Texas Hold’em Rules
Although poker is a difficult card game to master, Texas Hold’em Poker are simple enough to learn. It all starts with understanding the basics, such as how each hand is played, poker hand rankings, and the four rounds of betting.
Basic Texas Hold’em poker rules
Texas Hold’em is a game of cards with two to ten players per table and a normal 52-card deck. Large tournaments may include hundreds of participants, yet for each hand, the players are only competing against others at his or her table.
The most popular poker games, including Texas Hold’em, have individual hole cards that only the player can see, as well as five community cards dealt on the board that all players can use. From these, players must make the best five card poker hand possible.
Texas Hold’em poker is usually a no limit game, which means there are no betting limits. Players can bet or raise as much as they want on any given street, up to the maximum value of their stack. The minimum bet is the amount of the big blind.
There are four rounds of betting, one preflop which involves only then two hole cards of players, and three postflop when the five community cards are dealt. The first three community cards are known as the flop. The fourth community card is known as the turn.
As well as making the best five-card hand, it’s possible to win the pot by betting and making other players fold. Forcing other players to fold better cards is known as bluffing.
If two or more players are left in the pot at the end of the final betting round, the hand goes to showdown. If this happens, players reveal their hole cards to see who has the best five card poker hand.
Poker position and blinds
Before each hand, one player is seated as the nominal “dealer” and this person is identified by a marker known as the dealer button or “button.” This individual does not deal the cards – especially not online, where it is done automatically – but his or her position dictates which two players must place the “blind” bets that start the action.
The two players to the left of the dealer must post these compulsory “blinds” – so called because they are placed before anyone even sees their cards. The player on the dealer’s immediate left posts the “small blind” and the player one further seat round the table posts the “big blind”, which is usually twice the size of the small blind.
In the illustration of a Texas Hold’em game above, the dealer is in seat five with the button in front of them. The player to the left of the dealer is in the small blind. The player to the left of the small blind is in the big blind.
After every hand is complete, the dealer button moves clockwise one position around the table, which means that players take turns to be the dealer, the small blind and the big blind.
Hole cards and community cards
After the blinds have been posted, all players are dealt two cards face down. These are known as hole cards, and can only be seen and used by the player who is dealt them. By the end of the hand, up to five community cards may have been dealt. Community cards are face up in the middle of the table, which are available for all players to use.
Three community cards are dealt on the flop, then a fourth community card of the community cards, known as the turn is dealt individually, and finally a fifth community card, known as the river is exposed. A betting round separates each deal of the cards.
If you play Texas Hold’em, the aim is to make the best five-card hand out of the seven available, using any combination of the two hole cards in an individual’s hand and the five community cards dealt on the board.
Poker Hand Rankings
One of the first poker rules that’s worth learning if you’re new to Texas Hold’em is the hand rankings. They outline which cards beat other cards and without them the game won’t make much sense.
Thankfully, hand rankings are the same for nearly all popular poker variants, so once you have learned them you can apply the knowledge to Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud and more.
Starting with the strongest, here are the poker hand rankings:
- Royal Flush – A royal flush is the strongest possible hand in poker, consisting of A, K, Q, J, 10, all of the same suit. If you have a royal flush, you will always win at showdown, although it’s a very difficult hand to make.
- Straight Flush – A straight flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 9-8-7-6-5 of hearts. You can make a straight flush with any suit.
- Four of a Kind – Four of a kind is four cards of the same rank, such as quad aces or quad kings. It’s a rare and very strong hand.
- Full House – A full house consists of three of a kind plus a pair, such as T-T-T-7-7. It’s possible to make a full house if the board is paired, or if you have a pocket pair.
- Flush – A flush is five cards of the same suit, but not in a straight sequence, such as K-J-8-7-2 of diamonds. You can make a flush with five cards of any suit.
- Straight – A straight is five consecutive cards of mixed suits, such as 8-7-6-5-4
- Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same rank, such as trip queens or trip aces.
- Two Pair – Two different pairs, such as two aces and two threes, or pair of jacks and pair of nines.
- One Pair – One pair is two cards of the same rank, such as a pair of aces or pair of eights.
- High Card – When none of the above combinations are made, the highest cards play, such as ace-high or king-high.
Keep in mind that when it comes to poker hand rankings, higher value cards always win over lower value cards. So, if there are two or more players in the pot and has a pair of kings, the other has a pair of aces, the pair of aces takes the pot.
The Four Betting Rounds in Poker
If a hand of Texas Hold’em is played all the way to its conclusion, there will be four betting rounds – or four periods during which players can commit chips to the pot. During any of these betting rounds, a poker player can choose to bet or call, raise or fold.
