How To Play Texas Holdem Poker – Hold em Rules, Hands, Tips, and Strategy

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Texas Hold em is the most well-known variation of poker, with the game commonly offered at land-based and online casinos. It is also a favorite for poker nights at home with friends and family.

The game is relatively simple to learn. Here, we cover everything you need to know about how to play Texas Holdem poker, from the hand rankings to how to play. You will also find must-know strategies and tips to help you get ahead of the game.

What is Texas Holdem Poker?

Texas Holdem poker is the most popular variation of the game and the one that most new players opt to learn when they are starting to play poker.

The aim of Texas Holdem poker is to win by creating the best five-card poker hand or by getting your opponents to fold through bluffing.

Texas Holdem Rules Explained

As you learn to play Texas poker, you’ll find that the game is very similar to other variants like five-card draw. However, the way in which you construct your hands here differ in:

• Each player receives two cards, called “hole cards,” which are dealt face down.
• Over three betting rounds five more cards are dealt, face-up, in the middle of the table. These are called “community cards.”
• You can use any of these community cards in combination with your hole cards to create your five-card hand. The aim is to build the strongest five-card hand.

The three stages, or betting rounds during which the community cards are dealt are as follows:

• The Flop – your first three community cards are dealt.
• The Turn – you receive the fourth community card.
• The River – the dealer lays out the fifth and final community card.

You must use these community cards with your hole cards in any combination to create your hand.

The rules of Texas Holdem also state that if, throughout the betting rounds, all but one player folds, the sole remaining player wins the pot irrespective of the value of their hand. As such, you can bluff your way through the game even if your hand isn’t very good.

But keep in mind that if two or more players make it to the final round, there is a showdown. Here, all remaining players must reveal their Texas Hold em hands, and the player with the highest-value hand wins the pot.

How to Play Texas Hold’em

Now that we have a grasp on the Texas Holdem poker rules let’s take a closer look at how to play. The following Texas Holdem tutorial will guide you through each step of play so you can play the game confidently – whether it is at online poker sites or in poker card rooms.

Starting the Game – The Deal

One of the first things explained in books, like how to play Texas Holdem Poker for Dummies, is the button. In a poker game, play moves around the table in a clockwise direction, beginning with the player to the left of the button.

The button is a small disc that sits in front of the player who is designated as the dealer for that round. With every new hand, the button is moved one place to the left, giving all players a chance to act as the dealer and as the blinds.

To begin the game, the dealer gives each player two cards, placed face down so that only they may see the value of these cards. These are called “hole cards.” You can use these cards, along with the five community cards dealt later in the game to build your hand.

The Blinds

The next stage in learning how to play Texas Holdem poker is understanding the blinds. Before the game begins, the player immediately to the left of the dealer (button) must post the small blind, which is the first forced bet of the game. The player to the left of the small blind must then post the big blind, which is usually double the value of the small blind.

Once the blinds are posted, the dealer gives each player two hole cards. Betting action then begins, with the player “under the gun” (he or she directly to the left of the big blind.)

Fold, Bet, Check, Call, and Raise Defined

The first round of betting takes place once the blinds have been posted. The player “under the gun” must act first, and they (and all other players at the table) typically have three options:

• Call– match the amount of the big blind
• Raise – increase the bet but within the limits outlined for the game
• Fold – discard their hand and sit out for the rest of the hand

After the first betting round, another option comes into play:

• Check – here, you can opt to take no action at all, and the dealer will move on to the next player.

Over the next rounds of betting, players can choose to perform either of the four actions.

The Pre-Flop

The first round of betting after each player receives their hole cards is called the Pre-Flop. After the first player makes their move, betting continues around the table in a clockwise fashion until you reach the dealer again.

If a player on the table decides to raise, then other players must either call, raise, or fold to stay in the game.

The pre-flop action is closed only after all participating players have matched the bets. The next betting round, called the Flop, begins.

The Flop

The dealer starts off this round by placing three community cards face-up on the table. Players can use these cards towards their hand.

Once these cards have been dealt, betting begins, beginning with the player to the immediate left of the button. It is from the round onward that you can start using the check option when it is your turn – provided other players before you have either checked or fold themselves. If a player before you has made a bet, you must match it or raise it to stay in the game.

When the last bet is called, the action is closed, and that ends the round.

The Turn

The dealer places a fourth card face-up on the table. This fourth community card is referred to as the Turn or Fourth Street.

Once this card is dealt, another round of betting begins, starting with the player on the immediate left of the button. Again the round ends with the last bet and closes.

The River

This is the final betting round in a game of Texas Holdem. The dealer lays out the fifth and final community card face-up. This card is called The River or Fifth Street.

Once this card is dealt, the last round of betting begins, starting with the player to the immediate left of the button. At the end of this round, the action closes.

The Showdown and Conclusion

If there is only one player left at the end of the final betting round, this player wins the pot, irrespective of the value of their hand. This can also happen during the preceding betting rounds – that is, if only one player remains and others have folded, then that player takes the pot.

However, if there is more than one player remaining, the game moves into a showdown. In a showdown, the player immediately to the left of the button shows their hand, followed by all other remaining players who must show their Texas Holdem poker hands in a clockwise fashion. The player with the highest ranking hand wins that round.

