Texas Hold'em Rules: How to Play, Step by Step

Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker game in the world, and the good news is that its rules fit on a single page. In this lesson you’ll learn exactly how a hand unfolds — from the moment the blinds go in to the moment someone scoops the pot — so you can sit down at any table, live or online, and follow every action with confidence.

Key takeaways

• Each player gets two private cards; five shared community cards are dealt in the middle.
• There are four betting rounds: preflop, flop, turn and river.
• Your hand is the best five cards from the seven available to you — two hole cards plus five community cards.
• You win by having the best hand at showdown, or by betting so that everyone else folds.

How to play Texas Hold’em: the short version

1. Post the blinds. The two players left of the dealer button put in the small blind and the big blind.
2. Deal two hole cards face down to every player.
3. Bet preflop. The player left of the big blind acts first; everyone folds, calls or raises.
4. Deal the flop (three community cards), then bet again starting left of the button.
5. Deal the turn (a fourth card) and the river (a fifth), with a betting round after each.
6. Show down. The best five-card hand made from your two cards and the five on the board wins the pot.

The rest of this lesson explains each step, plus the rules that trip new players up.

Texas Hold’em at a glance
Players	2 to 10 (6-max and 9-max are most common)
Cards per player	2 hole cards
Community cards	5 (flop, turn, river)
Betting rounds	4 (preflop, flop, turn, river)
Forced bets	Small blind and big blind, plus antes in many tournaments
Most common format	No-Limit

The goal of the game

You win chips in two ways:

1. Have the best five-card hand at the showdown, when the remaining players reveal their cards.
2. Make everyone else fold before the showdown, so the pot is yours without showing anything.

That second route is what makes poker a game of skill rather than pure luck. You don’t need the best cards to win a pot — you need to make better decisions than your opponents over time.

The table, the button and the blinds

A Hold’em table seats between two and ten players. One player has the dealer button, a small disc that marks who acts last in most betting rounds. After every hand, the button moves one seat clockwise so everyone takes turns in each position.

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

• The small blind sits directly to the left of the button and posts half the minimum bet (or close to it).
• The big blind sits two seats to the left of the button and posts the full minimum bet.

Blinds make sure there is always something in the pot to play for. In a game described as “1/2”, the small blind is 1 and the big blind is 2. In tournaments, blinds increase at set intervals, and many tournaments add an ante — a small forced bet from every player (or a single “big blind ante” posted by the big blind).

A 6-max table before the cards are dealt

UTGActs first preflop

HJ

CO

DBTN

SBPosts ½ big blind

BBPosts 1 big blind

The five actions you can take

Whenever it is your turn, you can do one of the following:

Action	What it means	When you can do it
Fold	Give up your hand and any chips you’ve put in the pot	Any time it’s your turn
Check	Pass the action without betting	Only if nobody has bet on this round
Bet	Put chips in when nobody else has	Only if nobody has bet on this round
Call	Match the current bet	When someone has bet
Raise	Increase the current bet	When someone has bet

Going all-in means betting every chip you have in front of you. In No-Limit Hold’em you can do this at any time.

In No-Limit games, the smallest raise you can make is the size of the previous bet or raise. If someone bets 10, the minimum raise is to 20. If they bet 10 and another player raises to 30 (a raise of 20), the next minimum raise is to 50.

Betting order: who acts first

Action always moves clockwise, but who starts changes after the flop. This is the rule new players get wrong most often.

Betting round	Who acts first	Who acts last
Preflop	The player left of the big blind (“under the gun”)	The big blind
Flop, turn and river	The first player still in the hand left of the button (usually the small blind)	The button, or the player closest to it
Heads-up preflop	The button (who is also the small blind)	The big blind
Heads-up after the flop	The big blind	The button

A betting round ends when every remaining player has put in the same amount, or everyone has checked. Acting last is a big advantage, because you see what everyone else does before you decide. That’s why the button is the best seat at the table.

How a hand plays out

1. Preflop

Every player is dealt two cards face down — your hole cards. Only you can see them.

The first player to act is the one directly to the left of the big blind, a seat called under the gun. Action moves clockwise, and each player can fold, call the big blind or raise. The big blind acts last before the flop; if nobody has raised, they can simply check.

AK Your two hole cards are yours alone. Here you hold ace–king, one of the strongest starting hands.

2. The flop

Once preflop betting is finished, the dealer burns one card (discards it face down) and deals three community cards face up. This is the flop, and every player can use these cards.

K83

Flop

A new round of betting starts with the first active player to the left of the button. With the ace–king above, you’ve now made a pair of kings with the best possible kicker — a strong hand on this board.

3. The turn

Another card is burned and a fourth community card is dealt: the turn. Another betting round follows, again starting with the first active player to the left of the button.

4. The river

A final burn, then the fifth and last community card: the river. The last round of betting follows.

K83

Flop

2

Turn

J

River

5. The showdown

If two or more players are still in after the river betting, it’s time for the showdown. The last player to bet or raise on the river shows first. If everyone checked the river, the first active player to the left of the button shows first. Players who can’t win may muck (throw away their cards without showing), although in many card rooms anyone who put money in on the river can ask to see a called hand.

