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Playing Random Hands in Texas Hold'em Poker

Why playing random hands in Texas Hold'em poker is a very poor strategy. More

Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em Poker

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Texas Hold'em Rules

In order to play Texas Hold'em Poker, you need to know the basics rules of the game. More

How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker

Learn how to play the world's most popular form of poker, Texas Hold'em. More

Poker Hand Rankings

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Texas Hold'em Rules

In order to play Texas Hold'em Poker, you need to know the basics rules of the game.

The world of poker has been transformed with the popularity of Texas Hold’em. At first, Texas Hold’em seems like a simple enough game, 2 cards are dealt to each player face down (these are called hole cards), and 5 cards community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table.

But there is a great deal more to this game than meets the eye. As Mike Sexton pointed out, Texas Hold’em takes seconds to learn, and a lifetime to master.

Cards and Shuffle

Texas Hold’em is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The deck consist of 4 suits (Spades, Clubs, Diamonds and Hearts) and 13 cards in each suit (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, and Two). There are no jokers in a standard deck of cards. The deck is shuffled sveral times before each hand, so as to make sure there is a random order of the cards. Rules on shuffling or cutting the cards are non standard and can be different for each game depending on the house rules. Players should be familiar with the poker hand rankings before playing Texas Hold’em.

Community Cards & Hole Cards

The objective of the player in Texas Hold’em is to make up the best 5 card hand with the available cards. There are two sets of cards for the player to select their 5 card hand;

1. their own hole cards
2. community cards.

Each player has 2 cards dealt to them face down, these are hole cards which are unique to each player, and only that player knows their own hole Cards. Community cards are dealt face up and everyone can see these cards. If a game goes to a showdown, the player with the strongest 5 card hand wins the pot.

The Button

The button marks who is the dealer for each given hand. In a casino poker room, a plastic disc is placed in front of the player who is acting as the dealer for that hand. This disc gradually became to be known as the button. The dealer is marked because it is the most desirable position at the table, as the dealer gets to act last, after every other player has acted. After each hand, the dealer Button is rotated clockwise one player, so that everyone is given a fair chance to sit in the dealer position. One note, even in games where there is a dedicated dealer for the game (such as in a casino or charity game), the button is still used, and rotated around the table.

Blinds

One unique aspect of Texas Hold’em is that there is no ante. Instead, there is a required or forced bet made by the two players left of the Button, which is made before each hand is dealt. These forced bets are called Blinds. The first player to the left is the Small Blind, the following player is the Big Blind.

The Big Blind is equal to the minimum bet at the table, and the Small Blind is always half the amount of the Big Blind. So if the minimum bet at a table is $10, then the Big Blind is $10, and the Small Blind is $5.

A player cannot avoid paying a Blind by getting up and leaving the table, as any new player sitting down to a table must place a bet that is equal to the Big Blind, or they will have to wait until they are in the Big Blind position before joining the game.

Dealing the Cards

The dealer then deals two cards, face down, to each player. This is done one card at a time, in a clockwise manner, starting with player to the left of the dealer which goes around the table until every player has 2 hole cards.

Preflop Betting Round

The first round of betting begins after the cards have been dealt to each of the players. The first player to act is the player left of the Big Blind. A player has three options, to (a) Call, (b) Raise or© Fold when it is their turn to act. For more information on these terms, you may wish to review our article on Poker Terminology.

The Flop

After the first round of betting has commenced, then comes the Flop. The dealer then discards the top card of the deck, which is also known as burning. The Dealer then turns three cards face up in the center of the table. This is also known as Burning & Turning, and the Three cards in the middle of the table are called The Flop. These three cards are community cards, so everyone is able to see these cards.

After the Flop has been revealed, another round of betting is commenced. There are two differences the remaining betting rounds. First, the first to act falls to the first remaining player to left of the dealer. Secondly, since there is already a wager on the table, players have an additional option which is to ‘check’.

4th Street or The Turn

Once the betting has completed post-flop, the dealer then burns another card at the top of the deck, and place one card face up in the middle of the table. There are now 4 community cards showing on the table.

Another betting round occurs after the turn. This betting round is the same as the last round with one major difference, the new minimum bet is now double that of the first round. So if the minimum bet was $10 Preflop, then the new minimum bet is now $20.

The River Card

The River is the final card to be turned over and will occur after the previous betting round has ceased. Again, the dealer will burn the top card of the deck, and turn a final card face up in the center of the table. There are now 5 community cards face up in the center of the table. Once the card is turned over, the final betting round begins in the same manner as the previous betting round.

The Showdown

If more than one player remains in the pot (meaning that not everyone has folded), then a showdown will occur. A showdown is when the remaining players must either turn over or muck their cards to see who has won the pot.

The player who was the last to bet or raise must show their cards first. If all players checked on the Turn and the River, then the first player to the left of the button must be the first to reveal their cards. A player is only required to reveal their cards if their hand is higher than the hand shown. If their hand is beat, a player is allowed to muck their cards, or place them face down on the table and concede defeat but also not revealing their hole cards to everyone else at the table (Please review our section on Texas Hold’em Poker Strategy for more information).

The Poker Trainer has a graphic description of the various poker hand rankings for Texas Hold’em, which every player should become familiar. Online there are no arguments, but a home game can unravel rather quickly if arguments over ‘which hand beats which’ persist.

Variations of Texas Hold’em

There are many different variations of this popular poker game, but there are three specific Hold’em games which players need to be familiar. Each of these variations are unique in nature, and require different strategies for success, so make sure to review some of articles in the poker strategies section.

Limit Texas Hold’em is a popular game which is often played in casino poker rooms. Limit Hold’em is played with preset betting, such as in a $2/$4 Limit Hold’em game. In a $2/$4 game, the Big Blind and all bets are preset at $2 for the first two betting rounds (Pre-flop & The Flop). The preset bet is then doubled for the third and fourth betting rounds to $4. Although different games can have different variations of this rule, generally a single betting round in a Limit Hold’em game is capped at 1 bet and 3 raises. For more information on this game, check out our poker strategy for Limit Texas Hold’em.

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em is an interesting game where the betting limits are less restrictive than Limit Hold’em. In Pot Limit Texas Hold’em, no one can make a raise which exceeds the amount already in the pot. An example would be if there is $30 in the pot, then a player is limited to a raise of $30. While this may seem like a simple rule, it can get quite complicated and pot sizes can compound into very large sums by the end of a game.

No Limit Texas Hold’em is the most well know variation of Hold’em poker games, popularized by the catch phrase All-in. The betting limit in this variation is only capped by the number of chips a player has in their stack. The only rule to keep in mind with this game is that the minimum bet is equal to either the Big Blind or the last bet made. This is an exciting game, where a great deal of strategy comes into play. Players can lose their entire chip stack on a single hand in No-Limit Hold’em, which makes for a fast pace. Make sure to read our poker strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold’em for more information on how to succeed at this game.

One Final Note

Read these rules, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions. While reading through these rules will help you to understand the game a little better, there is no substitute for experience. It is highly recommended that you download the free poker game from our partner sites, and play for free to get a feel of game. The basic rules of Texas Hold’em are quite simple, and easy to follow. If you play enough hands in a safe and secure environment, you will get a much better understanding of this entertaining and challenging game.