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Poker rules

Texas Hold'em rules: how to play, step by step

Two private cards, five shared cards, four rounds of betting. Here is everything you need to sit down at a Hold'em table, from posting the blinds to a worked example you can follow card by card.

The goal

What you are trying to do

Win chips from the pot. You do that two ways: show the best five-card hand at the end, or make everyone else fold. You build your hand from your two hole cards and the five community cards on the table, using any combination of the seven. If you are not sure which hands beat which, open the hand rankings alongside this page.

Two to ten people can play. Home games usually have six to nine. The cards used are a standard 52-card deck with no jokers.

Setting up a hand

The button and the blinds

A small marker called the dealer button shows who is dealing for that hand. It moves one seat clockwise after every hand, so everyone gets a turn in every position.

  • Small blind: the player to the left of the button posts a half bet before any cards are dealt.
  • Big blind: the next player to the left posts a full bet, the minimum bet for the hand.
  • Dealing: starting with the small blind, everyone gets one card face down, then a second, going clockwise.

Blinds exist so there is always something to win. Without them everyone could wait for the perfect hand. In a tournament the blinds go up on a timer. In a cash game they stay the same.

Two players (heads-up): the button posts the small blind and the other player posts the big blind. The button acts first before the flop and last on every round after it.

The hand

Four rounds of betting

  1. Round 1

    Preflop

    Everyone gets two private cards (hole cards). Betting starts with the player to the left of the big blind and goes clockwise. The big blind has the option to raise even if nobody else has.

  2. Round 2

    Flop

    The dealer burns a card and turns three community cards face up. Betting starts with the first active player to the left of the button.

  3. Round 3

    Turn

    One more community card. Another round of betting, in the same order.

  4. Round 4

    River

    The fifth and last community card, then the final round of betting.

A betting round ends when every player still in the hand has either folded or put in the same amount of chips. If everyone folds to one player at any point, that player wins the pot straight away and does not have to show their cards.

Your turn

What you can do when it is your turn

Fold
Throw your cards away. You are out of the hand and cannot win the pot, but you put no more chips in.
Check
Pass the action without betting. Only possible when nobody has bet in the current round.
Bet
Be the first to put chips in on a round. In no-limit, the smallest bet is the size of the big blind.
Call
Match the current bet to stay in the hand.
Raise
Increase the bet. A raise has to be at least as large as the previous bet or raise in that round.
All-in
Put every chip you have in the pot. You can only win the part of the pot you were able to match.

Betting structures. In no-limit, the game on TV and at most home games, you can bet any amount up to your whole stack. In pot-limit, the biggest bet is the current size of the pot. In fixed-limit, bets and raises are set amounts that double on the turn and river.

Raises. If someone bets 20 and you want to raise, you must raise by at least 20 more, so to at least 40 total. A smaller all-in that is not a full raise lets other players call it, but it does not give players who already acted a new chance to raise.

The end of the hand

Showdown

If two or more players are still in after the river betting, they turn their cards face up. The player who made the last bet or raise shows first. If everyone checked the river, the first player to the left of the button shows first.

The best five-card hand wins the pot. If hands tie, the pot is split. A player who is clearly beaten may muck (fold without showing). Whether other players can ask to see a mucked hand is worth settling before a home game starts, as the home game guide suggests.

When someone runs out of chips

All-ins and side pots

You can always bet all the chips you have, even if it is less than the call. You then play for the part of the pot you were able to match. Extra bets from the other players go into a separate side pot that you cannot win.

Example: Amy goes all-in with 100. Ben and Cara both put in 300. The pot is 700 chips, split in two:

  • Main pot, 300: 100 from each of the three players. All three can win it.
  • Side pot, 400: the other 200 each from Ben and Cara. Only they can win it.

If Amy has the best hand she wins the main pot and Ben and Cara compare hands for the side pot. If Ben has the best hand of all, he wins both pots.

Follow along

A hand from start to finish

Four players: Ana has the button, Ben is the small blind, Cy is the big blind and Dee sits to Cy's left. Blinds are 5 and 10. All amounts are in chips.

Dee

Ana

Cy

  1. Preflop. Ben posts 5 and Cy posts 10. Dee, first to act, raises to 30. Ana calls 30. Ben folds, giving up his 5. Cy calls, adding 20. The pot is 95.
  2. Flop. Cy acts first and checks. Dee has a pair of kings with an ace kicker and bets 40. Ana, with nines, folds. Cy has a flush draw (four hearts with one to come) and calls 40. The pot is 175.
  3. Turn. No help for anyone. Cy checks and Dee checks behind.
  4. River. The flush comes in for Cy. He bets 60, and Dee, still holding a good pair, calls 60. The pot is 295.
  5. Showdown. Cy made the last bet, so he shows first: Q♥ J♥ K♥ 5♥ 3♥, a king-high flush. Dee shows a pair of kings. A flush beats a pair, so Cy wins all 295 chips.

Questions

Quick answers

How many cards do you get in Texas Hold'em?
Two private hole cards each, plus five community cards that everyone shares. Your hand is the best five cards from those seven, using both, one or none of your hole cards.
What is the difference between the small blind and the big blind?
Both are forced bets that start the pot. The small blind sits just left of the dealer button and posts half a minimum bet. The big blind sits next to them and posts a full minimum bet. The big blind is the amount everyone has to match to see the flop.
Who acts first in Texas Hold'em?
Preflop, the player to the left of the big blind acts first. After the flop, the first active player to the left of the dealer button acts first. That means the button acts last, which is the most valuable seat.
Can you use just one of your hole cards, or none?
Yes. In Hold'em you may use both, one or neither of your hole cards. If the five community cards make the best hand, you can play the board and tie with anyone else who can do the same.
What is a side pot?
A separate pot created when a player goes all-in for less than the others are betting. The all-in player can only win the main pot, and the extra chips from the other players go into a side pot that only they can win.

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