The best five-card hand wins the pot.

No-Limit, Pot-Limit and Limit Hold’em

The deal and the betting order are the same in every version of Hold’em. Only the size of the bets changes:

• No-Limit: you can bet or raise any amount up to all your chips. This is the version on TV, in most tournaments and in most online games.
• Pot-Limit: the largest bet or raise you can make is the size of the pot (counting your call first).
• Limit (Fixed-Limit): bets and raises come in fixed amounts. In a 2/4 game, they’re 2 preflop and on the flop, and 4 on the turn and river. Most card rooms cap each round at one bet and three raises.

Making your best five-card hand

At showdown you have seven cards available: your two hole cards and the five community cards. Your hand is the best combination of any five of those seven. You can use:

• both of your hole cards and three from the board,
• one hole card and four from the board, or
• none of your hole cards — this is called playing the board.

If the best possible hand is on the board itself and nobody can beat it, everyone still in the hand splits the pot.

Quick check

You hold 7♣ 7♦. The board is A♠ A♥ K♣ K♦ Q♠. What is your best five-card hand?

Two pair, sevens and acesTwo pair, aces and kings, queen kicker — the board playsA full houseThree pair

Check answer

There's no such thing as three pair in poker. Your best five cards are A-A-K-K-Q, all from the board, so your sevens don't play and any opponent with a hand no better than two pair splits the pot.

Not sure which hand beats which? The next lesson, Poker Hand Rankings, walks through every hand from high card to royal flush.

Ties, kickers and split pots

When two players make the same type of hand, the higher-ranked cards win. If the main part of the hand is identical, the kicker — the highest unpaired card — decides it.

The kicker decides it

No-Limit Hold'em · showdown

▶ Replay

1. Board

   A9642

   • Player A shows A♠ K♣
   • Player B shows A♦ Q♦

Your moveBoth players have a pair of aces. Who wins?

Player A (A♠ K♣)Player B (A♦ Q♦)They split the pot

Lock it in

Both make a pair of aces, so the next-highest card — the kicker — decides it. A's king beats B's queen.

◀ BackNext ▶Auto-play

If the best five cards are exactly the same for two players — for example, both play the board — the pot is split equally. Suits never break ties in Hold’em.

Side pots when a player is all-in

A player can’t win more from each opponent than they put in. If someone goes all-in for less than the current bet, a side pot is created for the remaining players:

• The main pot contains the all-in player’s stake matched by each caller. Everyone still in the hand can win it.
• The side pot contains any extra betting between the players who still have chips. Only those players can win it.

At showdown, the side pot is awarded first, then the main pot. It sounds complicated, but the dealer (or the software) handles it for you.

Table etiquette worth knowing

• Act in turn. Acting before it’s your turn gives away information and can be binding in live games.
• Protect your cards. Place a chip on your hole cards so they aren’t mucked by accident.
• Declare your raise. In live games, say “raise” before moving chips forward, or put the full amount in at once. Adding chips in several trips is a “string bet” and usually isn’t allowed.
• Keep your cards on the table and in view — and never show your hand to a player still in the pot.

Putting it all together

Here’s one complete hand from deal to showdown, so you can see how everything fits.

A complete hand of Hold'em

No-Limit Hold'em · 6 players · blinds 1/2

Hero (BTN)AK

▶ Replay

1. Preflop

   Pot 3

   • UTG folds, HJ folds, CO folds
   • Hero raises to 6 on the button

Your moveBlinds are 1/2. Hero raises to 6 and the SB folds. How much more does the BB need to call?

642

Lock it in

The big blind already has 2 in the pot, so they only need 4 more to make it 6.

◀ BackNext ▶Auto-play

Notice that the hand ended without a showdown: a well-timed bet made the other player fold. You’ll learn when and how much to bet in later levels. For now, the rules are what matter — and you’ve just covered all of them.

Common rules questions: is check-raising allowed?, the string bet rule, who wins a split pot, poker chip values and a home game blind structure.

Texas Hold’em rules FAQ

Who deals first in Texas Hold’em?

In a live game, the dealer usually gives each player one card face up, and the highest card takes the dealer button. After that, the button moves one seat clockwise every hand. In a casino the house dealer deals every hand, and the button only marks who is “dealer” for the betting order.

Who starts the betting?

Preflop, the player directly left of the big blind acts first. On the flop, turn and river, the first player still in the hand to the left of the button acts first. See the betting order table above.

Can you check after someone bets?

No. Once someone bets on the current round, your options are to fold, call or raise. You can only check when nobody has bet yet on that round.

Can you use only the five community cards?

Yes. That’s called playing the board. If nobody can beat the five cards on the board, everyone still in the hand splits the pot.

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes, a flush beats a straight. The full order is in Poker Hand Rankings, and there’s a short explainer on why a flush beats a straight.

What happens if two players have the same hand?

The highest five cards win, using kickers when the pair or main hand is the same. If both players’ best five cards are identical, they split the pot. Suits never break ties.

What’s next

You know how a hand flows. The next step is to make sure you can always tell which hand wins. Head to Poker Hand Rankings, then try the odds calculator to see how often your favourite hands win.