and turn. So you put in a total of 5 small bets. By checking the river, you save yourself almost half the money you would have lost.
What not to do
Table Of Contents
If you want to learn how to play Texas hold'em games, then you need to start from the basic rules and hands. That's exactly what you'll find on this beginner's guide to the game.
Texas hold'em is a simple poker game, but it can be daunting to get to grips with.
But don't let that put you off. By the time you are down with this beginner's guide to Texas hold'em, you will know:
1. What Is Texas Hold'em Poker?
Texas Hold'em is the most popular of all poker variations.
All of the marquee tournaments around the world (including those played at the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, the and the European Poker Tour) feature the no-limit variation of this game.
Texas hold'em is so popular that is the only poker game many players will ever learn.
It takes a moment to learn, but a lifetime to master.
Discovering how to play Texas hold'em poker is not difficult and the simplicity of its rules, gameplay, and hand-ranking all contribute to the popularity of the game.
However, don't let the simplicity of the game mislead you.
The number of possible situations and combinations is so vast that Texas hold'em can be an extremely complex game when you play at the highest levels.
If you are approaching the game of Texas hold'em for the first time, starting from the basic rules of the game is key. Not only these are the easiest ones to learn, but they are also essential to understand the gameplay and, later on, the game's basic strategy.
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'>2. Texas Hold'em Rules
So how do you play Texas hold'em?
The goal of a Texas hold'em game is to use your hole card and in combination with the community cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand.
Hold'em is not unlike other poker games like five-card draw.
However, the way players construct their hands in Texas hold'em is a little different than in draw poker.
It's always possible a player can 'bluff' and get others to fold better hands.
- In a game of Texas hold'em, each player is dealt two cards face down (the 'hole cards')
- Throughout several betting rounds, five more cards are (eventually) dealt face up in the middle of the table
- These face-up cards are called the 'community cards.' Each player is free to use the community cards in combination with their hole cards to build a five-card poker hand.
While we will see each betting round and different phase that forms a full hand of a Texas hold'em game, you should know that the five community cards are dealt in three stages:
- The Flop: the first three community cards.
- The Turn: the fourth community card.
- The River:The fifth and final community card.
Your mission is to construct your five-card poker hands using the best available five cards out of the seven total cards (the two hole cards and the five community cards).
You can do that by using both your hole cards in combination with three community cards, one hole card in combination with four community cards, or no hole cards.
If the cards on the table lead to a better combination, you can also play all five community cards and forget about yours.
In a game of Texas hold'em you can do whatever works to make the best five-card hand.
If the betting causes all but one player to fold, the lone remaining player wins the pot without having to show any cards.
For that reason, players don't always have to hold the best hand to win the pot. It's always possible a player can 'bluff' and get others to fold better hands.
READ ALSO: Common Poker Tells: How to Read People in Poker
If two or more players make it all of the way to the showdown after the last community card is dealt and all betting is complete, the only way to win the pot is to have the highest-ranking five-card poker hand.
Now that you know the basics of Texas hold'em and you start to begin gaining an understanding of how the game works, it's time to get into some specifics.
These include how to deal Texas hold'em and how the betting works.
Basic Rules Key Takeaways:
- A game of Texas hold'em feature several betting rounds
- Players get two private and up to five community cards
- Unless all players abandon the game before the showdown, you need the highest poker hand to win
How to Play
Let's have a look at all the different key aspects of a Texas hold'em game, including the different positions at the table and the betting rounds featured in the game.
The Button
The play moves clockwise around the table, starting with action to the left of the dealer button.
The 'button' is a round disc that sits in front of a player and is rotated one seat to the left every hand.
When playing in casinos and poker rooms, the player with the dealer button doesn't deal the cards (the poker room hires someone to do that).
In when you play poker home games with friends the player with the button usually deals the hands.
The button determines which player at the table is the acting dealer.
The first two players sitting to the immediate left of the button are required to post a 'small blind' and a 'big blind' to initiate the betting.
From there, the action occurs on multiple streets:
- Preflop
- Flop
- Turn
- River
Each one of these moments (or 'streets' in the game's lingo) is explained further below.
The button determines which player at the table is the acting dealer.
In Texas hold'em, the player on button, or last active player closest to the button receives the last action on all post-flop streets of play.
While the dealer button dictates which players have to post the small and big blinds, it also determines where the dealing of the cards begin.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer button in the small blind receives the first card and then the dealer pitches cards around the table in a clockwise motion from player to player until each has received two starting cards.
READ ALSO: Poker Positions Explained: the Importance of Position in Poker
The Blinds
Before every new hand begins, two players at the table are obligated to post small and big blinds.
The blinds are forced bets that begin the wagering.
Without these blinds, the game would be very boring because no one would be required to put any money into the pot and players could just wait around until they are dealt pocket aces (AA) and only play then.
The blinds ensure there will be some level of 'action' on every hand.
In tournaments, the blinds are raised at regular intervals. In cash games, the blinds always stay the same.
In tournaments, the blinds are raised at regular intervals.
- As the number of players keeps decreasing and the stacks of the remaining players keep getting bigger, it is a necessity that the blinds keep increasing throughout a tournament. [*]In cash games, the blinds always stay the same.
The player directly to the left of the button posts the small blind, and the player to his or her direct left posts the big blind.
