Texas Hold'em Poker rules explained

Introduction

Texas Hold'em is the most popular online poker game by far. The game, which is also simply known as hold'em, is played in nearly all casinos and gambling establishments worldwide. Large events like the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker increased the popularity of this beautiful poker game. Many people know the rules of this game and millions of people worldwide play it.

The arrival of online poker in the late nineties was a major booster for the popularity of the Texas Hold'em poker game. It actually was the first poker game offered by online poker sites. These days, there is a hugh variety of poker-games available, no game beats Texas Hold'em's popularity though.

Before you start playing Texas Hold'em we suggest you take your time to read the game rules. We also offer you the game rules of some other poker variants (i.e. Caribbean Stud Poker, Pai Gow Poker). Read them in our game rules section to become familiar with the exciting world of poker.

Texas Hold'em Poker is played in 3 different versions, Limit Texas Hold'em, No Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Texas Hold'em.

Limit Texas Hold'em

When you are playing Limit Texas Hold'em, bets and raises are set at a fixed amount. For instance, a maximum of four bets is allowed per betting round. In the two other Texas Hold'em variants (No Limit and Pot Limit) there are no rules that limit the numbers of raises / bets.

No Limit Texas Hold'em

The maximum bet is determined by the number of chips you have. Players raise and bet any amount, and at any time they wish. The raise amount must be equal or higher than the previous bet in the same round.

Pot Limit Texas Hold'em explained

This game is similar to No Limit Texas Hold'em. There is only one difference between the rules: the maximum bet is determined by the number of chips currently in the pot.

Posting the Blinds in Texas Hold'em

A game of Texas Hold'em Poker starts with the blinds. These are two forced bets made by the two first players to the left of the dealer. These two players put a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt. The Blind is an insurance that there's something to play for on every hand. The first player on the left side of the dealer puts up the bet that we call the small blind. The small blind most often is half the minimum bet. The player to his left will place the big blind which always matches the minimum bet. This is what we call: posting the blinds.

Dealing the cards in Texas Hold'em

In Texas Hold'em, a little disk called the button indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Every player will be dealt two cards, face down. These two cards are called the hole cards. Players keep their cards secret.

Texas Hold'em rules regarding the hand ranking

Cards	Hand rankings (from high till low)
	Royal Flush An Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten in the same suit Tie: splits up the pot.
	Straight Flush 5 sequenced cards of the same suit Tie: highest ranked sequence wins.
	Four of a kind 4 same ranked cards plus 1 side card. Tie: highest four of a kind wins.
	Full house 3 cards of the same rank plus two different cards of the same rank. Tie: highest three cards of the same rank win.
	Flush 5 cards of the same suit. Tie: highest ranked card wins. After that the 2nd highest, 3rd highest etc.
	Straight All five cards in sequence. Tie: highest ranked card wins, an ace won't count.
	Three of a kind Three cards of the same rank plus 2 side cards. Tie: highest three of a kind wins.
	Two pair Two cards, same ranked plus another two cards of matching rank and a side card. Tie: highest pair wins. Same highest pair? Highest second pair wins. Identical pairs? Highest side card wins.
	Pair Two cards of the same rank and three unrelated side cards. Tie: highest pair wins. Same pair? The highest side card wins after that the second-highest and third-highest side card will be used.
	High card Any other hand! Tie: 2nd highest card is compared, then the 3rd highest card etc.

Complete rank of cards. From Ace high (Ace) till low (2)

Pre-Flop

After the hole cards are dealt, the first player on the left side of the big blind has to speak. As the first one to speak he has the option to become the third blind by doubling the bet of the big blind (Raise). He has to do this before the cards are dealt. All players can choose to call, fold or (re)raise.

The Flop explained

Three cards are dealt face-up on the table. This is the so called flop. The 3 cards on the table can be used by all active players. We call these cards the community cards.

Turn

When all betting is made for the flop-round, the fourth community card is dealt on the table. This card is dealt face-up. This fourth community card in a game of Texas Hold'em is called the turn. The game begins with the active player sitting to the left of 'the button'. In the Turn-round betting doubles from the small blind to the big blind. When you're in a $2 / $4 game, betting on the turn is raised to $4.

River

After all bets have been placed in the turn round, the final community card (the river) is dealt. Betting starts with the player sitting left to 'the button' again. Here, the same rules apply as in the turn-round.

Final element of the Texas Hold'em rules: Show down

If there is more than one remaining player in the game left after the last betting round, it's time for the showdown! The last raiser or bettor has to show his cards first. If there wasn't a bet / raise in the final round then the player sitting to the left of 'the button' has to show his cards first. The player with the best 5-card hand wins the pot.

In a game of Texas Hold'em all suits are equal. So when two hands are ranked identical the pot will be shared. After awarding the pot, a new round can be played. The button then moves clockwise to the next player.

We hope that our explanation of the Texas hold'em poker rules will contribute to your success when playing in online casinos!

Learn rules of other casino games: Three Card Poker