Welcome to our Texas Holdem guide.
The idea behind this guide is to walk you through the basic rules and strategies to Texas Holdem. While a lot of sites have articles written on the same topics, they’re not as easy to understand as ours. They’re not packaged neatly into a handy guide like ours, either, leaving you to figure out what you should read and in what order.
Basic Rules Key Takeaways: A game of Texas hold'em feature several betting rounds; Players get two private and up to five community cards; Unless all players abandon the game before the showdown. Rules of Poker - Texas Hold'em. Texas Hold'em (or just 'hold'em' for short) is currently the most popular variation of poker, thanks mainly to televised coverage of the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, and various celebrity-based events.
In Texas Hold’em, the last active player nearest to the button will receive the last act of all post-flop bets during the game. Playing Texas Hold’em online and in person is different. Everyone usually takes the role of the dealer in personal playing.
So if you want to pick up the game of Texas Holdem quickly, and blend into any table you sit down at, this is the guide for you.
Our Holdem guide will be divided into 4 parts. We’ll start with rules and end with basic strategies. In the first part of our guide, I’m going to explain the rules of Texas Holdem, what (hands) beats what, betting formats and betting basics for beginners. Everything you need to know to play your first game of Texas Holdem.
Texas Holdem Guide » Part 2 » Part 3 » Part 4
Good luck and enjoy!
Texas Holdem Rules
Your first task is to learn the rules of Texas Holdem. The game appears to be complicated because there are 4 rounds, each with a new card and opportunity to bet.
But trust me, it’s not as complicated as you may think. I’m going to walk through a complete hand now. I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.
Note: All my examples will use 5/10 blinds.
Pre Flop
Pre flop is the first stage of a Texas Holdem hand. This is when the cards are dealt, players bet and decide whether or not they want to be involved in the hand.
The first thing that will happen is the blinds will be posted. The blinds are essentially antes that create dead money and encourage players to play, as opposed to sitting around waiting for good hand.
There are two blinds that need to be posted; the small blind and the big blind. The small blind is the first player to the left of the dealer button. This player will post $5. The player to his left (and two seats to the left of the dealer button) is the big blind. This player posts $10.
That’s it. The blinds will change each hand, as the dealer button moves around the table.
After the blinds have been posted, the dealer will give each player 2 cards, one at a time, starting with the small blind and moving clockwise around the table. Each players’ “hole cards” are dealt faced down.
After the cards have been dealt the first betting round will begin. The betting action starts with the player to the immediate left of the big blind, also known as the player under-the-gun or UTG. This player has the option to call the big blind, raise or fold.
Once the UTG player has acted, the action will continue clockwise around the table until each player has acted. Each player will have the option to call, raise or fold. The blinds will be the last players to act in an un-raised pot. The small blind will have the option to pay the difference between the small and big blind or “complete,” and the big blind can check his option. Both players can raise, too, if they choose.
The pre flop action will end once all the players but one have folded, or two or more players have completed the betting round and are ready to see the flop.
The Flop
The flop is the first community round.
The first thing that will happen is the dealer will place 3 community cards in the middle of the table (face up). All players can use these 3 cards to make the best 5-card poker hand.
After the flop has been dealt, another betting round will start. On the flop (and all subsequent rounds) the betting action will start with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer button and move around the table clockwise.
The betting options include check, bet, raise or fold. This depends on the action that took place before each player acts. If you’re not familiar with these betting options, I cover them in more detail below.
The betting round ends the same as pre flop. Either all but one player folds, or two or more players have ended the betting round and are ready for the next community card.
The Turn
The turn is also known as 4th street. It’s the 4th community card dealt that players can use to make their poker hand.
The betting round on the turn is the same as the flop.
The River
The river is the fifth and final community card that players can use to make their hand. It’s also known as 5th street. The betting action on the river is the same as the turn.
Showdown
After the betting round on the river, and assuming two or more players are still in the hand, there will be a showdown. Players will show their cards so that a winner can be determined.
