OBJECTIVE: To become a winner you should make up the highest possible poker hand of five cards, using the two initially dealt cards and the five community cards.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-10 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 52- deck cards

RANK OF CARDS: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2

RULES: – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Straight Flush which is ranked the same in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Straight Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players provided no player holds a Royal Flush (meaning the Straight Flush is the strongest hand on the table). RULES: – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Straight Flush which is ranked the same in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Straight Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players provided no player holds a Royal Flush (meaning the Straight Flush is the strongest hand on the table).

THE DEAL: Every player is dealt two cards face down which is commonly called ‘hole cards’.

Hold

TYPE OF GAME: Casino

AUDIENCE: Adults

  1. Texas Hold'em Rules. In Texas hold’em each player is dealt two cards called their ‘hole’ cards. Hole cards can only be seen and used by one person. The dealer button (denoted by a circular disc) is allocated before hands are dealt to allow for the positioning of the forced bets: small blind and big blind, and also to determine who will act first and last in the hand.
  2. The rank of each card used in Texas Hold’em when forming a fivecard high poker hand-, in order of highest to lowest rank, shall be: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. All suits shall be considered equal in rank. The ace would be considered low.

Introduction to Texas Hold ‘Em

No Limit Texas Hold’em. Sometimes called the cadillac of Poker, Texas Hold ‘em is a fairly easy game to learn but can take years to master.

How to Play

To begin every player gets two pocket cards. A deck of cards is placed in the middle of the table and these are known as community deck and these are the cards that the flop will be dealt from.
Once all players have been dealt their initial two cards players will be asked to place their first bid. Once all players have placed their first bid a second round of bidding occurs.
Once all players have placed their final bids, the dealer will deal the flop. The dealer will flip over the first 3 cards, known as the “flop”, from the community deck. The goal is to make the best 5 card had you can with the three cards from the community deck and the two in your hand.
Once the first three cards have been flipped over, player will have the option to bid again or fold. After all players have had a chance to bid or fold, the dealer will flip over a fourth card known as a “turn” card.
The players still remaining will have the option to once again fold or bid. Now the dealer will flip the 5th and final card over, known as the “river”card.
Once all five cards have been flipped by the dealer, players will have one last chance to raise the bid or fold. Once all bids and count bids have been made it’s time for the players to reveal their hands and determine a winner.

First Round Betting: The Pre-Flop

When playing Texas hold ‘em a round flat chip or “disk” is used to represent the position of the dealer. This disk is placed in front of the dealer to indicate their status. The person sitting to dealer left is known as the small blind and the person sitting to the left of the small blind is known as the big blind.
When betting, both blinds are required to post a bet before receiving any cards. The big blind is required to post the equivalent or higher of the bet placed by the small blind. Once both blinds have posted their bids two cards are dealt to each player and remaining players can choose to fold, call, or raise. After the end of the game the dealer button is moved to the left so that every player takes on the blind position at some point to maintain the fairness of the game.
Fold – The action of surrendering your cards to the dealer and sitting out the hand. If one folds their cards in the first round of betting, they lose no money.
Call – The action of matching the table bet, which is the most recent bet that has been placed on the table.
Raise – The action of doubling the amount of the most recent bet.
The small and the big blind have the option to fold, call, or raise before the first round of betting ends. If either of them choose to fold, they will lose the blind bet that they initially placed.

Second Round Betting: The Flop

After the first round of betting ends the dealer will proceed to deal the flop. Once the flop has been dealt, players will access the strength of their hands. Again, the player to the left of the dealer is the first to act.
Since there is no compulsory bet on the table, the first player has the option to to take the three previous options discussed, call, fold, raise, as well as the option to check. To check, a player taps his hand twice on the table, this allows the player to pass the option to make the first bet on to the player to his left. All players have the option to check until a bet has been placed on the table. Once a bet has been placed, players must choose to either fold, call, or raise.

Third & Fourth Round Betting: The Turn & The River

After the second round of betting closes, the dealer will deal the fourth card of the flop, known as the turn card. The player to dealer left has the option to check or place a bet. The player that opens the bet closes the bet, after all other players have chosen to fold, raise, or call.
The dealer will then add the bets to the existing pot and deal a fifth card known as “The River”. Once this card has been dealt, the remaining players have the option to check,fold, call, or raise. Lets say all players decide to check. If that is the case it is time for all remaining players to reveal there cards and determine the winner. The player with the highest ranking hand is the winner. They receive the full pot and a new game begins.

Ties

In the chance of a tie between hands the following tie-breakers are used:

Pairs– if two players are tied for highest pairs a “kicker” or the next highest-ranking card is used to determine the winner. You continue until one player has a higher-ranking card or both are determined to have the same exact hand, in which case the pot is split.

