How to play Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em is the most played form of poker. Each player gets two private cards, five shared cards are dealt face up in the middle, and the best five-card hand wins. This guide follows one full hand from the deal to the showdown, then covers positions, betting limits and the mistakes that cost beginners the most.

The goal

You win the pot, the chips everyone has bet during the hand, in one of two ways:

• Everyone else folds. If you bet and nobody calls, you take the pot without showing your cards.
• You have the best hand at the showdown. If two or more players are still in after the last betting round, they turn their cards over and the best five-card hand wins.

That second route is why knowing the hand rankings matters, and the first is why poker is more than a card-counting exercise.

Hole cards and the board

Every player is dealt two cards face down. These are your hole cards, and only you see them. Over the course of the hand, five community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. Together they're called the board, and every player can use them.

Your hand is the best five cards you can make from those seven. You can use both hole cards, just one, or none at all. In the example above you'd play K-K-A-J-9: a pair of kings with an ace kicker.

The button and the blinds

A round disc called the dealer button marks which player acts last. After every hand it moves one seat clockwise, so everyone takes a turn in the best seat.

The two players to the left of the button post forced bets called blinds before any cards are dealt:

• The small blind sits directly left of the button and usually posts half of the big blind.
• The big blind sits next to it and posts one full bet. In a 1/2 game, the blinds are 1 and 2.

Blinds make sure there's always something in the pot to play for. In tournaments they go up on a schedule, which forces the action as the game goes on.

How a hand is played

A hand has up to four betting rounds. Each one ends when every player still in has put in the same amount or folded. We'll follow the A♠ K♦ hand from above.

1. Pre-flop

After the hole cards are dealt, the player to the left of the big blind acts first. That seat is called under the gun. Each player can fold, call the big blind or raise, and the action moves clockwise. The big blind acts last before the flop and can check if nobody raised.

2. The flop

Three community cards are dealt face up at once. From now on, betting starts with the first player still in to the left of the button, and the button acts last. With A♠ K♦ on this flop you've made top pair with the best kicker.

3. The turn

A fourth card is dealt, followed by another round of betting.

4. The river

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

5. The showdown

If more than one player is left, the cards are turned over. 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 takes the pot.

Your options on each turn

Fold

Throw your cards away and give up any claim to the pot.

Check

Pass the action without betting. You can only check when nobody has bet yet in this round.

Call

Match the current bet to stay in the hand.

Bet

Put the first chips into the pot in a betting round.

Raise

Increase the size of the current bet. Everyone else then has to call the new amount, raise again or fold.

All-in

Bet every chip you have left. If others bet more, you can only win the part of the pot you matched.

Who wins at showdown

Each player makes the best five-card hand out of their two hole cards and the five on the board, and the higher hand on the rankings wins. When both players have the same kind of hand, the remaining cards decide it:

• A pair of kings with an ace beats a pair of kings with a queen. The side card is called the kicker.
• If the best five cards are on the board for both players, they play the board and split the pot.
• Suits never break a tie. A heart flush and a spade flush with the same ranks split the pot.

Positions at the table

Where you sit relative to the button changes how you play. In a six-player game the seats have names:

Acting later is an advantage. By the time it's your turn, you've seen what everyone before you did. That's why good players play more hands from the button and the cutoff, and fewer from under the gun.

No-limit, pot-limit and limit

The cards and rounds are the same in every version of Hold'em. What changes is how much you can bet.

• No-limit: you can bet any amount from the big blind up to all your chips. A raise must be at least as big as the previous bet or raise in that round. This is the version you see on TV.
• Pot-limit: the most you can bet is the size of the pot, counting the call you'd make first.
• Fixed-limit: bets come in set sizes, a small bet before the flop and on the flop, and a big bet, twice as large, on the turn and river. Betting is usually capped after a bet and three raises.

Five beginner mistakes

1. Playing too many hands. Most two-card hands lose money. Folding before the flop is usually the right play.
2. Ignoring position. The same hand is worth more on the button than under the gun.
3. Calling too much. Calling can only win at a showdown. Betting and raising can also win when others fold.
4. Overrating one pair. Top pair with a weak kicker loses to top pair with a better one more often than it feels like it should.
5. Chasing draws at any price. A flush draw on the flop hits by the river about 35.0% of the time. Whether that's worth a call depends on the pot odds.

Questions