Folding means leaving the action and forfeiting the hand as well as any chips already in the pot. Calling is to match the bets of other players, while a bet or raise involves actively deciding how much to put in the middle.
The decision whether to raise or fold, or anything in between, could make all the difference when it comes to your stack in Texas Hold’em, especially over the course of the entire hand. From the moment your cards are dealt, you have to be thinking carefully about your own cards, the cards of other players, and how to navigate the betting rounds.
Each betting round must be concluded before the next cards are revealed or the hand goes to showdown. For this to happen, each player still in the pot must match either fold or match the final bet.
Pre-Flop – The First Round of Betting
The first betting round in Texas Hold’em takes place before the first three community cards (the “flop”) are dealt. This action is described as “pre-flop” and at this stage players are wagering based on the strength of their two concealed hole cards.
The player to the left of the big blind acts first – a position known as “under the gun”. Players then act in turn, moving clockwise around the table.
When it is your turn to act, you have the following options.
- Fold: Folding means that you don’t want to match the bet and are throwing your cards away. You no longer have any claim to the money in the pot, even if you paid one of the blinds or previously put chips in the middle.
- Call: Calling means that you want to play the hand by matching the size of the current bet. Preflop, the minimum amount to call will be at least the size of the big blind, and may be greater if other players have already made bets or raises.
- Raise: Raising means putting additional poker chips in the middle, increasing the size of the current bet. If nobody before you has made a bet or raise, you can make an open-raise. If someone has already raised, you can make a re-raise. In no limit games, you can raise as much as your entire stack.
- Check: If you are sitting in the big blind and other players haven’t raised before you, you have the option to check. You won’t have to put any more chips in the pot by checking with your cards. Preflop, you can only check if you are in the big blind and no other players have raised.
The betting round is complete when all players have either folded, indicating they no longer wish to continue in the hand, or committed the same amount of chips to match other players in the pot.
The Flop – The Second Round of Betting
After the first round of betting is complete, the first three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the “flop”.
A round of betting begins with the first player to the left of the dealer who still has cards. If no one has bet yet, you have the option to check, i.e. to move the action to the next player without committing any chips to the pot.
You’ll also have the option to raise or fold, or to flat call any bets that have already been made. Any bets you make will need to be at least the amount of the big blind and any raises must match previous raises.
Again, the betting round is complete when all players have either folded their cards, indicating they no longer wish to continue in the hand, or committed the same amount of chips to the pot as other players.
The Turn – The Third Round of Betting
When all bets have been made on the flop and at least two players still have cards, the fourth community card is dealt. This is known as the “turn”. Another round of betting begins, starting with the first player still in the hand to the left of the dealer.
Play progresses exactly as it did after the flop, with the same betting options available when it comes to checking, calling, betting or raising.
The River – The Fourth Round of Betting
When all bets have been made on the turn, the fifth and final community card is dealt. This is known as the “river”. A final round of betting begins, again starting with the first player to the left of the button.
Any players still with cards following the round of betting on the river go to a “showdown”.
Showdown
After the final round is complete, each remaining player must form the best possible five-card poker hand, made from a combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards.
At this point, players must show their poker hands so that the best hand can be determined. When playing Texas Hold’em online, all players hands are shown automatically. In live poker, the player who made the last aggressive action shows first and others can show their hands to claim the pot.
The player who has the highest ranked poker hand at showdown wins the chips in the middle.
For example, if a player shows a royal flush then they will scoop the pot against any other hand. If one player has a straight flush, they will beat other players who have a flush, and so on.
Example of Showdown:
In the example above, Player 1 has two pair: queens and jacks, with a seven. This is the best five cards available; the two jacks on the flop, the two queens they are holding, and the seven.
Player 2 has three of a kind. He has one jack “in the hole” which he matches with the two jacks on the flop. His other cards are the ace in his hand and the seven, which was the turn. Three of a kind is better than two pair and so player Player 2 wins.
If more than one player has the same winning hand, the pot is split evenly among all the players with the winning hand.
When the current hand is complete, the dealer button is passed one position to the left and the next hand begins.
Betting limits in Texas Hold’em
The most popular Texas Hold’em poker games are no limit. This allows players to bet or raise as much as they like during any round, with no betting limits, up to the value of their entire stack. If the cards and situation are good enough, you can even go all in for all the chips.
This is part of what makes Texas Hold’em special, the element that elevates it to its status as the most popular type of poker and keeps players coming back for more cards. It’s not all about picking up the best hole cards or making a stunning five card hand. It’s also about the betting decisions and strategy.
For those who prefer a steadier type of gameplay, you’ll find plenty of games with betting limits, such as fixed limit Hold’em and pot limit Hold’em. In fixed limit games, the amount you can bet or raise is fixed by a “small bet” for earlier rounds and a “big bet” for later betting rounds. In pot limit games, you can only bet the size of the current pot.