The showdown is simple. In an un-raised pot, the first player to the left of the dealer button will show their hand first. In a raised pot, the first player to show their hand is the player who raised last on the river. Then the action continues clockwise around the table. Each player can muck their hand (not show), or if their hand is better (and they want to win the pot, they can show their hand.
Then the pot is awarded to the best hand.
That’s an entire hand of Texas Holdem. Once the pot has been awarded the cards will be collected and reshuffled. The dealer button will move one seat to the left, new blinds will be posted and a new hand of Texas Holdem will be dealt.
What Hands Beat What in Texas Holdem
One thing that trips new players up is determining what hands beat what. It’s real simple for Texas Holdem. Here are the winning hands, from best to worst:
- Royal Flush – AKQJT suited.
- Straight Flush – 5 cards in a row, all of the same suit. For example, 34567 suited.
- 4 of a kind – 4 cards of the same value. For example, 4444x.
- Full House – A 3 of a kind and a pair. For example, 3-3-3-2-2.
- Flush – 5 cards of the same suit. For example, A-8-5-4-2 suited.
- Straight – 5 cards in a row. For example, 5-6-7-8-9.
- 3 of a kind – 3 cards of the same value. For example, 3-3-3-x-x.
- 2 Pair – Example: 2-2-3-3-x.
- 1 Pair – Example: A-A-8-4-2
- High Card – Example: A-K-J-3-2
In Texas Holdem you can make these hands (and win) using any combination of the community cards and your hole cards.
If there is a tie the pot will be split. It will be split however many times is necessary. For example, if 3 players have 78 and they all have straights, each of them will earn 1/3 the pot.
If two or more players have the same type of hand, the better or higher hand will win. For example, an ace high flush will beat a queen high flush.
Betting Formats and Actions
Texas Holdem is played in several variations and betting formats. They’ll impact the game in a number of ways including time, variance, dead money, betting caps and more.
In this section I want to take a couple of minutes to explain the different betting formats you’ll come across. That way you can choose which type of game you prefer, and at the very least understand how they all work. I’ll also explain the different betting options you have during each betting round in Texas Holdem.
What Kind of Betting Formats Are There in Texas Holdem?
Limit Betting – Limit (or fixed limit) betting used to be the most popular format before no limit took over. With this betting format there are a couple of things to be aware of.
On the pre flop and flop rounds, only the small bet ($5) is used. On the turn and river the big bet ($10) is used. And there is (usually) a cap of 1 bet and 3 raises for any round. This does vary from one casino to the next, though. Last thing — players can only raise one increment (small or big bet) at a time. In other words, if someone bets $5, you can only raise $5, to a total of $10.
Pot Limit Betting – What distinguishes pot limit betting from other formats is that the amount of money in the pot determines how much someone can bet. In other words, if there is $10 in the pot, the next player to act can’t bet more than $10. If they put $10 in the pot, making the total $20, the next player to act can only bet $20. Every time the size of the pot increases, the amount of money the next person can bet also increases.
No Limit Betting – No limit Texas Holdem is the most popular version played today. There is no limit to how much someone can bet. And at any time a player can push their entire stack in middle, going “all in.”
Note – For the pot and no limit betting formats, raises must be the minimum of the current bet to call. For example, if the amount to call is $10, the minimum raise must be $20. If it’s $26, the minimum you can raise is to $52.
Blinds – The blinds are forced bets that the first two players to the left of the dealer must post before the cards are dealt. The first player is the small blind and posts the smaller of the two bets, and the second is the big blind, and this player posts the bigger of the two bets. In a cash game the blinds never change. However, in a tournament and sit and go the blinds will change every so often, usually every 5-20 minutes.
Antes – Antes are a forced bet that each player must post before they are dealt cards. This is in addition to the blinds. They’re usually 10-20% the size of the blinds.
Caps – In a capped game players can only lose so much per hand. The amount you can lose per hand depends on the game.
Short, Standard, Deep Stacks – This refers to the maximum number of big blinds someone can buy in for (in a cash game). In short stack games the maximum is 40 big blinds. In standard games you can buy in for 100 big blinds and 150+ in deep stack games.
