How to Play Texas Holdem Poker
Playing Texas Hold'em Poker Tutorial
This article explains how to play Texas holdem. If you haven't already read our articles about how to play poker and poker hand rankings, I recommend that you review those first, because this playing Texas hold'em poker tutorial will make a lot more sense if you already understand the material on those pages.
The Basics of Texas Holdem
Here are the basics of Texas holdem:
Texas holdem is usually played at a poker table with ten or fewer players, although more players could theoretically play if there were room. (Texas hold'em is a "community poker game", which means that players share a board of common cards.)
Hole Cards
Two cards are dealt face down to each player at the beginning of each hand. These are called the player's "hole cards."
After the hole cards are dealt, there's a round of betting.
The Flop
Then three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards
are called "the flop."
After the flop is dealt, there's another round of betting.
The Turn
One more card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This card is called "the turn."
After the turn is dealt, there's another round of betting.
The River
One more card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This card is called "the river."
After the river is dealt, there's another round of betting.
Showdowns
If at any point all of the players except for one have folded, the player who's still in the pot wins all the chips in the pot. That player has no obligation to show what cards she had.
If more than one player makes it all the way to the end of a Texas holdem hand, then there's a showdown. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot. If there's a tie that can't be broken, the pot is split between the two players at the showdown.
The players use any combination of the two hole cards and the five cards on the board to make their five card hand.
Texas Holdem Blinds
Many poker games have an ante, which is a forced bet that propels the action of the game forward. Texas hold'em has forced bets too, called blinds, but only two players each hand pay blinds. You can see ten hands per round for the cost of the blinds if you fold a lot. The blind orbits around the table, and a "dealer button" is used to keep up with whose turn it is to post the small blind and the big blind each round.
The small blind is posted by the player to the immediate left of the dealer button. The big blind is then posted by the player to the immediate left of the small blind.
The blinds are predetermined by the limit of the poker game that you're playing. The small blind is usually set at half of the smaller betting limits, and the big blind is equal to the amount of the smaller bet.
For example, in a $2/$4 game of Texas hold'em, the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2.
Texas Holdem Betting
On the first two rounds of betting, the hole cards and the flop, the lower number of the limit you're playing at is the minimum bet. So in a $3/$6 game, the minimum amount you can bet is $3. (The max depends on which version of Texas hold'em you're playing: limit, pot limit, or no limit.)
One the second two rounds of betting, the turn and the river, the higher number of the limit you're playing at is the minimum bet. So in that same $3/$6 game, your minimum bet on the turn and on the river is $6.
Betting Limits
In limit Texas hold'em, the amounts of your bets and raises are determined
by the limits. So in a $3/$6 game, you can never bet or raise more than $3
or $6, depending on the round.
In pot limit Texas hold'em, the amounts of your bets and raises are determined by the amount of money in the pot. As the game progresses and the pot grows, the amount of money you can bet or raise increases dramatically.
In no limit Texas hold'em, the amounts of your bets and raises are unlimited. At any time you can go "all-in", which means that you're betting all of your chips.
The variations in betting limits make the strategies for limit holdem, pot limit holdem, and no limit holdem different. In pot limit and no limit holdem, you can use the sizing of your bets to manipulate the pot odds in different ways. Since this is a "basics of Texas hold'em tutorial", going into more detail about that wouldn't make much sense here.
But those are the basics of how to play Texas hold'em. Like I suggested in the how to play poker article, it's a good idea to watch some games before playing Texas hold'em for real money.
This page about how to play Texas holdem poker was last updated on May 3, 2010. It's meant to serve as a Texas hold'em tutorial that covers the basics of the game. I welcome intelligent and thoughtful feedback about this content.