Two pairs– in this tie, the higher ranked pair wins, if top pairs are equal in rank you move to the next pair, then move to kickers if necessary.

Three of a kind – higher ranking card takes the pot.

Straights – the straight with the highest-ranking card wins; if both straights are the same the pot is split.

Flush – The flush with the highest-ranking card wins, if the same you move to the next card till a winner is found or hands are the same. If hands are the same split the pot.

Full house – the hand with the higher ranking three cards wins.

Four of a kind – the higher ranking set of four wins.

Straight flush – ties are broken the same as a regular straight.

Royal Flush – split the pot.

Hand Ranking

2. Pair – Two of the same the same card (9,9,6,4,7)
3. Two pair – Two pairs of the same card (K,K,9,9,J)
4. Three of a kind – Three cards of the same ( 7,7,7,10,2)
6. Flush – Five cards of the same suit
7. Full House – Three card of a kind and a pair (A,A,A,5,5)
9. Straight Flush – Five cards in order all of the same suit (4,5,6,7,8 – same suit)
10. Royal Flush – Five cards in order of the same suit 10- A (10,J,Q,K,A)
Texas Hold'em is undoubtedly the most exhilarating and most influential innovation to happen to poker in, well, maybe forever.

Introduced to the poker world at large in the late 1960s by Doyle Brunson and the famed Texas road gamblers, Texas Hold'em has literally re-shaped poker as we knew it and helped create a poker boom still reverberating around the globe today.

Why has Texas Holdem become the de facto poker game of choice for millions of poker players? And why is it still the benchmark for poker glory at the World Series of Poker?

That's easy. It's incredibly fun. And packed with multi-level strategy that draws on equal parts brains, nerves and complex psychology. It's also, importantly, not very hard to learn!

As the old saying goes, 'Texas Hold'em: it takes 2 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.' We can help you with the 'master' part over in our poker strategy section; here we'll stick to the 2-minute part and introduce you to the official Texas Hold'em rules below.

How to Play Texas Hold'em

Texas Holdem is a community card game in which each player at the table is dealt two 'hole' cards face down. Each player then uses those two hole cards in combination with five communal board cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand.

You can win a Texas Hold'em hand by:

  • Having everyone else fold before the hand is over
  • Having the best 5-card poker hand at showdown

And that's essentially it. Texas Hold'em can be played in either cash game or tournament format (with dozens of variations) and with stakes from as small as 1c/2c all the way up to $500/$1,000 and above.

Tournaments offers buy ins from entirely free up to $1 million (eg. The Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker). Most poker tournaments online run with buy-ins of $1-30 with 10-15% of the tournament field making the money and getting paid a return on their buy-in.

Texas Holdem Poker Rules Printable

Texas Hold'em rules can be broken up into a few essential categories:

  • Texas Hold'em Rules - The Button & the Blinds
  • Texas Hold'em Rules - The Deal
  • Texas Hold'em Rules - The First Betting Round
  • Texas Hold'em Rules - The Flop, Turn & River
  • Texas Hold'em Rules - The Showdown
  • Texas Hold'em Rules - Tournaments

Texas Holdem Rules - The Button & the Blinds

A Texas Hold'em cash game is played at a single poker table with anywhere from 2-10 players. In a poker home game, the role of dealer usually passes from player to player with each hand, rotating to the left.

If the game is played online or in a live casino, a designated dealer will deal all of the cards for every round.

Where the deal starts is important, however, as the position of the players in relation to the dealer determines when they act in the hand. The player with the dealer button is the player who gets to act last in every hand. That gives them very important information as to the other players' holdings.

While the dealer spot is fixed in a live game, a dealer 'button' is used to represent the dealer spot and is passed to the left with every hand.

The blinds, meanwhile, are two 'forced' bets that are put into the pot before every hand. These are usually in simple increments like 1c/2c or $1/$2. The 'small blind' is the player immediately to the left of the dealer and puts in the smaller bet before each hand starts.

The 'big blind' is the player to the left of the dealer and puts in the bigger bet before each hand starts. This ensures each pot has some money in it for every hand.

As the dealer button moves on to the next player after every hand, so too do the blinds. That means once every orbit around the table each player will at least put in one small blind and one big blind into play.

In some Texas Holdem games (and in the later rounds of tournament play) an 'ante' is put in place to further bump up the value of the pot before the hand begins. Each player pays the ante into the pot before then hand is dealt.

Texas Holdem Rules - The Deal

Once all players have been properly seated at the table and the blinds and/or antes have been paid into the pot, the deal begins. Each player will receive one card face down, in sequences starting with the player to the left of the dealer, then followed up by a second card in sequence to each player.

