Poker positions
One of the most important concepts in poker is poker position. Where you sit at the table strongly affects which hands you can play, how…
Texas Hold’em
rules
Poker is a card game played by 2 to 10 players. Texas Hold’em rules describe the most popular poker variant in the world, both live and online.
The goal is to win chips from the other players. You can win a hand in two ways:
All poker games use five-card hand rankings. For example, a flush is five cards of the same suit:
In Texas Hold’em, each player receives two hidden cards. These are called hole cards. Five cards are placed face up on the table during the hand. These are community cards, also called board cards. All players can use them.
You make your best five-card hand using any combination of:
Sometimes the best hand comes entirely from the board. This is called playing the board.
Example 1
Your hole cards are: Q♥︎ Q♠︎.
The board is: 9♥︎ 7♣︎ A♥︎.
Your best hand is a pair of queens: Q♥︎ Q♠︎ A♥︎ 9♥︎ 7♣︎.
Learning to quickly find your best hand using the board is one of the first skills every beginner should develop. You can practice this in the Poker Trainer Hand Ranking Trainer.
Most games today are no-limit Texas Hold’em. No-limit means you can bet all your chips at any time. When it is your turn, your options depend on whether someone has already bet. If no one has bet yet, you can:
If someone has bet, you can:
In no-limit games, a raise must usually be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
Each hand has a dealer position called the button. Two players post forced bets before seeing their cards:
Blinds exist to make sure there is money in the pot from the start. Without forced bets, players could wait for very strong hands and many hands would end without action.
The big blind is usually twice the small blind. In a $1 / $2 game, the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2.
Some games, especially tournaments, also use antes. Antes are small forced bets posted by every player. Antes make the pot larger right away and encourage more action.
After each hand, the button moves one seat clockwise. This also moves the blinds, so every player takes turns paying them.
In heads-up games, there is a special rule. The button posts the small blind, and the action order is different from games with more players.
Texas Hold’em is played over four betting rounds, often called streets. A street is a stage of the hand where cards are dealt and players can bet.
The four streets are:
Preflop
Each player receives two hole cards. Action starts with the player to the left of the big blind. Players can fold, call, or raise. Action continues clockwise. Preflop ends when all remaining players have matched the final bet.
Flop
Three community cards are dealt face up. This is the flop. A new betting round begins. The first player to act postflop is the active player closest to the button. In most hands, this is the small blind if still in the pot.
Turn
A fourth community card is dealt. This is the turn. Another betting round begins, again starting with the first active player closest to the button.
River
A fifth and final community card is dealt. This is the river. A final betting round takes place.
In live poker, the dealer usually burns one card before the flop, turn, and river. Burning a card means discarding the top card face down to reduce the chance of marked cards or mistakes.
If one player bets and everyone else folds, that player wins the pot immediately.
If one or more players call the final bet, the hand goes to showdown. At showdown, the last player to bet or raise usually shows first. If there was no bet on the final street, the first active player closest to the button usually shows first.
The player with the strongest five-card hand wins the pot. If two or more hands have equal strength, the pot is split.
If a player is all-in and cannot match a later bet, a side pot is created. The all-in player can only win the part of the pot they contributed to.
In general, you should not show your cards unless you have to. Showing cards gives opponents information they can use later.
Texas Hold’em rules are easy to learn. The difficult part is playing well.
Once you understand the basics, the next step is to learn poker hand ranking, poker positions and betting strategy. That is where real skill starts to matter.
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