Texas Hold'em Rules

Texas Hold'em is the most popular form of poker in the world. Each player receives two private cards (hole cards), and five community cards are dealt face up on the table. Your goal is to make the best five-card poker hand using any combination of your hole cards and the community cards.

A hand of Hold'em consists of up to four betting rounds: preflop (after hole cards are dealt), the flop (after three community cards), the turn (after the fourth community card), and the river (after the fifth community card). You can win by having the best hand at showdown or by betting in a way that makes all other players fold.

Before you play, you must know which hands beat which. Poker hand rankings are universal across most poker variants. Here they are from strongest to weakest:

1. 1.
   Royal Flush — A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit. The unbeatable hand.
2. 2.
   Straight Flush — Five consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g., 9-8-7-6-5 of hearts).
3. 3.
   Four of a Kind — Four cards of the same rank (e.g., four kings).
4. 4.
   Full House — Three of a kind plus a pair (e.g., three jacks and two fives).
5. 5.
   Flush — Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
6. 6.
   Straight — Five consecutive cards of mixed suits (e.g., 10-9-8-7-6).
7. 7.
   Three of a Kind — Three cards of the same rank.
8. 8.
   Two Pair — Two different pairs (e.g., two queens and two sevens).
9. 9.
   One Pair — Two cards of the same rank.
10. 10.
    High Card — No matching cards. The highest card plays.

For a detailed breakdown with visual card examples and probability data, see our Hand Rankings reference.

Every hand of Hold'em starts with forced bets called blinds. The blinds ensure there's always something to play for and create initial action.

After each hand, the button moves one seat clockwise, and so do the blinds. This ensures everyone pays blinds equally over time and gets equal turns in each position.

For a complete explanation of all table positions and their strategic implications, see our Poker Positions guide.

A hand of Texas Hold'em has up to four betting rounds. If all but one player folds at any point, the remaining player wins without a showdown.

Preflop

After posting blinds, each player receives two hole cards face down. Betting begins with the player to the left of the big blind (called "under the gun" or UTG). Each player can fold, call the big blind, or raise. The big blind acts last preflop and can check if no one raised, or call/raise if someone did.

The Flop

Three community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. A new betting round begins, starting with the first active player to the left of the button. Players can check (bet nothing) if no bet has been made, or bet/fold if there's action.

The Turn

A fourth community card (the turn) is dealt. Another betting round follows with the same structure as the flop. In limit games, the bet size typically doubles on the turn.

The River

The fifth and final community card (the river) is dealt. The last betting round takes place. After this round, if two or more players remain, they proceed to showdown.

If two or more players remain after the final betting round, they reveal their hole cards to determine the winner. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.

Important: You always use exactly five cards to make your hand. If the board shows A-K-Q-J-10 of mixed suits, everyone has a straight and splits the pot — your hole cards don't improve this hand.

On your turn, you have several options depending on the action before you:

No-Limit vs. Limit: In no-limit Hold'em (the most common format), you can bet any amount up to all your chips at any time. In limit Hold'em, bet sizes are fixed. Most casinos and online games use no-limit.

Let's walk through a sample hand in a $1/$2 no-limit game with three players.