Learning how to play a game of Texas Hold'em can seem much more difficult than it really is.
The game itself is actually very logical and simple and requires just a few minutes to learn.
Mastering it, however, will take you a bit longer.
This article provides all the information you need to start playing the game.
Any time you get confused by the action, read below for some guidance.
Each topic also contains links to more in-depth articles on that
specific subject.
When you feel you've got the hang of it and are ready to play for real, check out our Texas Hold'em toplist for the best places to get started.
Quick Glossary
Before we get into describing the rules and game play, here's a quick glossary of terms you'll encounter.
Overview
Texas Hold'em is a community card poker game, with game play focused as much on the betting as on the cards being played.
Although the rules and game play remain mostly the same, the end goal is
slightly different depending on if you're playing a cash game or a
tournament.
A Hold'em tournament is the same as any other game of Hold'em with a few
added rules and twists. If you'd like to learn the rules unique to
tournaments, head to this article. (There will also be a link at the bottom of the page).
Texas Holdem is played on a single table with two to 10 players. The
goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time.
You win a pot by having the best hand, or by having all other players fold before the showdown.
The structure of Texas Hold'em can be broken up into three main divisions:
Setup
Once you have your players sitting around the table, the first thing you
need to have is chips. Before you can figure out what kind of chips to
give each player, you need to understand how the game works a little
better, so we'll get back to this.
For now, assume all players have chips in front of them.
The next step is picking the player who will start with the dealer
button. Hold'em is played with what's known as a rotating dealer,
meaning a player will act as the dealer for one hand, handing the role
of dealer to the player on their left when the hand is completed.
To choose the dealer, either deal every player one card, or spread the
cards facedown on the table and have every player choose one.
The player with the highest-valued card (aces are high for selecting a dealer) starts as the dealer.
If you're in a place with a professional dealer, or someone volunteers
to always physically deal the cards, the dealer button will still rotate
around the table.
Even though he or she is physically dealing the cards, for all intents
and purposes, the person with the button is viewed as being the dealer
for the hand.
Once the hand completes, the player with the dealer button will pass it to the player on his or her left.
Putting Out the Blinds
Now that you have a dealer, you need to put out the blinds.
There are two blinds in Holdem - a small blind and a big blind. The
player directly to the left of the dealer puts out the small blind.
The big blind (exactly, or conveniently close to, double that of the
small blind) is placed by the player to the left of the small blind.
The size of the blinds will dictate the stakes of the game you're about
to play. Typically, you want players to buy in for no less than 100
times the size of the big blind.
If you want to buy in for $20, you should play with blinds 10¢/20¢, or for convenience, most people will play 10¢/25¢.
Back to chips: Once the blinds are set we know what kind of chips
we'll need to play. (In the above example, we'd use 10¢ chips, 25¢
chips and maybe a few $1 chips.)
You want to give players enough chips in each denomination to allow the game to run smoothly.
Typically a player will need only 10% of their total chips in the
smallest denomination, as they are only ever used to pay the small
blind. For the most part, all betting will be done with chips larger
than that of the small blind.
Once you have the blinds out, you're now ready to deal the first hand.
Game-Play and Betting Rounds
The person dealing the cards deals to the left of the player with the
dealer button first, rotating around the table in a clockwise manner,
giving each player one card at a time until each player has two cards.
These are known as your hole cards.
A hand of Hold'em consists of a minimum of one and a maximum of four
betting rounds. A hand ends when all players but one have folded, or the
fourth and final betting round completes with multiple players still in
the hand - whichever comes first.
At that point, players enter into the showdown (to be explained in the next section).
Preflop
When all players receive their hole cards, you are now in the preflop betting round.
Each player must look at their cards and decide what action they would
like to take. In Hold'em, only one player can act at a time.
The preflop betting round starts with the player to the left of the big blind. This player has three options:
Once a player has made their action, the player to the left of them gets
their turn to act. Each player is given the same options: fold, call
the bet of the player to their right (if the previous player raised,
that is the amount you must call) or raise.
