How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker: Holdem Rules & Hands
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 holdem 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 poker, you 🍋 will know:
Here we go over the poker rules for Texas Hold'em.
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.
2. Texas Hold'em Poker Rules
So how do you play Texas hold'em?
The 🍋 goal of a Texas hold'em game is to use your hole cards 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 ')
') Over 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.
5 community cards
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 first three community cards. The Turn: the fourth community card.
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 (your 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
Download the PokerNews Quick Guide to Texas Hold’em Understand the Texas Holdem Poker Rules with the 1-page handout and join 🍋 the other players and get involved in the game for your chance to win. Download
Before you start learning the rules, 🍋 here's everything you need to host your own poker game!
How to Play Texas Holdem Poker
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).
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 begins.
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
Two “Hole Cards” are dealt face down and the 🍋 first round of betting begins
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.
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 hold'em game, the small blind isR$1 and the big blind isR$2.
First Betting Round: Preflop
Two “Hole Cards” are dealt face 🍋 down and the first round of betting begins
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
match the amount of the big blind Raise: increase the bet within the specific limits of 🍋 the game
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
Three community cards are dealt on the table and a new betting 🍋 round betting.
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
The fourth community card is called the “Turn” and again a new round of betting starts.
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 check, bet, call, fold, or raise.
Final Betting Round: The River
The last community card 🍋 is called the “River”. This is followed by a last round of betting and finally the “Showdown”
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
The player with the best combination of five cards wins
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 Hand Rankings in Texas Hold'em Poker
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 ♥
— five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten; e.g., Straight Flush 🍋 — five cards of the same suit and consecutively ranked; e.g., 9 ♣ 8 ♣ 7 ♣ 6 ♣ 5 🍋 ♣
— five cards of the same suit and consecutively ranked; e.g., Four of a Kind — four cards of the 🍋 same rank; e.g., Q ♣ Q ♥ Q ♦ Q ♠ 4 ♦
— four cards of the same rank; e.g., 🍋 Full House — three cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank; e.g., J ♣ 🍋 J ♥ J ♠ 8 ♦ 8 ♥
— three cards of the same rank and two more cards of the 🍋 same rank; e.g., Flush — any five cards of the same suit; e.g., A ♠ J ♠ 8 ♠ 5 🍋 ♠ 2 ♠
— any five cards of the same suit; e.g., Straight — any five cards consecutively ranked; e.g., Q 🍋 ♣ J ♦ 10 ♥ 9 ♠ 8 ♦
— any five cards consecutively ranked; e.g., Three of a Kind — 🍋 three cards of the same rank; e.g., 8 ♣ 8 ♠ 8 ♦ K ♣ 4 ♥
— three cards of 🍋 the same rank; e.g., Two Pair — two cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same 🍋 rank; e.g., A ♠ A ♣ J ♦ J ♣ 7 ♠
— two cards of the same rank and two 🍋 more cards of the same rank; e.g., One Pair — two cards of the same rank; e.g., 10 ♥ 10 🍋 ♣ 9 ♥ 4 ♦ 2 ♦
— two cards of the same rank; e.g., High Card — five unmatched cards; 🍋 e.g., A♣J♦10♠5♣2♥ would be called "ace-high"
Download the PokerNews Ultimate Guide to Texas Hold’em An intro to Texas Holdem, strategy, rules 🍋 and styles of play, all combined for you to understand Texas Holdem with this ultimate guide. Download
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 A♦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. This is where the PokerNews Poker Odds Calculator can help you.
Want to Find 🍋 Out the Odds? By using the PokerNews Texas Hold’em Poker Odds Calculator you can calculate your chances on a given 🍋 hand, in any situation! Try it now
4. How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker Games Online For Free or Real Money
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 online poker games 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 poker games.
How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker FAQs