Blind Levels – You only have to worry about blind levels if you’re playing a Texas Holdem tournament or sit and go. The blinds will start low, around 10/20 or 25/50, and increase every 5-20 minutes. Each tournament will have a different structures and time frames.
Betting Actions
These are the betting options you have during a betting round in Texas Holdem.
Fold – You decide not to play your hand and toss it into the muck. If you fold you cannot win the pot.
Call – You call the last bet made. In an un-raised pot, you call the amount of the big blind. If someone raises, you must call the amount they bet.
Raise – A raise must be in increments of the last bet made. For example, in an un-raised pot at 5/10, the minimum you can raise is 10, to a total of 20. However, if someone raises to 35 (total), your minimum re-raise must be 35, to a total of 70.
Check – Checking is like saying, I pass. You give up your turn to bet (unless someone bets and the action comes back to you). It is possible for every player to check and the betting round to end with no additional money put into the pot.
Betting Basics for Beginners
From experience, I can tell you that most beginners don’t know how to bet correctly. They bet for the sake of it or for the wrong reasons. And when they do bet, their sizing is off, which doesn’t accomplish their goals and/or wastes chips.
My goal for the last section of our guide is to go into detail about how betting works in Texas Holdem, and to put you on the path to making correctly sized bets.
Mistakes Beginners Make When Betting
Lets start with the biggest mistakes beginner Holdem players make when they bet. The biggest mistakes I see are:
- Beginners bet too big. (You don’t want to bet too small, either, but instead find a balance.) The problem with betting too big is that at some point the extra chips don’t do anything. In other words, at 5/10, betting 200 chips is going to do the same thing as betting 50. So why bet 200?
- Your bets are transparent. A mistake players make is bet small with their premium hands (to keep other players in the pot), limp with weaker hands they don’t mind folding, and then betting huge with premium, but vulnerable hands. Betting like this makes it obvious to everyone what you have.
- Betting for no reason. Sometimes players bet just for the sake of it.
Beginners make other betting mistakes, too, but a lot of that falls under specific strategies. That’s too much (and too advanced) for me to cover here.
How to (Size Your) Bet Correctly
With the common mistakes out of the way, lets look at the right ways and times to bet.
Pre Flop Bet Sizing
One of the concepts I want to drill into you is that you should only bet enough to get the job done. No more, and no less.
So how much do you bet preflop?
The standard is 3x the big blind. With blinds of 5/10, the standard raise will be to $30. Depending on the game and stakes you’re playing, however, your bet sizing can vary from 2-5x. For example, in tournaments a min-raise (2x) bet is very common for the later stages. And in micro stakes games, you can usually get away with betting 4-5x with your premium hands and the other players won’t know the difference.
Note: One important thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep your bet sizes as consistent as possible, especially the higher the stakes you play.
In the scenario that a player limps in before you act, the rule of thumb (if you choose to raise) is to raise 3x the big blind plus 1 big blind for every limper. For example, if 3 players limp into the pot at 5/10, you’d bet $60. I use the same rule of thumb for my 3-bets (re-raises), too.
Post Flop Bet Sizing
When you make a bet post flop your bets should (almost always) be in relation to the size of the pot. And the amount you choose to bet will depend on a number of factors including:
- Your opponent
- Your hand
- The board texture
- Your goal
To come back to my main point, only bet as much as you have to (when bluffing) and as much as you can (when betting for value). And these should blend (balance) as much as possible, so that your opponents cannot tell the difference. That way you don’t give away any information that can be used against you.
To give you an example:
On a drier flop (like A-T-3 rainbow) with 125 chips in the pot, a continuation bet of 75 chips is reasonable. If the flop is wet (has a lot of draws possible), then betting closer to 100 chips will work.
One thing you don’t want to do is over bet the pot. For example, if the pot has 500 chips in it, your bet should be less than 500 chips. I wouldn’t bet 550, 700 or shove all in (like many beginners do), regardless of the hand you have, or how vulnerable it may be. Betting close to the size of the pot is inducing enough mistakes from players on a draw as is, so only bet as much as you have to. There are exceptions, but these are advanced topics and not something I’d worry about right now.
