How to play texas holdem poker rules directives to know

How to play texas holdem poker rules directives to know

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Texas Holdem Rules

Texas Hold’em is the world’s most popular form of poker, thanks in large part to the World Series of Poker and other televised poker tournaments that have brought the game to the masses. Texas Hold’em is both easy to play, making it ideal for those just learning about poker, and filled with incredible depth and strategy, making it a game that challenges even professional players. If you need a refresher on the Texas Hold’em Rules, this article should help you get started in this great poker game.

Texas Hold’em Basic Poker Rules

Texas Hold’em is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The object of the game is to make the best possible five-card poker hand using any combination of the two card’s in a player’s hand (known as the “hole cards”) and the five community cards that the dealer places in the middle of the table, which can be used by all players. The standard hand rankings are used, as follows (from best to worst):

Let’s look at these poker hand rankings again visually.

Typically, a game of Texas Hold’em will be played with anywhere from two to ten players at a table. Games with more players are possible, since each player only needs two cards for themselves, but games with more than 11 players at a single table are rare.

Games of Texas Hold’em may be played with many different betting structures. Common ones include Limit Hold’em, where the amount a player may bet is set by the rules of the game, and No Limit Hold’em, where players are free to bet as much of the money they have at the table as they wish at any time. Other structures include Pot Limit Hold’em and Spread Limit Hold’em.

Texas Hold’em Rules: Flow of a Hand

At the beginning of the first hand of play, one player will be assigned the dealer button (in home games, this player will also traditionally act as the dealer for that hand). The player immediately to the left of the button must post the small blind, while the player two seats to the left of the button must post the big blind. The size of these blinds is typically determined by the rules of the game. If any ante is required – common in a tournament situation – players should also contribute it at this point.

Once all blinds have been posted and antes have been paid, the dealer will deal two cards to each player. Each player may examine their own cards. The play begins with the player to the left of the big blind. That player may choose to fold, in which case they forfeit their cards and are done with play for that hand. The player may also choose to call the bet, placing an amount of money into the pot equal to the size of the big blind. Finally, the player can also choose to raise, increasing the size of the bet required for other players to stay in the hand.

Moving around the table clockwise, each player may then choose to take any of those options: folding, calling the current bet, or raising the bet. A round of betting ends when all players but one have folded (in which case the one remaining player wins the pot), or when all remaining players have called the current bet. On the first round of betting, if no players raise, the big blind will also have the option to check, essentially passing his turn; this is because the big blind has already placed the current bet amount into the pot, but hasn’t yet had a chance to act.

Assuming there are two or more players remaining in the hand after the first round of betting, the dealer will then deal out three community cards in the middle of the table. These cards are known as the flop. Play now begins, starting with the first player to the left of the dealer button (if every player is still in the hand, this will be the small blind). Players have the same options as before; in addition, if no bet has yet been made in the betting round, players have the option to check. A round of betting can also end if all players check and no bets are made, along with the other ways discussed above.

If two or more players remain in the hand after the second round of betting, the dealer will place a fourth community card – known as the turn – on the table. Once again, a round of betting ensues, using the same rules outlined above. Finally, if two or more players are still around after the third round of betting, the dealer will place the final community card – the river – on the table. One last round of betting will commence.

After this final round of betting, all remaining players must reveal their hands. The player with the best hand according to the hand rankings above will win the pot. If two or more players share the exact same hand, the pot is split evenly between them. After each hand, the button moves one seat to the left, as do the responsibilities of posting the small and big blinds.

Texas Hold’em Poker Rules

Texas Holdem is played on a single table with two to 10 players.

Each player is dealt two private cards (known as «hole cards») that belong to them alone.

Five community cards are dealt face-up, to form the «board».

A player may use these shared the cards of the board in conjunction with their own hole cards to make their highest possible poker hand.

Video Tutorial

Game Play

The structure of Texas Hold’em can be broken up into three divisions:

The goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time. You win this pot by having the best hand or by having all other players fold before the showdown.

Setup & Button

Once you have your players sitting around the table, the first thing you need to have is chips.

The next step is to pick a player who will start with the «button» which shows who is the active dealer for the current game.

