Texas holdem rules
The most popular variation of poker is Texas Hold'em. If you don't know how to play it, just read trough the rules below, and you will notice that Texas holdem is easy to learn and understand. If you prefer to learn to play Texas Holdem using a more hands-on method, please register or login and start practicing your skills on our poker tables.
Texas Holdem: a quick overview
Poker is played on a table with maximum 10 players who compete agains each other to win the other players' chips/money. To begin with, players are dealt two "hole cards" that only they can see and use. Then, five "community cards" are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. All players in the game use these cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand. To view the rankings of poker hands, visit our poker hand rankings page.
The game is split into four rounds of betting, and the game moves clockwise around the table. Betting starts from the player position next to the dealer button, which moves one place to the left after each hand. In online games, the dealer button replaces the "real" dealer.
The intention of a round of poker is to win the total amount of the bets on the table, also called the "pot". If two or more players hold equally-strong winning five-card hands and tie, the pot will be split between the two players.
1. The dealer button
In Texas Hold'em a button, also called the "dealer button" indicates who the dealer is. The dealer button moves clockwise between the players after each hand. The the dealer gets his cards last and bets last in each round. Keeping up with the current location of the button is a huge consideration when determining positional strategy.
2. The blinds
Before the game starts, the two players that are sitting on the left of the dealer are forced to post "blind bets". These bets are called "blinds" because they are made before the players have seen any cards. The blinds ensure that there is some money in the pot to play for as the game starts. The player to the left of the dealer posts the "small blind", and the player positioned to his left then posts the "big blind". The small blinds and big blind can for example be 5$ and 10$.
3. The opening deal (hold cards)
Once the blinds have been posted, it's time for some cards. Moving clockwise round the table from the dealer, each player receives two cards dealt face down that only they get to see. The "hole cards" are dealt one by one starting with the player on the left of te dealer. The dealed cards are also called "pocket cards", and are not revealed to other players.
4. First betting round
After the cards are dealt, it's time for the first betting round. Because the blinds are in play, betting starts with the player after those who have already placed the small and big blinds (the third player to the left of the dealer). At this stage, each player is betting on what hands they feel their pocket cards have the potential of creating. (see: hand rankings)
For this round of betting, each player has three choices: to fold (and throw in their hole cards, and stop participating in the round), raise, or call (in other words, match the last-biggest bet).
Because the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting, the other players in the game have to at least call this bet to stay in the hand in this round. This means that "checking" - a term used when there's no bet to match and you want to stay in the game but don't want to place a bet - isn't an option. The betting goes round the table in a clockwise direction until each player has called, folded or raised. If no-one has raised by the time the betting returns to the person who posted the big blind, this player may check his own blind, fold or raise.
If there has been a raise, the betting is re-opened (players after the raiser can again choose whether to fold, call or raise) and continues until everyone has folded, put equal amounts in to call or gone "all-in" by betting all the chips they have on the table.
If there is only one player is left with hole cards because all the others have folded, the round is over and that player wins the pot.
5. The flop
When the first round of betting is out of the way, it's time for the flop. The flop is a set of three cards dealt face up in the middle of the table. Each player can use these three community cards in conjunction with his own hole cards to build a five-card hand.
6. Second betting round
After the flop, you have a better view on your hand, and based on that knowledge you should decide to stay in the hand or fold. Sometimes it's better to fold your hand, that stay in the round and lose some more chips/money. It's time to make up your mind, it's time for the second betting round...
But things change a bit this time, because some players will have dropped out, and there are no blinds after the first round. Betting starts with the first player still in the hand sitting on the immediate left of the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is still active in the hand. And, because there are no blinds for the players to match, that player is free to check - as are all the others, unless someone bets.
Then betting becomes similar to that before the flop and takes place among all players still in the hand. If everyone checks, or when you've all put equal amounts in, it's time for the turn. If there is only one player is left with hole cards, the round is over and that player wins the pot.
7. The turn
Once the second round of betting has finished, it's time for a fourth card to be dealt face up on the board. This card is called "the turn" and again can be used by all players to construct their best hand. There are now 6 cards which u can use toform your best five-card hand.
8. Third betting round
After the turn it's again time for some betting. The third betting round follows the exactly same pattern as the second betting round. The only difference is that you can now estimate the value of your hand in a much better way.
9. The river
When betting on the turn is complete, it's time for the fifth and final community card to be dealt. This card is also known as "the river". Now that all the cards have been dealt, each player can decide what their best five-card hand is.
10. Fourth betting round
After the river is dealt, the final betting round takes place. The fourt betting round follows exactly the same pattern as the second and third betting round.
11. The showdown
After the final betting round, it's time to see who wins the pot. Each player who's still in shows their hand, starting with the person on the left of the dealer. If a player has not a better hand than any other hand that was already showed, the player can choose to "muck", which is the same as folding and not showing his cards. The winner is decided using universal hand rankings.
If a player wins the pot by forcing everyone else to fold through betting, there's no showdown and the winner can decide whether to show their cards or not. Most players don't, as it's always nice to keep people guessing.