The cards are then returned and reshuffled, the table is cleared, and the button is moved one space to the left for the start of the next hand.

Hand Rankings in Texas Holdem

When learning how to play Texas Hold em poker, you’ll find that the aim of the game is to get the highest value hand. This means you’ll also need to know what constitutes a high value hand and what doesn’t.

The strongest hand you can get in Texas Holdem is the Royal Flush. Here, you will have an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten all from the same suit, say hearts or clubs. The lowest value hand is where you have five cards that don’t combine to make a unique combination, and we call this a High Card.

In addition to your two hole cards, there are five community cards that you can use. Of these seven cards available to you, you can choose any five to compose your hand.

As an example, if you had a nine and an ace and the community cards were a nine, an ace, a ten, a five, and a three, you could have two pairs (aces and nines.) But if the player next to you had two aces, they would have a better hand because they would have three of a kind (three aces).

You can find a table below, highlighting the different Texas Holdem hands and their rankings below:

Note that there are also lowball poker versions like Razz, where the aim is to make the lowest value hand.

Texas Holdem Betting Limits

The amount a player can bet or raise depends on the game’s limits. There are usually three options here: fixed-limit, pot-limit, and no-limit. Below, we examine these different poker structures in more detail and explain how they work.

• Fixed-limit – If you play fixed-limit Texas Holdem poker online, you’ll find that the big blind is the same value as the small bet. However, the small blind is half the size of the big blind. For example, in a $2/$4 fixed-limit game, the big blind will be $2, and the small blind will be $1. The raise will always be twice the big blind. In some cases, the game is played such that the round is capped after three raises, and subsequent players may only call, with the raise option taken off the table.
• Pot-limit – This structure is used far less than the others, and allows you to bet anywhere from the value of the big blind (the minimum bet) up to the total of the current pot. This means that you cannot bet a value of more than the pot total or go all in.
• No-limit – In no-limit Texas Holdem, there are few rules on what you can raise or bet. For instance, the opening raise must be twice the value of the big blind. All following raises or bets must be equal to the value of the last bet or raise. Additionally, the maximum raise you can bet is all the chips you have in front of you, called an all-in bet.

Texas Holdem Strategy and Tips

Whether you’ve learned how to play Texas Holdem poker online or in person, there are a few top tips and strategies that will help improve your game and your chances of winning. Below, we take you through some of the top tips to get you started.

1. Understand the value of your cards: Knowing the value of your hole cards will help you build better hands. It will also teach you when to bluff and when to bet. For instance, if you get 23 unsuited in a table of 9 players, chances are you will be beat. Or, if you are dealt 89 suited and flop comes Q95 with two cards in the same suit as yours, you have a 9 pair and a high chance of flush. This can get you through in a small table but in a bigger one, you may want to be mindful of others making a stronger flush. You should keep your hole cards in perspective with other cards on the table.
2. Know that your position on the table matters: If you are placed early in the betting round, you have the power to call the shots but if you are at the end of the queue, you are left the mercy of other players. This could be a good thing and a bad thing. For instance, if everyone else has checked and now it is your turn at the end holding pocket Aces, you can get some players to fold by raising. On the other hand, if you try to bluff from a middle position and others end up calling you, you may find yourself in a tricky hand.
3. Think about the possible hands that can be made: With three cards on the flop and two in the hole, you can think about the range of hands that can be made – for yourself and possibly your opponents. For instance, a flop of 2,3, and 4 means anyone with an Ace and 5 or 5 and 6 can get a straight, which means the chances of clicking a straight are decent. This range, however, may change on turn and river with KQ, leading you to evaluate your hands in a different direction.
4. Be clever about how you bluff: Bluffing does not mean going all in when you have a terrible hand. In fact, there couldn’t be a worse possible move. Instead, be clever about the bluffs you make – the key is to plant the seed in other players’ minds that you may potentially have a strong hand and get them to fold. Make your bluff bets seem like legitimate, logic-driven bets.
5. Learn how to read your opponents: Poker is a game of skill as much as chance. The skill factor comes into play while you are gauging your opponents. Seeing their betting patterns, evaluating their tells (a sign that they are bluffing), and how they are playing the game – aggressively or defensively – can help you make better decisions on the table.
6. Consider math as your friend: As you get more serious with poker, consider tapping into the probability and mathematics of poker. All Texas Holdem pros study the probability of getting a hand based on different situations on the table to help them make more informed choices.
7. Know when to fold: Hanging on until the bitter end in the hopes of getting lucky is the worst way to play poker. Knowing when to fold can save you more than it will lose you in the long run.
8. Always keep focus: Staying focused on what is happening throughout the game will give you greater insight into other players’ hands, thinking, and possible moves, making it easier for you to know what your next action should be.

Conclusion

Learning how to play Texas Holdem poker can be a lot of fun, once you get a hang of the rules, the terms, and the card rankings. However, playing is relatively easy and has four main betting rounds, the preflop, the flop, the turn, and the river.

The key here is that you need to focus on the game as it progresses and keep a watchful eye on your opponents to see how they proceed. This gives you a good idea of the action worth taking when your turn comes. Remember, you only need to get a strong hand or bluff everyone else that you have a strong hand to stand a chance of winning.

Texas Holdem Poker FAQs