Effective Stacks
One important concept to understand is effective stacks or effective stack sizes. You want to understand this concept because it will impact when and how much you bet.
To determine the effective stack size, just find the lowest stack size of the remaining players to your left. For example, if there are 5 players to your left and the shortest stack has 15 big blinds, that means effective stack sizes are 15 big blinds.
In this particular example, with effective stack sizes of 15 big blinds you might choose to fold your hand or push all in, as opposed to raising. However, if effective stack sizes are 50 big blinds, then you can resort to your default (betting) strategy. If effective stacks are 150 big blinds, then you’ll play a wider range of hands and will bet (and re-raise) more.
That’s the basic idea. It does get more complicated than this. But I wanted to give you the basics so that you can determine for yourself when it might make more sense to fold, raise or shove all in.
Have a Reason or Goal to Bet
If you’re ever questioning when you should bet, just remember that there are only 3 reasons for betting:
- Value – You think/know you have the best hand and you want to earn as many chips as possible.
- Dead Money – Money that is already in the pot, either from antes, blinds, players who folded or a combination of these things.
- Bluff – You want the other player(s) to fold the better hand.
These are the only reasons for betting. Many players make the mistake of thinking that you should bet for information or to protect your hand. However, these reasons are byproducts of the reasons I outline above. If you’re betting to protect your hand, you’re usually betting for value. You’re getting value from hands that are drawing. If you’re betting for information, that’s usually a byproduct of all 3 reasons above. You’ll get your information based on what your opponent does.
The bottom line – if you’re thinking about betting, but you can’t decide if you should bet for value, dead money or to bluff, then you probably don’t have a good enough reason to bet and should check, call or fold instead.
Conclusion — End of Part 1 of Our Texas Holdem Guide
That’s it for the first part of our guide. You just learned enough to go play for your first game of Texas Holdem, not to mention disguise the fact that you’re a beginner. And if you are confused about anything I discussed here, just re-read the guide again. You’ll also find that any question you may have will be cleared up once you play a couple of hands.
In the next section of our guide I’m going to explain why you should pay attention at the table, whether you’re in the hand or not, as well as how to classify your opponents and how different types of opponents will impact your strategy. Following that we’re going to get into some math. I’m going to show you how to count poker outs, calculate card odds and pot odds so that you can correctly determine when you’re (profitably) drawing to a better hand.
Below find all the rules for all-in situations in poker, how to handle exposed cards in cash games and tournaments plus try our free side pot calculator to help sort everything out.Poker Side Pot Calculator - Free Poker Tool
This tool lets you check who wins what when several players are all in. Your home game or private tourney won't have any more fist fights now. Enjoy!
Type in the stacks of the participating players and click on calculate. Click 'instructions' for, um, more instructions.
Rules for All-In Situations in Poker
The 'all in' rules we abide by in poker today were invented to prevent über-rich mobsters from running over small, honest guys at the poker table.
Before the all-in rule was invented if you had $500 at the table and $10,000 in the bank, if an opponent bet $20,000 into the pot you could not call him -- even if you ran across the street and withdrew all your money from the bank. Even if you had the absolute nuts!
To avoid people betting their cars and farms and wives (or husbands), some humanist genius introduced a rule called 'table stakes.'
It states that in a poker hand you can only bet whatever money and chips you had on the table when the hand started. You cannot reach for your wallet and get more money. You cannot go to the bank and mortgage your condo.
To handle the case where one player bets all his money and the opponent has less money at the table, the all-in rules were introduced. We'll walk you through them.
Betting in All-In Situations
Typically, if a player goes all-in for less than half the amount of a full raise, his bet is considered to have no effect on the betting options. That is to say, if a player bets $100, another player goes all-in for $125 and a third player calls, the original player could not now re-raise as this would be in effect raising himself.
The third player, on the other hand, could still raise instead of call as he has not yet had the option to raise.
Calling an All In is Always Allowed!
No matter how little you have in your stack you can always call with the rest of your chips. When you call with all your remaining chips, you call 'all in.'
All-In Example with 2 Players:
There's $200 in the pot. You have $50 left and your opponent bets $200. If you want to call, you call all in by placing your last $50 in the pot.