Texas hold’em is played by a rotating dealer and the player on button receives last action on all post-flop streets of play.

Once the hand completes, the player with the dealer button will pass it to the player left to him or her.

The Blinds (blind Bets)

There are two blinds in Holdem: a small blind and a big blind. The small blind is generally half the amount of the big blind, although it varies.

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 size of the blinds will dictate the stakes of the game you will play.

Without these blinds, the game would be very boring because no one would be required to put any money into the pot.

Once you have the blinds out, you’re now ready to deal the first hand.

Betting Rounds

The player to the immediate left of the dealer button receives the first card and then the dealer pitches cards around the table in a clockwise until each has received two starting cards.

Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player «under the gun» (immediately clockwise from the big blind).

Player Betting Options

The available actions are «fold», «call» or «raise».

Each poker player always has the option to fold (discard their cards) and give up any interest in the pot.

To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet.

To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also double the amount of the big blind.

Pre-flop

After seeing the hole cards, each player now has the option to play by calling or raising the big blind.

The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a «live» bet on this round.

Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.

The Flop

Now, three cards are dealt face-up on the board.

In Hold’em, the three cards on the flop are community cards, available to all players still in the hand.

Betting on the flop begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.

The betting options are similar to pre-flop with two exceptions:

A bet on the flop is the amount on the big blind.

The Turn

When the betting round on the flop is completed, the dealer deals one card facedown followed by a single card face-up, also known as the turn. This is the fourth community card (‘fourth street’) and now a new betting round starts beginning with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.

The River

When betting action is completed for the turn round, the «river» or «Fifth Street» is dealt face-up on the board.

The river is the fifth and final community card.

Betting again begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.

The Showdown

When there is more than one active player left, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first.

The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.

In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.

After the pot is awarded, a new hand is ready to be played and the button moves clockwise to the next player.

Техасский холдем правила

Техасский покер является самой популярной разновидностью покера во всем мире. Более 90% любителей этой азартной игры предпочитают именно Техасский Холдем. Такую популярность можно связать с достаточно простыми правилами, однако они могут показаться не столь легкими для начинающих игроков, которые раньше не играли в другие разновидности покера. Тем не менее, Холдему можно научиться очень быстро. Правда, вот достичь высоких результатов в игре – это задача куда более сложная.

Начало игры в покер Техасский Холдем

В этой разновидности покера, как и во многих других, может одновременно участвовать за столом от 2 до 10 человек. Наибольшую популярность получили форматы игры один на один, за столом с 6 и 9 участниками. Естественно, что чем больше игроков, тем выше потенциальный выигрыш победителя. Однако и шансы вылета тоже повышаются, поэтому каждый игрок выбирает стол в соответствии со своими умениями и пожеланиями.

Правила игры в Техасский Холдем начинаются с разъяснения порядка ставок. Дело в том, что еще до раздачи карт два покериста должны поставить две ставки вслепую. Называют их блайндами – большой и малый. Малый блайнд ставит оговоренную сумму, он находится слева от дилера. Большой блайнд по размеру обычно превышает в два раза малый блайнд и находится следующим по часовой стрелке. Все эти позиции после окончания раздачи смещаются на одно место влево, чтобы каждый из участников в порядке очереди должен был выставлять блайнды.

Эти слепые ставки необходимы для того, чтобы провоцировать игроков на активные действия. Действительно, блайнды формируют начальный банк, за который есть смысл побороться.

Раздача карт и игра в покер Техасский Холдем на префлопе

После того как два игрока сделали ставки вслепую, дилер приступает к раздаче карт. Этот этап игры и последующие торги называются префлопом. Все участники игры получают по 2 карты рубашкой вверх. Они имеют право их посмотреть, при этом не демонстрируя лицевую сторону оппонентам.

Уже на этом этапе покерист должен составить план дальнейших действий. Некоторые новички, наверное, уже знают, что комбинации в Холдеме состоят из 5 карт. Однако даже 2 карты могут дать какое-то представление о возможностях улучшения комбинации. Поэтому игра на префлопе в Техасском покере имеет очень важное значение. В некоторых ситуациях оптимальным решением будет сброс карт в пасс, что позволит избежать потери существенной суммы денег.