The small blind is generally half the amount of the big blind, although this stipulation varies from room to room and can also be dependent on the game being played.
In a '$1/$2' Texas holdem game, the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2.
First Betting Round: Preflop
The first round of betting takes place right after each player has been dealt two hole cards.
The first player to act is the player to the left of the big blind.
This position referred to as 'under the gun' because the player has to act first. The first player has three options:
- Call: match the amount of the big blind
- Raise: increase the bet within the specific limits of the game
- Fold: throw the hand away
If the player chooses to fold, he or she is out of the game and no longer eligible to win the current hand.
Players can bet anywhere from the amount of the big blind (the minimum bet allowed) up to the total amount in the current pot.
The amount a player can raise to depends on the game that is being played.
In a game of no-limit Texas hold'em, the minimum opening raise must be at least twice the big blind, and the maximum raise can be all of the chips a player has in his or her stack (an 'all-in' bet).
There are other betting variations in hold'em poker.
In fixed-limit hold'em (or just 'limit hold'em), a raise is always exactly twice the big blind.
In pot-limit hold'em (played much less often than the other variations), players can bet anywhere from the amount of the big blind (the minimum bet allowed) up to the total amount in the current pot.
After the first player ('under the gun') acts, the play proceeds in a clockwise fashion around the table with each player also having the same three options — to call, to raise, or fold.
Once the last bet is called and the action is 'closed,' the preflop round is over and play moves on to the 'flop.'
Second Betting Round: The Flop
After the first preflop betting round has been completed, the first three community cards are dealt and a second betting round follows involving only the players who have not folded already.
A check simply means to pass the action to the next player in the hand.
In this betting round (and subsequent ones), the action starts with the first active player to the left of the button.
Along with the options to bet, call, fold, or raise, a player now has the option to 'check' if no betting action has occurred beforehand.
A check simply means to pass the action to the next player in the hand.
Again betting continues until the last bet or raise has been called (which closes the action).
It also can happen that every player simply chooses not to be and checks around the table, which also ends the betting round.
Third Betting Round: The Turn
Call – match the amount of the big blind
The fourth community card, called the turn, is dealt face-up following all betting action on the flop.
Once this has been completed, another round of betting occurs, similar to that on the previous street of play.
Again players have the option to options to check, bet, call, fold, or raise.
Final Betting Round: The River
Fold – throw the hand away
The fifth community card, called the river, is dealt face-up following all betting action on the turn.
Once this has been completed, another round of betting occurs, similar to what took play on the previous street of play.
Once more the remaining players have the option to options to check, bet, call, fold, or raise.
After all betting action has been completed, the remaining players in the hand with hole cards now expose their holdings to determine a winner. This is called the showdown.
The Showdown
Players construct their hands by choosing the five best cards from the seven available
The remaining players show their hole cards, and with the assistance of the dealer, a winning hand is determined.
The player with the best combination of five cards wins the pot according to the official poker hand rankings.
3. The Hands in Texas Hold'em
These hand rankings aren't specifically part of Texas hold'em rules, but apply to many different poker games.
- Royal Flush — five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten; e.g., A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥
- Straight Flush — five cards of the same suit and consecutively ranked; e.g., 9♣8♣7♣6♣5♣
- Four of a Kind — four cards of the same rank; e.g., Q♣Q♥Q♦Q♠4♦
- Full House — three cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank; e.g., J♣J♥J♠8♦8♥
- Flush — any five cards of the same suit; e.g., A♠J♠8♠5♠2♠
- Straight — any five cards consecutively ranked; e.g., Q♣J♦10♥9♠8♦
- Three of a Kind — three cards of the same rank; e.g., 8♣8♠8♦K♣4♥
- Two Pair — two cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank; e.g., A♠A♣J♦J♣7♠
- One Pair — two cards of the same rank; e.g., 10♥10♣9♥4♦2♦
- High Card — five unmatched cards; e.g., A♣J♦10♠5♣2♥ would be called 'ace-high'
Players construct their hands by choosing the five best cards from the seven available (their two hole cards and the five community cards).
If the board is showing 9♣5♠K♦3♠A♥, a player with the two hole cards 9♠ would have two pair (aces and nines) and would lose to a player who has 9♦9♥ for three of a kind (three nines).
Learning hold'em poker begins with understanding how hands are dealt and the order of play as described above.
Of course, learning Texas hold'em rules is just the beginning, as the next step is to learn strategy which involves understanding what constitutes good starting hand selection, the odds and probabilities associated with the game, the significance of position and getting to act last during those post-flop betting rounds, and many other aspects of the game.
4. How to Play Texas Hold'em Games Online
Now that you know how Texas Hold'em works, it's time to put the theory into practice and play your first games.
The best way to start playing Texas Hold'em is to start from these free poker games available online and then move up to the real money action only when you feel comfortable enough to do so.
All the 'must-have poker rooms' below offer free games to practice online.
If you are completely new to the game, you should go for play money options, first. These risk-free games with fake money are an excellent way to familiarise with the different moments of play and the betting rounds.
The play money games are a great way to learn more about the hand rankings and begin to read the board fast enough to take all the right decisions at the right time.
After that, you should more to the poker freerolls. These are free poker tournaments with actual prizes on tap that range from free money to free entries into more expensive real money games.
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