These are the player's 'hole' cards. A player can use both hole cards, one hole cards or none of their hole cards when comprising their final 5-card poker hand.

The hole cards can be used in any combination with the 5 communal cards on the board to make up the highest ranked poker hand possible. If the highest hand possible is made up of all 5 cards on the communal board, it is called 'playing the board.'

Texas Holdem Rules - The First Betting Round

Texas Holdem is played in three different betting formats:

  • No-Limit
  • Fixed-Limit
  • Pot-Limit

In short, No-Limit means a player can bet the entire amount of their chips at any time. In Fixed Limit they may only bet a specified maximum amount in relation to the value of the blinds. In pot-limit the maximum bet is the current size of the pot.

For more detail on the different rules for Texas Holdem betting structures, see out articles here:

Texas Holdem games you've seen on TV, and most Texas Holde'm games in general these days, as played as No-Limit games. That means a player can go 'all in' at any point in the hand. This makes for very exciting TV and the spectacular outbursts you've likely seen during the World Series of Poker on ESPN.

Texas Holdem Poker Free

Once the betting structure has been determined for each game, Texas Holdem is played with a small and a big blind -- two forced bets that are posted before the cards are dealt.

Texas Holdem Poker All In Rules

Once the blinds are posted each player is dealt two cards face down. When each player has their hole cards, it's time for the first betting round.

Starting with the player to the left of the big blind (called 'Under the Gun'), players in sequence either fold, 'call' the amount of the big blind (ie match the size of the big blind) or bet/raise.

In order to continue in a hand each player has to match the amount of the maximum bet (or equivalent). For example if the blinds are $1/$2 and someone raises the bet in their turn to $10, each player, including any players who have already acted in the hand, can now match that $10 in total or raise the bet even further.

The minimum bet in a Texas Hold'em game is equal to either twice the amount of the big blind (if no one has yet to raise) or twice the amount of the previous bet or raise.

Texas Holdem Rules - The Flop, Turn & River

When all the remaining players have contributed an equal amount to the pot, the next rounds of cards - in this case called 'the flop' is dealt.The dealer will 'burn' one card - that is deal it face down out of play, and then deal the next three cards off the top of the deck face up in the center of the table.

These are 'community cards, which mean that all players can use them to make up their best possible five-card poker hand. If you need a reminder of how poker hands are ranked in Texas Hold'em, you'll fine the official hand rankings below under The Showdown header

Once the flop has been dealt a second round of betting occurs in the same manner as the previous round, except this time it starts with the player directly to the left of the dealer (if he or she is still in the hand).

That means if the big blind is still in the hand he or she will bet first after the flop, followed by the small blind (if still in) and then the player who bet first in the first round (if still in) and so on.

Official Texas Holdem Poker Rules

This is obviously quite important as it changes which player has the final say in the hand. For this round and each subsequent betting round, the player on the button (or player closest to the button still in the hand) will act last.

Texas holdem buy in rules

Once all bets have again been equalized a fourth communal card, known as 'the turn' is dealt. The dealer burns the first card off the top of the dec again and deals the next card onto the table as the turn card.

After the turn is dealt another round of betting follows in the same manner as the flop round with the player still in the hand closest to the left of the dealer beginning the action. The player on the button again will act last.

After all bets have been matched again a fifth and final card, called 'the river' is dealt face up on the board. The card on top of the deck is again dealt face down out of play (burned) before the next card from the top is placed on the table.

Once the river is dealt a fifth betting round begins in the same format as the two rounds before it.

An Important Note on All Ins

As mentioned, if playing Texas Hold'em in No-Limit format any player can push all of their chips into the middle at any point in a hand. As most players tend to have an unequal amount of chips in their stacks, once a player goes all in it is considered the 'effective' stack for the hand.

That means the maximum bet that can be played vs. that player is the amount of the total stack all in. so for example if a player has $200 in chips and goes all in, if another player with a bigger stack also declares All In later they will only be risking $200 vs. that player. Other players with larger stacks can also then call the All In and a side pot for the amount over $200 between the larger stacks will be created.

Texas Holdem Rules - The Showdown

Once the final betting round takes place. If more than one player is still in the hand after the betting is finished there is a 'showdown.' The player that made the last bet or raise reveals his/her cards first; if all players check the first player after the dealer shows the cards first.

The remaining players then reveal their hands clockwise. Players that don't want to (or can't) compete for the pot can choose to fold (muck) their hands unseen.

Again, a player can choose to use none, one or both of their hole cards together with the board cards to make their best hand. He/she can also 'play the board' - use all the five community cards to create a five-card hand.