Оценив потенциал своих карт, игроки должны по очереди выполнить одно из доступных действий. На этом этапе (торговли) выясняется, кто останется в игре, а кто сбросит карты и откажется от дальнейшего участия в раздаче. Каждый игрок, начиная от первого участника после большого блайнда, может предпринять следующие шаги:

Также уже на префлопе есть дополнительная опция у большого блайнда – если в игре не было повышений, то он может совершить чек, т.е. просто пропустить ход, не делая ставки, но при этом оставаясь в раздаче.

Если в игре в покер Техасский Холдем после торгов осталось хотя бы 2 участника, то игра переходит в стадию постфлоп.

Флоп, терн, ривер

Правила покера Техасский Холдем требуют от дилера сдачи 3-ех карт на стол после префлопа. Эти карты являются общими для всех, поэтому каждый участник сочетает свои карманные две карты с открытыми картами на столе. Теперь у игрока появляется больше информации о силе его руки и он может принять более обдуманное решение о дальнейших действиях. Данный этап игры называет флоп. На флопе первым открывает торги МБ, или же, если он выбыл на префлопе, тот, кто находится первым слева от дилера.

Все игроки по очереди могут осуществлять все те же действия, что и на предыдущей улице. Также к списку разрешенных действий прибавился бет – это первая ставка. На префлопе она отсутствует, т.к. первая ставка была обязательной, поэтому любой игрок мог лишь поднять ставку – совершить рейз. Таким образом, бет – это первая ставка, если перед этим никто не вложился в банк.

Также следует отметить, что правила покера Техасский Холдем допускают возможность отсутствия ставок на флопе и последующих улицах. Дело в том, что каждый игрок может сделать чек, не вкладывая больше фишек в банк, чтобы посмотреть следующую карту.

А следующая карта называется терн. Это четвертая общая карта в Техасском покере. Теперь каждый оставшийся в раздаче игрок может формировать комбинацию из 6 карт, две из которых у него на руках, а 4 – на столе. Однако участвовать в комбинации может лишь 5 карт, поэтому он выбирает только самое сильное сочетание. На терне также проходят торги, во время которых доступны все те же действия, что и на флопе.

Следующая и заключительная улица в Техасском покере – это ривер. На ней дилер выкладывает 5-ую общую карту. Игроки вновь оценивают силу собранных комбинаций и осуществляют последний круг торгов. Если в игре останется хотя бы два участника после завершения торговли, то наступает заключительная стадия игры – вскрытие карт.

Первым должен открыть свои карты тот игрок, который последний повышал ставку. Если второй участник видит, что карты оппонента сильнее, то он может не вскрывать свои карты, а сбросить их в закрытую в пас. Также за ним остается право демонстрации одной или обеих карт оппоненту.

Вскрытие карт в Техасском покере называется шоудаун. Во время шоудауна дилер сравнивает комбинации покеристов и выясняет, чья сильнее. Обладатель сильнейшей руки забирает банк. Также в покере бывают ситуации, когда равносильные комбинации собрало сразу 2 и больше игрока. В этом случае банк поровну делится между ними.

Комбинации

Комбинации – это сочетание карт, позволяющее выяснить победителя в покере на шоудауне. Каждый начинающий игрок должен знать все существующие комбинации в Техасском покере, чтобы верно оценивать силу своей руки. Несмотря на то, что мы не видим карты оппонента, мы можем предположить, что у него на руках, основываясь на его действиях на всех этапах торговли, а также на открытых картах борда.

Каждая комбинация составляется из 5 карт. Сколько карт берется с борда, а сколько с рук – не имеет никакого значения. Возможно, что комбинация будет состоять полностью из карт стола. Важно помнить, что в Холдеме масть карт не оказывает влияние на силу руки, они равнозначны.

В Холдеме всего 10 комбинаций, которые отличаются друг от друга старшинством и способом сбора. Наблюдается прямая зависимость – чем реже комбинация, тем выше ее ценность. Поэтому шансы на победу с более редкими руками увеличиваются. Однако и собрать такие комбинации будет очень сложно. Итак, рассмотрим все комбинации в Техасском покере в порядке возрастания – от самой младшей до сильнейшей.

