Texas Hold’em rules

The goal Rule

Win the chips in the middle (the pot). There are two ways: everyone else folds, or you reach the end of the hand (the showdown) with the best 5-card combination.

The table, the button and the blinds Rule

From 2 to 10 players play (online, 6- and 9-player tables are very common). A disc, the button (D), marks who deals that hand and moves one seat to the left (clockwise) every hand.

Before the deal, the two players to the left of the button post forced bets, the blinds: the small blind (SB) and the big blind (BB), which is usually twice as much. That way there is always something at stake. In the course everything is measured in big blinds: 1 bb = one big blind.

Positions Rule

Each seat has a name based on where it sits relative to the button. At a 6-player table, in the order they act before the flop: UTG HJ CO BTN SB BB.

Hole cards and community cards Rule

It is played with a 52-card deck. Each player gets 2 hole cards face down, for their eyes only. Up to 5 community cards (the board) are turned face up in the middle, and everyone can use them.

Example: your cards A♥K♦ and the board K♠9♥4♣2♦J♣: you have 7 cards to make your best 5-card hand.

The rounds: preflop, flop, turn, river and showdown Rule

1. Preflop: the 2 hole cards are dealt and there is a betting round.
2. Flop: 3 community cards are turned up together and there is another betting round.
3. Turn: the 4th community card and another round.
4. River: the 5th and last community card and the last round.
5. Showdown: if two or more players remain, the cards are shown and the best hand wins.

If in any round everyone but one player folds, the hand ends right there: that player wins the pot without showing their cards.

The actions: fold, check, call, bet, raise and all-in Rule

Fold

You throw away your cards and leave the hand. You lose what you already put in.

Check

You put nothing in and stay in the hand. Only allowed if nobody has bet more than you in that round.

Call

You match the highest bet of the round.

Bet

You make the first bet of a round. Minimum: one big blind. Maximum: all your chips (that is why it is called “no limit”).

Raise

You increase a bet that already exists. A raise must increase by at least as much as the last bet or raise of that round: if someone bets 3 bb, you can raise to 6 bb or more; if someone else then raises to 11 bb (an increase of 5 over your 6), the next minimum raise is to 16 bb.

All-in

You put in all your chips. You can always go all-in, even if it is not enough to match: in that case you can only win from each opponent as much as you put in (see side pots).

A betting round ends when everyone still in the hand has put in the same amount (or gone all-in) and everyone has had a chance to act.

General rule: an all-in that is less than a full raise does not reopen the betting for players who already acted in that round (they can call or fold, but not raise again). It is the tournament (TDA) rule and the rule in most card rooms.

Who acts first Rule

• Preflop: the player to the left of the big blind (UTG) starts and action moves to the left. The big blind acts last: if nobody raised, it can check or raise.
• Flop, turn and river: the first player still in the hand to the left of the button starts. The button, if still in, acts last.
• With only two players (heads-up), the button posts the small blind, acts first before the flop and last after it.

The pot and side pots Rule

Everything bet goes into the pot. If a player goes all-in for less than the others, they can only win from each opponent as much as they put in: whatever the others keep betting forms a side pot that only they compete for.

Example: A goes all-in for 20 bb; B and C call 20 and keep betting 30 more each. Main pot: 60 bb (A, B and C). Side pot: 60 bb (only B and C).

How you win Rule

At showdown each player makes their best 5-card hand from their 7 cards (2 hole + 5 community). You can use both of your cards, one or none: if the best hand is entirely on the board, you “play the board”.

Example: with 7♥2♣ and the board 10♠J♦Q♣K♥A♥ your best hand is the straight on the board: you use none of your cards, and anyone else still in the hand has it too.

Hand rankings Rule

There are nine categories. A higher category always beats a lower one, whatever the specific cards. From highest to lowest:

1. Straight flush 9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠ Five in a row of the same suit. The highest one (10 to ace) is called a royal flush.
2. Four of a kind Q♥Q♦Q♠Q♣7♦ Four cards of the same rank.
3. Full house J♥J♦J♠4♣4♥ Three of a kind plus a pair.
4. Flush A♥10♥8♥5♥2♥ Five of the same suit, not in a row.
5. Straight 10♣9♦8♥7♠6♣ Five in a row of any suit.
6. Three of a kind 8♣8♦8♥K♣3♠ Three cards of the same rank.
7. Two pair K♠K♦5♥5♣A♦ Two different pairs.
8. One pair 10♥10♣A♦9♠4♣ Two cards of the same rank.
9. High card A♣J♦8♠6♥3♣ None of the above: the highest card plays.

• The royal flush (10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit) is the highest straight flush; that is why some lists show it separately and talk about “10 hands”.
• The ace can be the highest card (10-J-Q-K-A) or the lowest (A-2-3-4-5, the lowest straight), but it does not “wrap around”: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
• Suits have no order: no suit is worth more than another.

Ties and split pots Rule

If two hands are in the same category, you first compare what defines it (the pair, the three of a kind, the top card of the straight…) and then the rest of the 5 cards, from highest to lowest. The cards that break the tie are called kickers.

Example: with the board A♥9♦7♣4♠2♥, A♣K♦ beats A♦Q♣: both have a pair of aces, and the king beats the queen as a kicker.

Only 5 cards count. If each player’s best 5 are worth the same, it is a tie and the pot is split equally. Suits never break a tie.

Typical beginner mistakes

• “The higher suit wins.” No: suits never break ties.
• “My sixth card breaks the tie.” No: only the best 5 count. A kicker outside those 5 does not play.
• “Q-K-A-2-3 is a straight.” No: the ace does not wrap around.
• “I check even though there is a bet.” Not allowed: facing a bet you must fold, call or raise.
• “I raise just a little.” A raise has a minimum: increase by at least as much as the last bet or raise of the round.
• “The big blind can’t raise if everyone called.” Yes it can: it acts last preflop and, if nobody raised, it can check or raise.
• “A flush beats a full house.” No: a full house ranks above a flush.
• “If I went all-in for less, I win the whole pot.” No: only what you matched from each opponent; the rest is a side pot.

Practice the rules

Five short exercises, always different. They are graded by the same engine used across POKER AULA. It is free practice: it does not count toward your progress.