The rules of Texas Hold'em

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Welcome to the PokerStrategy strategy section. In the next few
minutes you will learn how to play winning poker. Our authors have
concocted a few articles and videos for you in which you will learn
how to play Texas Hold'em poker and what strategy to use in order to
win. At the end you will be able to prove your knowledge in our quiz
to receive your $50 + $100 starting capital.

Read all the articles All the articles that have to be read before taking the quiz are listed in the right column. Once you have read an article you can very simply get to the next one.

The first topic discussed in this article is the rules of Texas
Hold'em. The game itself is very easy to understand. Each player is
dealt two cards, after which five cards are laid out on the table.
First three, then one, and another before everyone shows their hand.
These are called community cards. In between them are four rounds of
betting where you can either put chips in or throw away your cards.

First is the so-called preflop round, which is explained on the
next page. This is the round where you are dealt your two cards. Just
click on the Next arrow at the top or bottom of the article, or
directly choose the 2nd page of the article.

Video: The Rules of Texas Hold'em
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	You can also watch the content of this article in video format. Simply click the picture in order to open the video. You should still read the article though, in order to ensure that you have really understood the strategy. Your bankroll with be thankful.

Preflop - The cards are dealt

Before
the cards are dealt, two players must post a blind bet. They are
called blinds, because they haven't seen their cards yet. There is
one small bet, the Small Blind, and one big bet, the Big Blind,
usually double the small blind.

These bets aren't posted by anyone, but instead by the two players
sitting on the left of the dealer. The task changes

clockwise each round. In order to recognize the current dealer, a
special chip is placed in front of the concerned player. This is
called the Button, or Dealer Button.

Now each player is dealt two cards and so begins the first round
of betting. Do you have strong enough cards to commit chips or money,
or will you throw away your cards? How the bets work is explained on
the next page.

What do you do in a betting round?

	Fold If you don't want to continue in the hand, you can throw your cards away and "leave" the current round.
	Bet When no-one ahead of you has bet anything, you can do it yourself. You would say, for example: "I bet 10 chips" and place your chips in the pot, so that anyone who wants to play on must pay your bet. If they don't, because it is too expensive, they can fold. Betting all of one's chips is called going all-in. Once you are all-in, you can't bet anything more, but also cannot fold before the showdown. Indeed, when you are all-in, you will automatically be in the hand until its end, giving you the possibility to win by showing the best cards.
	Raise You can also raise a bet, for example, raising an oponent's bet of 10 chips to 20 chips. By doing this you are making the bet more expensive to call for anyone who wants to play on. If they don't want to pay extra, they must fold.
	Call If someone in front of you has bet, you have the possibility to call this bet. For this you just pay whatever the price of the bet was. If an opponent bets 10 chips, you would call 10 chips to stay in the hand.
	Check If no-one has bet yet, then you can check. This means that you don't place any bet and let the next player act. It is like saying "I'll wait and see what happens".

To keep betting rounds organized, there are a few rules to know who's turn it is. Basically, the action goes round the table clockwise. When one player has acted, the player to his left can act.

In the first round of betting the player on the left of the big blind is first to act. From the second round on, it is always the first player on the left of the button.

Once everyone has acted all the bets are collected and placed in the middle of the table. This is called the pot. Whoever wins the hand wins the pot.

On the next page, we will learn about the community cards.

Flop, Turn, River - The five community cards

After the initial round of betting the dealer deals three cards face up on the table, so that everyone can see them. They do not belong to one particular player, indeed everyone can use them to create their 5-card poker hand. This is why they are called community cards.

Now begins the second round of betting, during which you can place
additional money in the pot, or fold. At the end of the round, the bets
are collected as usual and put into the pot. Then comes the turn.

A fourth community card, the turn, is dealt on the table. It is also used in combination with the other cards to form your poker hand.

The players who are still in the hand engage in a third round of betting, at the end of which the bets are collected and placed in the pot. After the turn comes the river.

The river is the fifth and final community card to be dealt. It is of course also used in combination with the other cards to form each player's hand.

In the ensuing fourth round of betting you can bet once more. After this round of betting, the players who are still in the hand show their cards. This is called the showdown, and is explained in detail on the next page.

The showdown - Do you have the best hand?

At the showdown all the players still in the hand reveal their cards, to find out who has the best holdings and wins the pot. This raises the question: how is a poker hand constituted?

A poker hand is always made of five cards. Not four, not seven, but exactly five. You only hold two cards, which you combine with the community cards. You won't always need both of your holecards to form you poker hand. Indeed, you can use four of the community cards, or even all five, it doesn't matter. The only requirement is that there be five cards.

There are a number of different combinations that can form a hand in poker. For example if you have five clubs, then you have a flush. All the possible hands are explained on the next page.

The poker hands

Royal Flush The strongest poker hand is the royal flush. Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace all of the same suit, e.g. spades.
Straight Flush The second strongest hand in poker is the straight flush. It is composed of five consecutive cards of the same suit. If two players have a straight flush, the one with the highest cards wins.
Four of a kind A four of a kind is four cards of the same rank, e.g. four Kings. If two players have four of a kind, then the one with the highest four of a kind wins. If they have the same, then the player with the highest fifth card wins, since a poker hand is always composed of five cards.
Full House A full house is a combination of a three of a kind and a pair. If two players have a full house, then the one with the highest three of a kind wins. If they have the same one, then the pair counts.
Flush Five cards of the same suit make a flush. If two players have a flush, then the one with the highest cards wins.
Straight Five consectuvie cards are called a straight. If two players have a straight, the one with the highest cards wins.
Three of a kind A three of a kind is composed of three cards of the same rank. If two players have the same three of a kind, then the other cards, or both cards, determine the winner, since a poker hand is a always composed of five cards.
Two pairs Two pair hands are, of course, composed of two pairs. If two players have two pairs, the rank of the higher pair determines the winner. If they have the same higher pair, then the lower one counts. If it is also the same, then the fifth card counts.
Pair A pair is composed of two cards of the same rank. Since a poker hand is always composed of five cards, the other three cards are so-called "kickers". In case two players have the same pair, then the one with the highest kicker wins.
High card If you don't even have a pair, then you look at the height of your cards. If there are two players at showdown who don't have a pair, or better, then the one with the highest cards win.

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Summary

You now know the rules of Texas Hold'em. You know that in a game there are four rounds of betting, one before the flop, one on the flop, one on the turn and the last one after the river. The flop, turn and river are the so-called community cards which are dealt face-up on the table.

It appears to be a fairly simple game, but appearances can be deceiving. Texas Hold'em can present some very complex situations, which is why inexperienced players often lose very quickly. To master the game, you will find in the follwing articles some basic strategy to learn the variant you choose. After that, you can take the quiz to test your knowledge and prove your skills. After that, nothing stands in your way to a successful poker career.

Now choose the next article Now, since you know how Texas Hold'em is played, you can find specific strategy for the game variant you choose. All the articles that should be read before taking the quiz are listed in the right-hand side column.