Нужно знать все эти комбинации и правила их составления. Также необходимо понимать, как сравнивать равнозначные комбинации, но состоящие из разных карт. Без этих знаний дальнейшее обучение покеру просто невозможно.

Существует три разновидности Техасского покера, отличающиеся по размеру максимально допустимой ставки. Холдем с фиксированными лимитами позволяет поднимать ставку на префлопе и флопе на нижнее значение лимита, а на терне и ривере – на верхнее. В пот-лимит покере максимальная сумма повышения ограничена размером сформированного банка. Безлимитный Холдем – самая распространенная разновидность покера, в которой размер повышения вообще не ограничивается. Каждый игрок может в любой момент поставить любую ставку, размером вплоть до своего стека.

How to Play Texas Hold’em | Texas Hold’em Rules

Often called the “Cadillac of Poker,” Texas Hold ’em is the most popular poker game in the world. Suppose you walk into a casino or a poker room. In that case, chances are the only poker game running is Texas Hold ’em – or at least the majority of the tables will be running it. Even online poker is dominated by Texas Hold ’em, with most games on all poker sites being Hold ’em games.

If you’re getting into poker or haven’t played for a long time, Texas Hold ’em is the game you should be learning. Not only are you guaranteed to get a game almost everywhere you go, but it’s also a lot of fun! In this next section, we’ll explain the rules of Texas Hold ’em in full so that you can sit down at the table with confidence.

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Overview

For those of you who are vaguely familiar with the rules of Texas Hold ’em, here’s a quick run-through. Don’t worry; if you’re completely new, we’ll go through a detailed explanation of what’s going on after:

Players draw cards to decide who starts as the button with the highest card winning. The two players to the left of the button post the small and big blind before the cards are dealt. The dealer then deals the cards one at a time, starting with the SB and moving clockwise around the table.

Once the cards are dealt, the preflop betting action starts with the player directly to the left of the BB and moves clockwise around the table. Players have the option to fold, call, or raise – any raise a player makes must be at least equal to the amount of the previous bet/raise. The preflop betting round ends if there is only one player remaining or if all remaining players have matched the last bet.

After the preflop betting round is over, the flop is dealt, and there is another round of betting. Postflop, the players have the option to check as well as bet, call, and fold. Any bet a player makes must be at least equal to the size of the big blind, and any raise must be at least equal to the amount of the previous bet/raise. The betting round is complete when only one player remains or if all remaining players have matched the last bet.

Next, the turn is dealt, and there is another betting round. The rules are exactly the same as they were on the flop. Finally, the river card is dealt, and there is a final betting round. If more than one player remains after the final round of betting, the cards are turned face up, and the player with the best five-card hand wins the pot. In the event of a tie, the pot is split evenly between all players who hold the same hand.

If you’re completely unfamiliar with poker, you may be wondering what all that meant, but don’t worry – we’re here to give you a detailed explanation of how to play Texas Hold ’em, starting from the ground up.

Start of Game

Before the game begins, you must decide who starts as the button. The button is a rotating position in poker, often denoted by a small plastic chip that moves one player to the left after every hand. In a home game, you may decide this amongst yourselves, but in a casino environment, the dealer will deal each player a card face up, and the player with the highest card is the button. In the event of a tie, the suits are counted, with spades being the best, then hearts, then diamonds, then clubs.

Once the button has been decided, the two players to the left of the button must post the small and big blind; the small blind being the player directly to the left of the button and the big blind being the player two to the left. These are forced bets that happen at the start of every hand before the cards are dealt as a way to create action. The size of the blinds will depend on the stakes you are playing and the format of the game. In some games, all players are also required to post an ante, a number of chips equal to a small portion of the big blind. This is common in poker tournaments.

After the blinds and antes have been posted, the cards are dealt. Each player is dealt one card at a time face down, starting the player in the small blind (the direct left of the button). The cards are dealt clockwise around the table until each player has two cards. Once every player has two cards, the betting round can begin.

