How to play poker: Texas Hold’em rules

Texas Hold’em is the poker you see on television and online. Everyone gets two private cards, five shared cards come out in stages, and the best five-card hand wins the pot. This page covers the rules of no-limit Hold’em, the form played most, from the deal to the showdown.

The goal

You win chips, the pot, in one of two ways: everyone else folds, or you hold the best hand at the end. You make your hand from the best five of seven cards: your two cards and the five shared ones. Which hand is best is on what beats what, and the whole ladder is on poker hand rankings.

The setup: the button and the blinds

A dealer button marks the last player to act on each street and moves one seat to the left after every hand. The two players to its left post forced bets before the cards are dealt: the small blind and the big blind, which is twice as large. They start the pot so there is always something to play for. The big blind is also the bet everyone must match to stay in.

The deal

Each player gets two cards face down, the hole cards. Only you see yours.

The four betting rounds

1. Before the flop. Betting starts with the player left of the big blind and goes around the table. Everyone chooses to fold, call or raise.
2. The flop. Three shared cards are dealt face up. Betting starts with the first player still in, left of the button.
3. The turn. A fourth shared card. Another round of betting.
4. The river. The fifth and last shared card, and the last round of betting.

Before each shared card the dealer discards the top card of the deck, a burn card, so no one can know what is coming.

What you can do on your turn

• fold: give up your hand and your claim on the pot.
• check: pass, if no one has bet yet this round. It costs nothing.
• call: match the current bet to stay in.
• bet: put chips in when no one has yet this round.
• raise: increase the bet. A raise must be at least as big as the last bet or raise; that is the minimum raise.
• All in: bet every chip you have. You can still win the part of the pot you have matched.

A round ends when everyone left has put in the same amount, or all but one have folded.

Showdown

If two or more players are left after the river, they show their cards at the showdown. The best five-card hand takes the pot, and if two hands are equal the pot is split. The last player to bet or raise shows first. If everyone else folds, the last player wins without showing a card.

A hand from start to finish

Your cards A♥K♦

Their cards Q♠Q♣

Blinds are 1 and 2 and you have the button. Everyone folds to you, you raise to 6 and the big blind calls (the small blind folded, so the pot is 13).

Flop K♣8♦3♠

You hit top pair. The big blind checks, you bet 8, they call: the pot is 29.

Turn K♣8♦3♠9♥

Both check. The river is the 2♣, and both check again.

Showdown. You turn over a pair of kings with an ace kicker. They show a pair of queens. Kings beat queens, so you win the pot of 29.

What to learn next

• Which seats are strong and why: position.
• How much to bet and why: bet sizing and pot odds.
• The words you will hear at the table: the poker glossary.
• A path through all of it: poker for beginners.

Questions

How many cards do you get in Texas Hold’em?

Two private cards, called hole cards. Five more are dealt face up in the middle, and everyone can use them.

What are the betting rounds?

Four: before the flop, on the flop (three shared cards), on the turn (a fourth) and on the river (the fifth).

Who wins a hand of poker?

The player left when everyone else has folded, or at the showdown the player with the best five-card hand, made from their two cards and the five on the table.

What are the blinds?

Two forced bets posted by the two players left of the dealer button, the small blind and the big blind, so there is always something to win.

Practise it in 5 minutes Seats & the button, a short free lesson.

Quads is for adults, 18 and over. It teaches with play chips only: there is no real money, ever.