In this case the opponent first gets $150 back - the amount you couldn't match. Then there is a showdown and the player who shows down the best hand picks up $300 - the $200 originally in the pot plus $50 from each of you.
So you can always call -- but you can only win as much from your opponent as your stack dictates.
How to Calculate Poker Side Pots
All-in rules for two players are pretty straightforward, as we saw above. When three or more players are involved, things can get pretty messy with one main pot and several side pots -- especially if you're in a home game and have to balance a beer jug while doing the math.
RULE: The ruling principle is that each player matches as much of the opponents' bets as she has left in her stack.
METHOD: This is how you do it. First, the smallest stack matches all opponents' bets. These chips are put in the 'main pot.'
Then the second smallest stack matches the remaining opponents' bets with whatever is left in his stack and creates a side pot. And so on.
Side Pot Example
There are three players with stacks as follows:
- Player A: $10
- Player B: $50
- Player C: $200
All players move all in. Let's start with the smallest stack and create the main pot. Player A has $10 and matches $10 each of the other player's bets. A main pot of $30 is created. This is the money that Player A can win.
The remaining chips of Player B are then matched to the bet of Player C. Player B has $40 left so we take $40 from Player C and make a side pot of $80.
When all matching is done Player C still has $150 left in his bet. This money is returned to Player C immediately. Then the remaining cards are dealt and the showdown is performed. The following pots are contested:
- Main pot: $30, contested by Players A, B and C
- Side pot: $80, contested by Players B and C
Tip: Go ahead and check this out in the side pot calculator above!
Now if Player A has the best hand (s)he wins the $30 main pot. Then Players B and C compare their hands to see who wins the $80 side pot. If Player B or C has the best hand this player wins both the main pot and the side pot.
All In Rules when a Player's Stack is Less Than the Small Blind
If a player's stack is smaller than the amount of the small blind that player is automatically all-in in for the next hand they play, regardless of their position.
If the stack is bigger than the small blind but smaller than the big blind the player is all-in in any position other than the small blind (and can only survive if they fold their option).
The all-in player can then only win the amount of their stack and that same amount from any callers or blinds. If the player has less than the big blind they can only win chips equal to their stack, not the whole big blind.
Rebuying After an All In
In a rebuy tournament, if you go all-in and lose all your chips you can buy more chips if you are still within the prescribed rebuy period. If you do this you must do so immediately. You cannot leave the table and come back!
If you do not have the money on hand to rebuy you're out of luck unless you can borrow from someone else at the table, buy the chips, then go get money to repay him or her.
Rules for Exposed Cards in Poker
In most card rooms exposing cards to reduce or encourage action, especially in a tournament, is not allowed. Most card rooms and tournament directors agree that unrestricted showing of cards is unacceptable and that if a player exposes his cards to one person, he must expose them to everybody.
After that though, things get a bit hazy.
The 'Show One, Show All' Rule
A common refrain among poker players who have seen someone show his hand to another player (who presumably has folded) is 'show one, show all.'
This clearly means that since the player has given information to one opponent, all opponents are entitled to the same information.
However, in recent years, this rule has been interpreted to mean 'show one, show both,' meaning if a player exposes one of his cards after the hand is over, the players are entitled to see the other card. In some card rooms the dealer is then required to turn over the other card.
Response to the 'Show One, Show Both' Rule
This rule has been met with nearly universal disdain from card players. Poker professional Daniel Negreanu is particularly outspoken about his opposition to this rule.
The rule discourages players from showing a single card to confuse their opponents and most agree that psychology and deception is very much a part of poker. Still, this may be the rule in the poker room you play in so you should find out before trying to expose one card.
Exposing a Card to Induce or Diminish Action
Another popular poker rule in card rooms is that you cannot show an opponent a card in order to induce a call or a fold. This rule is adhered to most commonly in tournaments since the actions of one player affect everyone at the table.
In the NBC Heads Up Poker Championship, though, players were permitted to expose a single card -- both because it made good television and because no one but the two players involved in the hand would be affected by the action.