Betting Rounds

There are four betting rounds in Texas Hold ’em, the first being preflop, then the flop, then the turn, then finally the river. Preflop is slightly different from the others in terms of the actions you can take but the flop, turn, and river betting rounds all work in exactly the same way. Let’s take a closer look at these betting rounds.

Preflop

The preflop betting round starts with the player directly to the left of the big blind, often called the Under the Gun player, and moves clockwise around the table. Each player has three betting actions preflop:

The only alternative action a player can make is checking when they are in the big blind and no raise was made preflop. The preflop betting round is completed when a player checks in the big blind. The two other ways for the preflop betting round to end are; when there is only one player remaining in the hand, or when the amount of the last bet is matched by all remaining players.

Here we see an example of the preflop betting round ending because only one player remains. The SB was the last player to make a raise, and all of the remaining players folded, meaning that the SB wins the pot.

After the pre-flop betting round is complete, the first three community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table, called the flop. Before these cards are dealt, the card on top of the deck is dealt face down and off to the side. This is called the “burn” card, and it is done to prevent players from knowing what card is next if they have marked the cards.

After the flop is dealt, the betting round starts with the player to the immediate left of the button. The betting action moves clockwise around the table. Postflop, players have the same options as they did preflop with one additional action, called a “check,” where they do not wager any additional chips. Next, the betting action moves to the player on their left. A player can only check if no bets or raises have been made. If every player remaining in the hand checks, the betting round is complete.

The first player to wager chips in a post-flop betting round is considered to be “betting” rather than “raising.” If a player wishes to make a bet, the bet must be at least equal to the size of the big blind. The flop betting round ends when there is only one player remaining or if the amount of the last bet has been matched by all remaining players; this is the same for all post-flop betting rounds.

When the flop betting round is complete, the dealer takes the card from the top of the deck and places it next to the flop burn card before dealing the fourth community card face up in the middle of the table; this is called the turn. The dealer will “burn” a card before dealing any community cards for that round. Once the turn has been dealt, the turn betting round begins.

The rules for the turn betting round are exactly the same as that on the flop. The action starts to the left of the button, and players have the option to check, bet, call, or fold. The betting round also ends the same way, with either one player remaining or the last bet being matched by all remaining players.

River

Once the turn betting round begins, the dealer “burns” the card on the top of the deck and places the fifth and final community card face up in the middle of the table, called the river. After the river card has been dealt, the final betting round begins.

The action works the same as the flop and turn, with all four options still available to the players and the betting round ending in the same way. However, as this is the last round of betting, no more cards will be dealt once the betting round is over. Instead, if more than one player remains in the hand, the players reach a “showdown.”

Showdown

When two or more players remain in the hand after the river betting round, a winner must be determined to see who claims the pot. The players show down their hands to do this, and the player with the best five-card hand combination is the winner and claims the pot. In the event of a tie, the pot is split evenly between all players who hold the same hand ranking.

While it speeds the game up for all players to turn their hand face up when the river betting round is complete, players are reluctant to show their opponents information unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, the player who made the last aggressive action is obligated to show their hand first. The other player(s) can either turn their hand over if they can beat it or muck their hand (another word for fold) without having to show it if they’re beaten. On the other hand, suppose there is no aggressive action on the river. In that case, the player to the left of the button is usually the player who has to show first, though this is at the discretion of the casino.

There are ten different hand rankings in Texas Hold ’em, and we’ve listed them below in descending order from best to worst:

You can see that even with the hand rankings that don’t require all five cards (three of a kind, one pair, etc.), five cards are still listed. This is because, in Texas Hold ’em, all hands are made up of exactly five cards. If two players have the same hand ranking, the side cards determine a winner, with higher side cards deciding the winner.

For example, if one Player A has AcKs and Player B has AsJc on a board of Ah9s7h5c3c then both players have the same hand ranking – one pair of aces; however they have different five-card hands. Player A has AcAhKs9s7h, whereas Player B has AsAhJc9s7h. Due to the fact Player A has the higher side cards, they have the best five-card hand and win the pot.

