Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variation played around the world. If you're just starting out, this is the game to play. A game of Texas Hold'em has four sequential rounds of betting: pre-flop, on the flop, the turn and the river. Each of these rounds is described below in a separate section.

To start the hand, the deck is shuffled, the blinds are posted and each player is dealt two cards face down, his hole cards. The first round of betting is limited to one bet and three raises.

When this first round of betting action is complete, the dealer will place three cards face up on the table. These three cards are called the flop. All cards dealt face up on the table are community cards. That is they “belong” to all players and may be used by any player in any combination with his hole cards to make his best possible poker hand.The flop is followed by another round of betting. In limit games this second round of betting is the last round at the lower limit. After this round all bets and raises will be at the higher limit.

After this on the flop action is complete the dealer will place a fourth card, faceup, on the table. This is the turn card and is another community card that any player may combine in any way with his hole cards. After the turn card is dealt there is a third round of betting. This third round of betting is at the higher limit in limit games. When the action on the turn in complete the last card, the river card, is dealt face-up on the board.

After the deal of the river card the fourth, last, round of betting begins. As with the other round this round is limited to one bet and three raises. When the action is complete, the pot is awarded to the best hand. The pot is awarded, the dealer button is moved one position in a clockwise direction, the blinds are posted and another hand begins. Before we start please find a short list of some of the terms we will be using to explain how to play Texas Hold'em. For a much more complete list of poker terms, please see our Poker Dictionary.

Basic poker terms used in this section:
Action – The betting. When it is said that the action is to a certain player it means it is his turn to act. He may bet, check, raise or fold.

Action Pointer – A small blinking arrowhead that points to the player who is next to act.

Bet, Check, Raise, Fold – As the action for a particular round begins each player in turn has the options: 1) fold which is to throw his hand away and sit out the current hand; 2) check, that is pass the action without putting money in the pot; 3) bet. The first person to put money in the pot on any given round of betting is the bettor. After this first bet is made subsequent players have three choices; call (put an amount that matches the bet into the pot), raise (put an amount that is equal to twice the bet into the pot); or fold (when a player folds he surrenders his cards and removes himself from contention for the pot). After a raise has been made subsequent players also have three choices; call the raise, re-raise or fold.

Blinds – These are forced bets that begin the action. In Hold'em there are two blinds. The Little Blind is placed by the player to the left of the dealer button and is usually equal to 1/3 – 2/3 the amount of the Big Blind. The big blind is equal to a bet at the lower limit. In a $10/$20 game the small blind is $5 and the big blind is $10. Both of these blinds are live, which means when the betting reaches the blinds they may raise. This is the only place in poker where a player may raise his own bet.

The Flop – After the first round of betting the dealer places three cards on the board face up. These three cards are community cards and are call the flop.

Community Cards – These are the cards that are dealt face up on the board. They may be used in any amount in any player’s hand to make his best poker hand. Click here to see a complete list and ranking of all recognized Hold'em poker hands.

Dealer Button – In Hold’em there is a button that rotates around the table in a clockwise direction. Cards are dealt in a clockwise direction starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer button. After the hand is completed and the pot awarded, the dealer moves the Dealer Button to the next player on the left. This is done, because there is an advantage to having to act last and so each player gets his fair share of early, late and middle positions.

The Pot – Where all the bets and raises are collected. This is the pile of chips in the center of the table. Players are in the game to win the pot.

The Turn – The turn card is the 4th community card and is placed on the table after the betting on the flop is complete. The betting on the turn is the third round of betting and at twice the stakes of the first two rounds.

The River – The last round of betting and the last, 5th, community card. When the river card is placed on the board, the dealing is done. When the betting on the river is complete, the hand is over and the pot is awarded.