Exposing Cards During All-In Situations
Providing there is not more than one player who still has more chips in his stack involved in the pot, there is no penalty for exposing cards once a player is all-in and called.
In tournaments, in fact, it is mandatory. However exposing a card while a player is considering whether to call an all-in usually merits a penalty.
Exposed Cards When Dealing
If you're dealing at home, if the first or second card you deal is exposed the hand is a misdeal. Any cards that have been dealt are collected and the deal starts over.
If any card after the 1st or 2nd is exposed then the deal continues. Once all cards have been distributed as normal the dealer takes the top card of the deck and gives it to the player who received the exposed card. The exposed card is then turned face up and shown to everyone at the table.
It's then put on the top of the deck and the dealer will use it as the first burn card when dealing the flop. If more than one card is exposed during the deal of the hand the whole hand is a misdeal and reshuffled to be dealt again.
Exposed Cards in the Shoe
If an exposed card (ie a face-up card) is in the deck while the dealer is dealing, the exposed card is simply shown to every player and taken out of play for that hand. The deal resumes as normal.
Poker Rules FAQs
Question: Once you've shown your cards, your hand is dead and you're considered folded out of the hand, correct?
Answer: This is a debated question and the rules vary depending on if you play tournaments or cash games. In cash games the general rule is that the hand is still alive even if the hole cards are exposed in the middle of a hand.
One of the most cited set of poker rules available is 'Robert's Rules of Poker' created by poker expert Bob Ciaffone. Rule 12 in the General Poker Rules chapter states that 'A card that is flashed by a player will play.' Similar rules are found in other poker rules collections.
But tournaments are a different story. Here the general rule seem to be that exposed cards are considered dead. It's important to keep in mind that there are no universal poker rules per se and rulings can vary between card rooms and tournaments.
Always check the local rules before sitting down at the table.
Texas Holdem Rules For All In
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Question: Do you need two decks of cards when the number of players is 7 or over?
Answer: No. In poker you use one deck of cards, end of story. After all, what would you do if a player flipped over five of a kind on the river? If the game you're playing is 7 Card Stud and you run out of cards, you deal the last card open for everyone to use.
Read more:
On the other hand, if you're playing Texas Holdem you could invite 20 players without running out of cards. This is probably one reason Holdem was invented in the first place - the railroad builders wanted all the guys to be part of the game.
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Question: If there's a flush on the board can an off-suit card in the pocket serve as a kicker?
Answer: No. According to the poker rules, players can only use five cards to build their poker hand. Since a flush is made up of five cards, there's no room for any off-suit cards to influence it.
On the contrary, if there's a flush on the board, a card of the same suit in a players hand can give him or her a higher flush.
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Question: Can you cash out some of your chips from the table and keep playing with the rest?
Answer: No. If you're playing in a cash game you're playing with all of your chips on the table. It's considered very poor etiquette to try and take any chips off the table ('go south') and it won't be allowed in any poker room.
Texas Holdem All In Rules
Home games you can decide for yourselves but again it's considered poor form.
If you do want to cash out some of your chips but still get back in the game you have to cash out all of your chips and leave the table for an extended amount of time before returning.
In Texas Holdem Rules
This is called 'recycling' and while it's generally not encouraged it's not as bad. The wait time differs from poker room to poker room but expect to have to sit out an hour at least.
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Question: Can you buy more chops off another player at the table?
Answer: Another bad idea. If you buy your chips off another player you cut down on the overall amount of chips at the table. The same amount of chips the first player had is now divided into two players.
Chips should only be bought from the cashier or the dealer. If you're player at home it's also a good idea to designate one player as the sole recipient of cash and distributor of chips.
All In Texas Holdem Rules Card Game
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Question: If you put one chip larger than the size of the pot in, is it a raise or a call?
Answer: Very common question. If you put one over-value chip into the pot without saying anything (at least in a standard casino poker room), it is always a call.
In a home game you can always decide if you want to ask the player if it's a raise but elsewhere if there is no verbal declaration of a raise it is considered a call and the difference between the call size and the chip value is returned to the player.
Texas Holdem Rules For All In Situations
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All In Texas Holdem Rules 2019
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