Hands like 6-card straights do not exist in Texas Hold’em as all hands must be made up of exactly five cards. Here is a common example of a hand that often gets decided wrong in home games:

Two players are remaining in a hand by the river. The community cards are TcJhQsKcAh, Player A has 9c9s, Player B has AcKs – who wins the hand? Some people say that Player A wins the hand as they have a 9 in their hand, which gives them a longer straight than Player A. However, this is not the case. Both players have the five-card hand TcJhQsKcAh, so the pot is split evenly. If there is an odd chip left when splitting a pot, it goes to the player to the left of the button.

When making a five-card hand, you can use any combination of cards from the board and your hand. In the example above, both players used all five cards from the board, but you can choose to use one from the board, one from your hand, three from the board, and two from your hand. At showdown, to claim a pot, you must show both your hole cards. Even if you are only using one of them to make your five-card hand, both cards must be shown to claim the pot.

Betting Limits

There are three different betting limits available in Texas Hold ’em, depending on the type of game played: No Limit, Pot Limit, and Limit. No-Limit Hold ’em is by far the most popular of the three games and is the game that you have seen on TV and at the casino.

In No Limit, there are very few rules to what you can bet/raise at any time. The only rules are that any raise must be at least equal to the size of the last bet/raise, and the minimum amount you can bet postflop is equal to that of one big blind. Other than that, players are free to bet any amount they wish at any time, up to and including all of their chips. This feeling of jeopardy – that your stack could be at risk at any moment – makes No-Limit Hold ’em such a popular game.

Another less popular format of Hold ’em is Pot-Limit Hold ’em. In this game, the maximum a player is allowed to bet or raise at any one time is the size of the pot. For more information on how to calculate the size of the pot when playing Pot-Limit Hold ’em, check out our betting page, where we go into much more detail on the subject. The same rules regarding raise sizes and minimum postflop bet sizes are the same as No-Limit Hold ’em.

Poker Movie Tropes Debunked

Many of us get into poker by watching the game in a film/tv show and thinking, “Wow, that game looks so cool! I want to learn how to play poker” – perhaps that’s why you’re reading this article! However, certain things happen in Hollywood poker games that would get you laughed out of the room in a casino. So to save you the embarrassment, we’ve debunked Hollywood’s most common poker tropes:

Sprinkling the chips into the pot to call or raise

Placing your chips directly onto the pile of chips representing the pot is a big no-no in live poker; this is called splashing the pot and is against the rules. You’ll likely be warned for your first indiscretion and could face penalties if you continue to do it. The reason it’s against the rules is that when you place the chips directly into the pot, it can be hard to tell whether the correct amount has been put in, which allows the more unscrupulous players to cheat by putting in less than they should. Best be safe, place the chips directly in front of you, and let the dealer move them into the middle.

Putting out a stack of chips to bet, then going back and adding to it

You must either make a bet in one motion or declare the bet before you put the chips in when you’re making a bet. You’re not allowed to place a stack of chips in the middle, see how your opponent reacts, and then add to the bet if you think you haven’t bet enough. You’re allowed to do this only if you state the amount you’d like to bet/raise beforehand; as long as you do that, you can put out the chips however you please.

“Oh, you have a straight? I only have two pair… a pair of aces, and another pair of aces!”

At the end of the movie, the hero and the villain get into a big pot to decide the match; the villain has a very strong hand, and the hero looks like they’re beaten… until they turn over an even stronger hand and win the pot! While this makes for great drama in a movie, it’s a fast way to being invited outside for “a talk” in real life. Pretending you have a weak hand and making your opponent think they’ve won the hand before showing them the winner is called slow-rolling, and it is extremely poor etiquette. However, this only applies once players have reached a showdown and there is no more betting action; it’s perfectly fine to try and trick your opponent into thinking you have the worst hand if the betting action is still alive.

Summary

Texas Hold ’em is one of those “easy to learn, hard to master” games; people spend their whole lives playing this game and still don’t fully master it – but they have a lot of fun trying! So whether you’re playing for pennies with your friends around the kitchen table or playing for millions at the WSOP, Texas Hold ’em is great fun to play and a game worth learning.

