Texas Hold’em Rules

Texas Hold‘em, also referred as the Cadillac of Poker, has become the most popular poker game in the world. It’s is a very easy game to learn, but difficult to master. It’s a game of short term luck and long term skill.

Let’s take a look at the basics of the Texas Hold‘em rules and the three main game variants to get started with:

Poker game structure

Blinds
The two players to the left of the dealer put out blind bets or blinds. The player directly to the dealer's left puts out the small blind (most of the times one half of the minimum bet) while the player directly to the small blind’s left puts out the big blind or the minimum bet. So for example, in a $1/$2 cash game, the small blind puts out $1 while the big blind puts out $2.

Dealings cards
The dealer shuffles up a deck of 52 playing cards. The deal begins with one card being dealt to the small blind clockwise until every player at the table has been dealt 2 cards face down. These 2 cards are called your hole or pocket cards

Betting round 1
The first move (Action) falls on the player to the left of the big blind. He or she can choose to call the minimum bet, raise it, or fold. Betting continues around the table, clockwise.

The Flop
When betting round one is completed, three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. These three cards are called the flop and are “community cards” meaning every player will use them combined with their own hole cards to make the best hand possible.

Betting round 2
From the flop on, betting begins with the player to the dealer’s left, who can check or bet.

The Turn
A fourth card is dealt face up onto the board. This is called fourth-street or the turn card. We now have four community cards on the table, face up.

Betting round 3
Another betting round

The River
The final card is dealt face up. This card is also called fifth-street or the river. Now there are five community cards which every player can use to make the best possible hand.

Betting round 4
A final round of betting occurs. The remaining players (if there are any) show their cards and the person who can make the best five-card hand by combining their pocket or hole cards with the cards on the board wins.


For example

you've been dealt with ...

and the community cards are ...

your best hand is ...

Texas Hold 'em variants

Now that you’re familiar with the basic Texas Hold‘em rules, we’re going to take a closer look at the three main variants.

No limit

No limit poker games are most popular these days. A player can bet anything up to their total amount of chips.

Pot limit

Pot limit games are almost similar to No Limit poker except for the fact that the size of your bet can’t exceed the size of the pot. For example, if there would be $150 in the pot, your bet can not exceed $150.

limit

In Limit Hold ‘em, bets and raises during the first betting round must be equal to the big blind. In the next two betting rounds, bets and raises must be equal to two times the big blind.

You might also be interested in ...

• poker hand rankings
• poker hand names
• famous poker quotes
• poker glossary

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