Texas Hold'em rules
The complete explanation for beginners: how a hand runs, the actions and the showdown, in plain English.
Texas Hold'em can be explained in five minutes and takes years to play well. This article does the first part: everyone gets two cards of their own, five cards come face up on the table, and the best combination of five wins. Around that sit four betting rounds where the real game happens.
If you meet a term you do not know, look in the glossary. And if you are not yet sure which hand beats which, start with the poker hand rankings.
Before the flop (preflop)
Everyone gets two cards of their own that only you see. The player to the left of the big blind starts: fold, call the big blind, or raise. The two blinds are forced bets that get the game moving; the button moves one seat every hand, so everyone pays them in turn.
The flop
Three cards go face up on the table. They belong to everybody: you combine them later with your own two. A betting round follows, starting with the first player to the left of the button who is still in. As long as nobody has bet you may check: passing without paying.
The turn
The fourth face-up card. Another betting round under the same rules. From here pots get serious: whoever is still in usually has a real hand or a real chance.
The river and the showdown
The fifth and last face-up card, followed by the final betting round. If two or more players are still in after that, everyone shows their cards: the showdown. The best hand of exactly five cards wins the pot, made from your own two cards and the five on the table, in any combination.
The four actions
Every turn you choose from at most four actions. These four words are the entire vocabulary of a betting round, and you will hear them at every table in the world:
Fold
You put your cards away and take no further part in this hand. It costs nothing extra, and it is the right choice more often than beginners think.
Check
Only possible if nobody before you has bet this round: you stay in without paying and the turn passes on.
Call
You pay exactly what the previous player bet and stay in the hand.
Bet and raise
You put money in first (bet), or you go over somebody else’s bet (raise). In No-Limit Hold'em you may do that up to everything you have in front of you.
The mistake everyone makes on day one
Knowing the rules is not the problem. The classic beginner mistake is playing too many hands: every two cards feel like a chance, so you pay to see everything and slowly but surely lose a little bit everywhere. The solution is in step two of the beginner strategy: play few hands, and play them aggressively.
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frequently asked questions
The rules, explained further.
How many players do you play Texas Hold'em with? +
From two up to usually nine or ten players at a table. Online a table of six is the most common. The rules are the same at any table size; what changes is how many hands are playable.
What exactly are the blinds and the button? +
The button marks who decides last after the flop this hand: the best seat at the table. The two players to its left pay the small and the big blind, forced bets that make sure there is always something to win. Everything moves one seat clockwise every hand.
Who wins if two players have the same hand? +
Then the side cards decide: with an equal pair the highest spare card alongside it wins. If all five cards of the best hand are equal, the pot is split. The full rules are in the overview of poker hand rankings.
What is the difference between a cash game and a tournament? +
In a cash game chips are real money and you can sit down and leave whenever you like. In a tournament everyone pays the same entry, the blinds rise on a schedule, and you play until your chips are gone; the prize money goes to the best finishing places. The strategy differs considerably between the two.
Do you have to go all in if you do not have enough chips to call? +
No, you go all in for what you have left and play for that part of the pot. If others put in more, the excess goes into a side pot you are not playing for.
from rules to play
Rules learned? Now the decisions.
Practise real situations with an explanation for every decision, with no money and no gambling. The starter quiz is 15 hands and takes about ten minutes, after which you have your first Poker IQ score.