Poker rules: how to play Texas Hold’em
Texas Hold’em is the most popular kind of poker in the world. Each player gets two private cards, five shared cards are dealt in the middle, and the best five-card hand wins. This guide explains one whole hand from the first card to the showdown, assuming you’ve never played before.
The goal of the game
You win the pot, the chips everyone has bet in a hand, in one of two ways:
- you have the best five-card hand when the cards are shown at the end (the showdown), or
- everyone else gives up (folds) before then, so you win without showing your cards.
That second way is why bluffing works: you don’t need the best hand if nobody is willing to pay to see it.
What you need
A normal 52-card deck with no jokers, chips, and 2 to 10 players. The deck has four suits (spades ♠, hearts ♥, diamonds ♦, clubs ♣) of 13 ranks each, from 2 up to 10, then jack, queen, king and ace. The ace is the highest card, but it can also be the lowest in the straight A-2-3-4-5. No suit is better than another.
The dealer button and the blinds
A round disc called the button marks who acts as the dealer for this hand. It moves one seat to the left after every hand, so everyone takes turns.
Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the button put in forced bets called the blinds: the small blind and the big blind, which is usually twice as big. With blinds of 1 and 2, there are 3 chips in the pot before anyone looks at a card, so there is always something to play for.
One hand, step by step
- Hole cards. Everyone is dealt two cards face down. Only you see yours.
- Preflop betting. The player to the left of the big blind acts first, and the turn goes around the table to the left.
- The flop. Three shared cards, the community cards, are dealt face up in the middle. Another round of betting follows, starting with the first player still in the hand to the left of the button.
- The turn. A fourth community card, then another round of betting.
- The river. The fifth and last community card, then the last round of betting.
- The showdown. If two or more players are left, they show their cards and the best five-card hand takes the pot.
The hand can end at any point: as soon as everyone but one player has folded, that player wins the pot.
Your five choices on your turn
- Check: pass without betting. You can only check when nobody has bet in this round.
- Bet: be the first to put chips in during this round.
- Call: match the current bet to stay in.
- Raise: make the bet bigger. Everyone else then has to call the new amount, raise again, or fold.
- Fold: give up your cards. You can’t win this pot, and any chips you already put in stay there.
A betting round ends when everyone still in the hand has put in the same amount, or everyone has checked.
Making your best five-card hand
At the showdown you have seven cards to choose from: your two hole cards and the five on the board. Your hand is the best five of them, and you can use both, one or none of your own cards.
Say you hold K♥9♥ and the board is K♣9♦4♥2♥J♥. You could make two pair (kings and nines), but five hearts are available: K♥ 9♥ 4♥ 2♥ J♥. A flush beats two pair, so your hand is a king-high flush.
Which hands beat which is covered in the poker hand rankings guide.
Ties and split pots
If two players have the same kind of hand, the higher cards win: a pair of kings beats a pair of sevens. If the pairs are the same, compare the remaining cards, called kickers, from the highest down. Only five cards ever count. If both best five-card hands are exactly equal, the pot is split between them. Suits never break a tie.
No-limit: how much can you bet?
Most Hold’em is played no-limit: you can bet any amount up to all your chips, which is going all in. The smallest bet is the size of the big blind, and a raise must add at least as much as the last bet or raise. If someone bets 50, the smallest raise is to 100.
You can never be forced out of a hand: if a bet is bigger than your stack, you can call with everything you have. You can then only win as much from each player as you put in yourself, and the rest goes into a side pot for the others.
Five tips for your first games
- Play fewer hands. Beginners lose most by playing weak cards. Folding often is normal.
- Use your position. Acting last, on or near the button, means you see what others do before you decide.
- Look at the board. Three cards of one suit means a flush is possible. Ask what the best possible hand is.
- Check the price. Before calling with a draw, compare your chance of hitting with the pot odds.
- Set money aside. If you ever play for real stakes, only use money you can afford to lose, and stop when you’re upset.
Questions people ask
How many cards does each player get in Texas Hold’em?
Two private cards each, called hole cards. Five more community cards are dealt face up in the middle and shared by everyone.
Can I win using only the cards on the board?
Yes. Your hand is the best five of your seven cards, and that can be all five board cards. This is called playing the board, and if nobody can beat it, the pot is split.
Who goes first in Texas Hold’em?
Before the flop, the player to the left of the big blind acts first. On the flop, turn and river, the first player still in the hand to the left of the dealer button acts first.
How does it work with only two players?
Heads-up, the player on the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, then acts last on every later round.
Is any suit worth more than another?
No. All four suits are equal in Texas Hold’em, and suits are never used to break ties.