Most of the Texas Hold’em poker games you’ll find both at the casino and online are no limit, but look out for alternatives that you might enjoy and keep an eye on the rules for each variant.
Types of poker games – cash game versus tournaments
There are many different types of poker games, especially when you consider what’s available online. For the most part, though, you can break down poker games into two broad categories; cash games and tournaments.
When it comes to Texas Hold’em cash game rules, you’ll be glad to know they use the same hand rankings, betting rounds and basic rules. You don’t have to learn anything extra to play cash games.
However, there are a couple of major differences when it comes to playing cash games and tournaments.
Tournaments – entry fees and rising blinds
When you enter a Texas Hold’em tournament, you’ll pay a set entry fee that includes your buy-in along with any rake. In exchange, you’ll receive a starting stack of chips.
In these poker games, the prize pool is a combination of all player’s buy-ins. A certain percentage of the field is paid, with the biggest prizes reserved for those who make the top spots.
For example, you buy-in to a $10 tournament with 100 players. Each player is given a starting stack of 30,000 chips. The top fifteen players make at least the min-cash. First place takes the top prize of $250, second place gets $200, third place gets $150 and so on.
In terms of gameplay, the blind levels are constantly rising at set intervals in a Texas Hold’em tournament, Some poker games are very fast, such as turbos, whereas others have a generous, slow structure that makes them last longer.
For example, in an online turbo tournament, the small blind and big blind increase every 5-minutes. In a slow structured online poker game, the small blind and big blind might only rise every 20-minutes, giving you four times as much gameplay per level.
In any poker tournament, the aim is to accumulate chips so that you can survive the blind jumps and outlast the other players. You’re looking to eventually cash, make the final table, maybe even win, which eventually involves getting all of the chips in play.
Cash games – direct action and steady blinds
In a Texas Hold’em cash game, you buy-in directly for the amount of cash that you want to take to the tables. This will be exchanged for chips that have the same value. Money changes hand in each and every pot. You’re also free to sit down and leave whenever you choose in a cash game.
The main difference when it comes to cash game strategy is that the blinds don’t rise. In a cash game, if you buy-in for a $1/$2 game, the level remains the same throughout. This usually means stacks are deeper and blinds won’t put too much pressure on players.
When playing a cash game, you’ll usually be able to buy-in for 50-100 big blinds or even more. If the poker game has $1/$2 blinds, 100 big blinds would be $200.
Now, let’s look at a typical cash game pot you might encounter when you play Texas Hold’em. Let’s say that you raise from the small blind with 5-5 and the big blind calls. The flop comes A-5-7 and you’ve hit a set with your two hole cards and the community cards. You bet and get called on all three postflop betting rounds, winning $50 in total from your big blind opponent.
Now, you’ll have 125 big blinds, which is $250 in cash. You can carry on playing, or you can walk away from the table, although it’s not always considered good etiquette to leave immediately after winning a big pot and other players might frown at you – more on that below.
Poker Rules and Etiquette
Poker rules and poker etiquette are two different things, but it’s important to have a grasp of both, especially if you’re playing live poker in a face-to-face environment.
Generally speaking, the usual social etiquette applies to poker. Try not to goad or insult other players, or do anything sneaky that pushed the game rules (known as angle shooting). Be polite and respectful.
If you’re new to Texas Hold’em, the dealer and players should be patient, but try to post your small blind and big blind on time and keep up with the action so that other players don’t have to wait around for you. At the same time, never act out of turn – always wait until the action is on you.
In cash games, there’s a bit of etiquette around leaving the table after winning a big pot, known as a “hit and run”. Don’t worry too much about this, though, If you want to leave, simply play a few more hands or sit out the orbit and then move on.
Whether playing a cash game or tournament, to keep Texas Hold’em poker games flowing you should make your actions clearly. If making a raise with a single chip, announce the raise and the amount you want to raise.
As a new player, don’t worry too much about poker etiquette. Start by learning the basic game rules, hand rankings, and betting rounds of Texas Hold’em. Then, you can start to get to grips with poker strategy to improve your game.
How to put poker rules into practice
You’ve now got all of the knowledge you need about the game rules to start playing poker. Still, it can be daunting to put it all into practice. If it makes life easier, consider starting out with friends in home games, either in person or online.
You can also find Play Money games online, as well as freeroll tournaments that are completely free to enter and have real cash prizes. These are all great places to start if you’re new to poker games such as Texas Hold’em.
Once you’ve gained confidence and can keep up with the flow of the game, the micro stakes are the place to hone your skills with real poker action.
