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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

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