Texas Hold’em Rules FAQs

Yes, the deck needs to be shuffled between every hand of poker.

There are four betting rounds in Texas Hold ’em, one preflop, one on the flop, one on the turn, and one on the river.

Each player is dealt two cards that they keep to themselves, and five community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table.

Blinds are forced bets made by the two players to the left of the BTN before the cards are dealt, with one of the blinds usually being half the size of the other.

There are enough cards in the deck for 22 players to play at once, but you’d need a pretty big table! So you will mostly see 9/10-handed games live and anywhere between 2 and 9-handed games online.

The hand rankings in poker are as follows in descending order from strongest to weakest:

Splashing the pot is the act of placing chips directly into the pot when you wish to call or raise. It is against the rules in all casinos as it can be hard to tell whether the correct number of chips has been added to the pot.

Texas Holdem Poker Rules

But, the main reason people love playing Texas Hold Em, is the fact that it’s one of the easier games to learn and play. There’s a saying in the poker community that says Texas Hold Em takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master. This statement is very true and one of the reasons why I love it. While it only takes a few minutes to learn the rules, the game is always throwing a curve ball at you and you never stop learning new strategies.

While this article won’t make you a master at playing Texas Holdem online, it will teach everything you need to know about how to play the game. By the end of this reading, you will know exactly how to play hold Em and can start playing online, in a casino or start throwing your own home games.

The Goal

The general goal behind Texas Hold Em is to either showdown the best hand and beat your opponents, or to bluff them off the pot in order to win. Bluffing and stealing pots is a more advanced concept that will be discussed in further articles. For now, let’s just focus on the rules and how to play. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.

The overall plan is to use the 2 cards you are dealt in connection with the cards that are dealt face up in the middle to make the best5 card hand. You will see a total of 7 cards including the 2 in your hand, but may only use 5 of them. Don’t worry; well cover all this in more detail in just a few, so bear with us.

The basics

The beginning of a hand of Hold Em starts with everyone getting dealt 2 cards. These cards are face down so that no one can see them but you. The deal goes clockwise with each player getting one card at a time.

To determine who the dealer is a disc called the button, will be what determines who is dealer. The dealer will switch after every hand and the button disc will move clockwise to the next person.

When you play online or in a casino, this will be done automatically for you. There is no need to keep track of who deals next and who gets a card, everything is done. The only time you will need to keep track of all this is when you play a home game, but this will be easy after a round or 2.

The button will also dictate who becomes the small and big blind. These blinds are forced bets that the 2 players to immediate left of the button must place. The big blind will be the size of the table stakes and the small blind will be half the size. For example:

Before any cards are dealt out, the blinds must be placed. Again, when playing online the software will do this for you.

A hand of Hold Em is broken down into sections that have names. There are as follows.

You may hear these referred to as other names such as 4 th street, 5 th street and so on, but they all mean the same thing.

The pre-flop term refers to the action before any cards are dealt out.

The flop will be the first 3 cards dealt out by the dealer face up that are all community cards. These cards that are dealt face up can be used by all the players in the hand.

The turn is the next card dealt after the flop face up as well. Again, all players can use the turn card, along with the 3 on the flop to make the best hand with the 2 in their hand.

If you decide to raise, you must raise at least double the big blind. And, depending on what type of Hold Em you are playing will determine how much you can raise.

Betting Styles

Betting

Once all the cards dealt, players have their choice to bet, raise, or fold when it is their turn.

The player who is immediately to the right of the big blind will be first to act. This position is called under the gun or early position. This player may elect to fold their hand, call the amount of the big blind or raise.

Once the first player makes their decision, the action moves clockwise to the next player. This player will have the same choices depending on what happened before them. If everyone has folded their hand before you, you may still fold, call the big blind or raise.

Depending on which limit type you are playing will also decide how much you can raise. This was already covered in the betting structure section. Just to refresh quickly. If you’re playing no-limit, you raise as much as you wish. If it is l, you may only raise a set amount. If its pot limit, you can only raise up to the amount in the pot.

Once all the betting, folding and all players have made their decisions, we will move on to the flop.