The pot is won by the player with the best 5-card poker hand. If two or more players have the same hand, the pot is split between them. Here are the official poker hand rankings for Texas Hold'em:

  • Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10 all of same suit)
  • Straight Flush. (5 cards in sequence all in same suit - eg 7h-8h-9h-Th-Jh)
  • Four of a Kind. (All four cards of same rank)
  • Full House. (3 cards of one rank alongside 2 cards of another - eg. 6h-6s-6d-8d-8c)
  • Flush (All 5 cards or one suit, any rank)
  • Straight (A sequence of 5 cards of rank, any suit - eg, 2h-3d-4c-5s-6c)
  • Three of a kind (3 cards or any one rank, two unmatched cards)
  • Two pair (Two different pairs plus one unmatched card)
  • One pair (One pair of equal rank, 3 unmatched cards)
  • High Card (all unmatched cards ranked by the highest single card)

Some common confusion about Texas Hold'em hand rankings:

Flush vs Flush -- The highest single card of the flush determines its overall ranking. Meaning any flush with an Ace in it is the higher flush. Even if the other flush has 'more' high-value cards in it, the single highest card of the flush determines the winner. Eg. A-6-4-3-2 beats K-Q-J-8-5

Two Pair vs Two Pair -- The highest single pair determines the winner, not the cumulative value of the two pairs together. Eg. AA-44 beats KK-QQ.

Full House vs. Full House -- The highest three-of-a-kind determines the higher full house. Eg. K-K-K-9-9 beats Q-Q-Q-J-J.

Texas Holdem Poker All In Rules

Also:

  • A Flush always beats a Straight
  • 3-of-a-Kind always beats Two Pair
  • Suits do not determine ranks in Texas Holdem
  • Straights do not 'wrap around' - meaning J-Q-K-A-2 is NOT a straight but A-2-3-4-5 is (ace can be low end of straight)

Texas Hold'em Rules - Tournaments

If you've only ever played Texas Hold'em cash games but you'd like to give Texas Hold'em tournaments a try, don't be intimidated. The Texas Holdem rules themselves don't change drastically.

But there are some alteration to play that definitely change your optimal strategy approach. Here we'll give you just a quick overview of some of the basic differences between Texas Hold'em cash games and tournaments.

MTTs vs. Sit & Gos

Texas Hold'em tournaments can come in dozens of formats but the two basic ones are:

  • MTT - Multi-Table Tournaments
  • Sit & Go - Single table tournaments (usually) that begin when all players are seated

A multi-table tournament, as you might expect, has multiple tables of players. All players pay a buy-in plus fees that secures entry to the tournament and a pre-determined starting stack of chips.

The final player left with chips at the end is the winner. Typically 10-15% of the prize pool is set aside to reward the top finishers on a sliding scale with the winner (and the other top 3-5 players getting the biggest share).

A Sit & Go (SnG) is usually a single-table tournament with anywhere from 3-10 players. Each player pays the same buy-in to play and is given an equal starting stack. The last player left usually wins all the money (or the Top 3 players are paid).

SnGs play at very low $ levels online and start up virtually every few minutes. SnGs can also run in Jackpot format (the prize pool is randomly multiplied before the event begins) or Turbo formats (extra fast blinds).

Texas Holdem Poker Rules Hands

Beware the Rising Blinds

Texas Holdem Poker Rules In Spanish

Another major difference between cash games and tournaments are the rising blinds. In a cash game the blinds for the table are static and remain set throughout play. There is a minimum and maximum buy in for the table and if you lose your stack you can buy in to the table again for any amount between those two figures.

In a poker tournament, the blinds will increase on set intervals to force the action. A standard level time for a poker tournament is around 30-45 minutes. The blind structure for the tournament is posted beforehand so you'll know exactly when the blinds will increase and by how much. This ensures the action and means you can't just sit and wait for big hands to play or you will 'blind out' of the tournament.

Dozens of Texas Hold'em Tournament Formats

While the game begin played at the table is always Texas Hold'em (and follows its basic rules), there are literally dozens of different types of Texas Holdem tournaments you can play from Re-Buy and Re-Entry tournaments to Freezeouts, Bounty, Heads-up, etc so be sure to check which type you're playing before you sign up.

The tournament director will provide a list of all the unique rules to the tournament beforehand for all players to see.

Play Texas Holdem Free Online

While a poker home game is a great way to be introduced to the rules of Texas Hold'em, the best way to improve your Texas Hold'em skills is to play in free Texas Holdem games online.

Virtually every poker site offers free-to-play, 'play money' poker games where you can try out the games and get used to the software before investing any money yourself. You can even win real money paying in free Texas Hold'em games to give your beginner bankroll a boost.

To see our list of the poker sites with the best free Texas Hold'em cash game and tournament options, see our page below.

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