A raise is always the amount of one bet in addition to the amount of the
previous bet, for example: if the big blind is 25¢, and the first
player to act would like to raise, they put in a total of 50¢ (the big
blind + one additional bet).
If the next player would like to reraise, they would put in a total of 75¢ (the previous bet + one additional bet).
A betting round ends when two conditions are met:
Example Betting Round 1
There are five players at the table:
Player 1 - Button
Player 2 - Small blind (10¢)
Player 3 - Big blind (25¢)
Start of betting round
Player 4 - Calls the big blind (25¢)
Player 5 - folds
Player 1 - Calls the big blind (25¢)
Player 2 - Calls the big blind (since they already have 10¢ bet, they only have to add another 15¢, for a total of 25¢)
Player 3 - Checks (since they already have the bet matched, they do not need to add more money to call; this is called checking)
End of betting round
When Player 2 calls the big blind, all players now have the same amount
of money in front of them, but Player 3 (the big blind) has not had a
chance to act, so the betting round is not over.
Once Player 3 checks, both conditions are met, and the betting round is over.
Example Betting Round 2
There are five players at the table:
Player 1 - Button
Player 2 - Small blind (10¢)
Player 3 - Big blind (25¢)
Start of betting round
Player 4 - Calls the big blind (25¢)
Player 5 - Raises (50¢)
Player 1 - Folds
Player 2 - Folds
Player 3 - Reraises (they already have 25¢ in as the big blind. They
complete the bet of 50¢, and add one additional bet for a total of 75¢)
Player 4 - Folds (their previous call of 25¢ is now in the pot)
Player 5 - Calls (matches the bet of Player 3 for a total of 75¢)
End of betting round
In this scenario all players had had a chance to act when Player 3 made
the reraise. But all players did not have the same amount of money bet.
Once Player 4 folds, only Player 3 and Player 5 are left in the pot.
When Player 5 calls, both conditions are met, and the betting round
ends.
The Flop
Once the preflop betting round ends, the flop is dealt. This is done by
dealing the top card in the deck facedown on the table (it becomes the
burn card), followed by three cards faceup.
Once this has been dealt, the first post-flop betting round begins.
The rules of a post-flop betting round are the same as a preflop, with
two small exceptions: The first player to act is the next player with a
hand to the left of the dealer, and the first player to act can check or
bet; as there has been no bet made, calling is free.
A bet on the flop is the amount of the big blind. In our game, a player must put out 25¢ to make a bet.
The Turn
Once the betting round on the flop completes, the dealer deals one card
facedown followed by a single card faceup, also known as the "burn and
turn." Once the turn has been dealt, the third betting round starts.
The third betting round is identical to the flop betting round with one
single exception: The size of a bet for this round, and the final
betting round, is doubled, meaning that to make a bet in our game will
now cost a player 50¢.
The River
Assuming more than one player is left, having not folded on one of the
previous streets, the river is now dealt. Dealing the river is identical
as dealing the turn, with one card being dealt facedown, followed by a
single card faceup.
This is the final street, and no more cards will be dealt in this hand.
The betting round is identical to the betting round on the turn.
Showdown
Once the river betting round has been completed, the players now enter
into the showdown. At this point, the best hand wins the pot. Here are
the rules you need to know about a Hold'em showdown:
Evaluating Hands
In Hold'em you must make the best hand possible using any combination of
your two cards and the five community cards on the table.
You can use both, one or none of your own cards in making your best
hand. Here are some rules about evaluating a winning poker hand:
Both players hold the very same hand (a straight from ten to ace). This
means the pot is split between the two players. The remaining cards and
the fact Player 1 also has a pair means nothing - only the best
five-card hand factors into deciding the winner.
Once you determine the winning hand, that player receives the pot. The
dealer passes the dealer button to his or her left and the two players
to the left of the new dealer put out their big and small blinds
respectively.
Random Rules
Raising
Buying Chips
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