I would like to note, that not every hand will make it to the flop. Often times, everyone will fold their hand which awards the player in the big blind, who is last to act, with the money from the blinds.

The Flop

The dealer will deal 3 cards out in the middle all face up that all players still in the hand can use with their own. The player who is closest to the left of the big blind on the flop will act first. If the player in the small blind or big blind is still in the pot, they will go first on the flop.

Whoevers turn it is will have 2 choices-check or bet. To check means that you don’t want to bet, yet you still keep your hand in the pot. You are not folding; you are in sense deferring to the other players left in the pot.

You may also bet if you so choose. The amount you can bet must be at least the amount of the big blind. It’s not recommended to bet so small, but this is a bit advanced to talk about betting strategy, but as a rule of thumb, betting the minimum is usually never a good idea.

If the player first to act bets, then all players in the pot can call this bet, fold or raise. If the first player checks, then all remaining players can check themselves, or bet.

Let’s use an example to clarify this.

Say you are first to act on the flop. You elect to bet and now it’s the other players turn. They must either call this bet to stay in the hand or raise. If they don’t want to stay in the hand, they can fold and you would win the money in the pot.

Now, if you check and the other player decides to bet, the action will be back on you. You must now decide whether or not you want to call or fold. You can also raise which is called check-raising and is considered very powerful.

If everyone in the hand checks, we would move on to the next card. If someone bets and all remaining players fold, the player who bet would win the money in the pot.

That’s the gist of the flop; now let’s move on to the turn.

The Turn

The turn is basically the same as the flop with one exception. Instead of 3 cards dealt out, only 1 is dealt face up. All players may use this card along with the 3 on the flop and the 2 in your hand as well.

The action is once again determined by who is closest to the left of the blinds or the person in the blinds. If the player who acted first on the flop had folded, but 2 players were still in the hand, the first to act on the turn would change to the next person who is closest to the left of the blinds.

The same exact choices you had on the flop will apply on the turn. You can check, bet, raise, check raise or fold.

The River

The final card dealt face up is called the river or sometimes fifth street. The same exact rules that applied to the turn and the flop and turn will apply to the river.

This will be where the winner is determined if no one folds as well. If everyone checks on the river card, players will show their cards, and the one with the best hand will win the pot. If someone bets and gets called, the player who bet must show their hand first and if no one can beat it, they would win.

Some important notes about the river and the showdown. The showdown is just a name used to describe the part where players show their hands.

First, the player who makes the bet and gets called must show their hand first, no ifs ands or buts.

If everyone has checked, then the player who was first to act on the river will show their hand first and then you go clockwise around the table.

Lastly and probably most important is the rule about showing your hand. If you were the one called the bet and your opponent shows their hand first, you are not obligated to show your hand if you cannot beat it. You can throw your hand away and never have to show. Players may ask you to show or try to bully you into doing so to get some information, but don’t let them fool you.

Quick re-cap

Let’s go over the rules real quick just to refresh in case you forgot anything.

Two players post the big blind and the small blind. Two cards are dealt face down to everyone at the table. Players can choose to bet, fold, call or raise.

The dealer will deal out 3 cards face up in the middle which all players in the hand can use with their own. Players can now check, bet, call fold, or raise.

The 4 th card, or the turn is dealt face up again and players will have the same choices as on the flop-call, fold, check, and raise.

The 5 th and final card is again dealt face up. Once all players check, call, fold, bet or raise, the remaining players will showdown their hands to see who has the best hand.

At any point in the hand if everyone folds, the last remaining player will win the money in the pot. The goal is to either show the best hand using your 2 cards and the 5 in the middle to make the best 5 card combination.

That’s the short abridged rules just to come back to and refresh if you ever need to.

If you play online, all of this will be taken of for you, so there will be need to pay attention to this. But, if you play in a casino, it’s important to know this rule.

That’s the basics of playing Texas Holdem; it’s really not that difficult and easy to learn. Once you start playing, you can begin to learn strategies that will help you to win. You can find a ton of strategy articles right here if you want to get started right away, but we recommend to take it slow at first. Trying to learn too much at once, will likely confuse you.