Like all poker games, Hold’em has a very specific order in which the cards are dealt and played.
Hole cards
At the start of a Hold’em hand, after the two blinds have been posted, all players are dealt two cards facedown. These are known as the hole or pocket cards. Players then make a decision to call the blinds (match the big blind), raise the blinds (increase the bet) or fold (quit playing and throw their cards facedown to the middle of the table).
In the form of Hold’em known as Limit, the bets have to be of a certain specified amount. In No-Limit, players may bet any amount of their chips on the table.
Almost all authors agree that where a player sits in the order of play (known as position) is an important element of Texas hold 'em strategy, particularly in no-limit hold'em. Players who act later have more information than players who act earlier. No-Limit Texas Hold’Em betting rules No-Limit Texas Hold’Em (NHLE) has gained considerable popularity with players who enjoy the unique combination of luck, skill, chance, and action and the incredible adrenaline rush that comes with placing all of one’s chips in the pot on one hand.
If you’re a newbie to the game, you might consider this: If both of your hole cards are not 10s or greater (Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces), fold. Yes, it sounds harsh, but it’ll keep you pretty much only playing the cards that you should — and about the right frequency of hands.
Make sure not to show your hole cards to other players at the table (even if those other players are no longer in the hand). And after you’ve looked at your cards, you should protect them from being collected by the dealer by placing an extra poker chip (or some other small object) on top of them.
The flop
After the betting action is done on the round with the hole cards (also known as pre-flop), three cards are displayed by the dealer simultaneously to the center of the poker table — this is known as the flop. At this point, each player at the table has a unique five-card poker hand consisting of his two hole cards and the three community cards.
Because of the raw number of cards involved, the flop typically gives you the general tenor of the poker hand and definitely gives you a good idea of the kind of hand to look for as a winner. For example, an all-Spade flop (especially with a lot of players still in the hand) will be hinting at a flush as a strong possibility for a winner.
Betting begins with the first person still in the hand to the left (clockwise) of the dealer button. As a general rule, you want your hand to match the flop, and you should fold if it doesn’t.
In Limit play, the size of the bet you can make on the flop is identical to the amount you can make pre-flop.
The turn
After the flop betting round is completed, another community card is placed, known as the turn (or sometimes fourth street). Each of the remaining players now has a six-card poker hand made up of his two private hole cards and the four community cards. Hold’em is a game where only five cards count toward a poker hand, so everyone has a theoretical “extra” card at this point.
In Limit, the betting is now twice the amount that was bet pre- and post-flop.
Poker wags like to say, “The turn plays itself,” meaning your hand gets better and you bet it, or it doesn’t and you start giving strong thoughts to folding. This is more or less true.
The river
After the betting round of the turn, a final community card is exposed, known as the river (sometimes called fifth street).
Each player left in the game has his final hand consisting of the best five cards of the seven available (two private hole cards and the five community cards). Players may use two hole cards along with three community cards, one hole card combined with four community cards, or just the five community cards (known as playing the board). Again, poker hands are made up of the best five cards — the other two available to any given player don’t count. There is one final round of betting.
The showdown
The showdown is what happens after the final river bets have been placed. Although it isn’t formally required, typically the person who initiated the final round of betting is first to show her hand. The action then proceeds in a clockwise fashion with players either mucking their hands if they can’t beat the hand exposed, or showing a better hand (at which point the dealer mucks the old, “worse” hand and continues around the table for any remaining hands).
Winners and losers are determined by the standard poker hand rankings.
If you’re ever unclear about who is winning a hand, just turn your cards face up and let the dealer decide. Never take a player’s word on what she has in hand until you’ve actually seen her cards with your own eyes — when you muck a hand, it’s officially dead.
The Texas Holdem version of poker is one of the easiest to learn. It is for this reason that it has now become the most popular poker variant both online and in casinos.
No Limit Hold Em Rules
The simplicity of the rules allows new players to pick up the game and start playing after a few minutes, whilst the depth of the game helps keep players interested for years. This guide aims to give you a complete understanding on how Texas Holdem is played, and it will take no longer than 5 minutes.
Texas Hold'em rules basics.
Texas Holdem is played with a 52-card deck and poker chips. Texas Holdem can be played in a cash game style, where there is no time limit and each hand is played with real money.
The game can also be played in a tournament style where each player receives a set amount of chips at the start, and the winner is the player that obtains all of the chips on the table. Tournaments can also be played for real money, where the winner takes all or part of the other players’ buy-ins.
- Each player is dealt two cards face down on the table, these are called 'holecards'.
- 5 community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table in 3 separate stages.
- The Flop is the first stage, where the first 3 cards are dealt face up.
- The Turn is the second stage, where 1 card is dealt up.
- The River is the final stage, where 1 last card is dealt face up.
- Players use a combination of the 2 cards in their hand and the 5 cards on the table to make the best 5 card hand (see Texas Hold'em hand rank).
- At each stage there is a round of betting.
- If there are still players left in the hand after the final round of betting, the hand will go to a ‘showdown’ and the best hand will take the money in the pot.
Texas Hold'em betting.
Betting is a fundamental part of poker. The amount you can bet depends of the variant of Texas Holdem you are playing.
- In Limit Holdem you can only bet a fixed amount on each round.
- In Pot Limit Holdem you can bet any size you wish up to the amount that is already in the pot.
- In No Limit Holdem you can bet any amount of money on any round up to the amount you have in front of you.
There are numerous stages in the game of Texas Holdem where betting can take place.
Sequence of rounds and betting.
Holecards are dealt
Round of betting
Flop is dealt
Round of betting
Turn is dealt
Round of betting
River is dealt
Round of betting
In each of these rounds of betting, you will have 3 options available to you depending on what has happened before the action reaches you. The two situations you will be in are acting after there has been a bet, or acting after no bets have been made. (See the bet sizing article for betting strategy in Texas Hold'em.)
Acting after no bets.
- Check – By ‘checking’ you do not put any money in the pot, and the next card will be dealt if no other bets are made.
- Bet – By betting you put money into the pot. This means that the other players must call this bet to see the next card to be dealt.
- Fold – You also have the option to fold, but this is rarely done because it is currently free for you to see another card and give yourself an opportunity to make the best hand.
Acting after a bet.
- Call – By calling, you put the same amount of money into the pot that the other player has bet. Therefore you will see the next card if no other players raise this bet.
- Raise – You can raise another player’s bet and force them to call an additional amount of money for them to see the next card.
- Fold – If you do not wish to put more money into the pot, you can fold your hand. Your hand will be declared 'dead' and you will no longer be able to win the money in the pot.
Dealing in Texas Holdem.
The cards in Texas Holdem have to be dealt in accordance to a simple set of rules. These rules help to keep the dealing fair, and prevent the cards from being fixed.
- Holecards must be dealt 1 at a time from the top of the pack in a clockwise motion starting from the dealer’s left.
- Before the flop can be dealt, a card must be 'burned' which means that this card is dealt face down on the table and placed to one side.
- Before the turn, another card must be 'burned'.
- Before the river, one final card must again be 'burned'.
Texas Hold'em rules overview.
As you can hopefully see, Texas Holdem is a very simple game to pick up. It is also a very enjoyable game and can be played for real money or for entertainment purposes without the use of money. Due to the betting nature of the game, it is possible to learn skills and strategies to improve the way you play and win money through playing poker. If you want to be able to win money through poker, we have a strategy section with numerous strategy guides to help you improve your poker game.
Now go out and start playing some Texas Holdem. Don't forget to brush up on the Hold'em hand rank (try the hand rank quiz for some extra help) before you play to ensure that you know what beats what.
Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em articles.
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