8/1/2022»»Monday

Basic Rules Of Texas Holdem Poker

8/1/2022

Texas Holdem is the most popular poker played online, in casinos and around the world in people’s homes. If you’re new to poker then this is the game you want to learn first. Read these basic texas holdem rules and you’ll be playing confidently in no time.

In this post, we will try to give you the basic poker rules for beginners and features most clearly. First, there are several poker varieties. The most common ones are Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, Chinese Poker, etc. We will explain the rules of the most popular poker type – Texas Hold’em. How to play Texas Holdem poker: a step-by-step guide to poker’s No 1 game 28 May 2020, 11:00am Poker-hand rankings chart (strongest to weakest) and cheat sheet.

This is where we would normally give you a table showing where you could play texas holdem, but every single site offers it so instead let us direct you to our top poker sites for the best places to play online.

The Button and Blinds

The order the players receive their cards in is determined by the clockwise rotation of a ‘dealer button’ which is usually referred to as simply ‘the button’. The two players to the left of the button place out a bet before the cards are dealt. These bets are known as ‘the blinds’, and are designed to create action. After all, if there is no money in the pot, who wants to play? The player immediately to the left of the button is called ‘the small blind’ and posts an amount typically equal to one half the minimum bet. The player to their left (two seats left of the button) posts ‘the big blind’, equal to one full bet. So, in a limit game with stakes of $2/$4, the blinds would be $1 and $2 (in a no-limit game the blinds would be $2/$4). The dealer button moves one seat to the left (clockwise) with each new hand that is dealt.

Pre-Flop

Players receive two cards face down that are known as their hole cards, beginning with the small blind and ending with the button. When all cards are dealt out the betting action begins with the player to the left of the big blind. This position has a special name in poker – Under the Gun. This round of betting is known as Pre-Flop. Each player acts in turn in a clockwise direction and has the option to call, raise or fold. Most poker rooms will limit the number of raises that can be made in each round, usually to three or four raises. When the action reaches the small blind they have the option to fold, raise or complete their blind. The big blind is the last to act pre-flop and they can ‘check’ (take no action), raise or fold.

Beginners’ Tip: When you are in the big blind and have a less than ideal hand it is recommended that you just check. Some new players will fold their cards when they have already placed a bet! It’s best to stick around and see what happens next.

The Flop

The dealer burns one card (burn cards are in place in casinos to prevent collusion) and deals out three cards in the center of the table. These cards are ‘community cards’, meaning they are shared by all players in the hand, they are also known as ‘the board’. The first three cards are known as ‘the flop’. In this round (and the two subsequent rounds) betting begins with the player immediately to the left of the button and continues in turn in a clockwise direction. Players have the option to check if the there is no bet in front of them, call a bet that has been made, raise a previous bet or fold.

Beginners’ Tip: If the action has been ‘checked to you’, and you have a hand you think might be hopeless, don’t fold! Just check as well if you do not have to call a bet. You never know what the next two cards will bring. Look at it like a ‘free card’ and hope your hand improves.

If there is a raise, all players who have acted prior to the raise are given a chance to act again. For example, if everyone in the hand checks to the button and the button chooses to bet, the play will continue clockwise around the table again giving all players a chance to call the bet or re-raise.

The Turn and River

Rules of texas holdem poker for beginners

After betting on the flop is completed the dealer burns another card and places one card out on the board, known as the ‘turn card’. The turn card is followed by another round of betting that follows the same procedure as on the flop. When betting on the turn ends the dealer burns one last card and places a fifth card on the board, which is called ‘fifth street’ or, more commonly, ‘the river card’. This card is followed by a final round of betting in the same method as the flop and turn rounds. When all betting is complete, it’s time for the showdown! Players turn their hands face up to show their best possible five card hands using any combination of their two cards and the five cards on the board.

Beginners’ Tip: Don’t forget your ‘kicker’! A kicker is the nickname for the card that is ‘left over’ when a player has made a hand. They are used to decide the winner in the event two or more players have the same hand. Make sure you have a high ranked kicker to ensure you can beat someone with the same hand as you!

The Winner

A player can win the pot outright or a pot can be split (also called a ‘chop’) among two or more players. Because players can use both, one or none of their hole cards to make a hand, you will occasionally run into a situation where players are ‘playing the board’, meaning the best hand they can make is the five community cards. Of course, a hand does not have to go to a showdown to be over. Sometimes a player will bet or raise and everyone else in the hand will fold. This ends all action in the hand and player who bet or raised is the winner.

Let’s take a look at some examples of winning hands:-

Example 1

I hold Kh Js. You hold Ac Jd. The board is 2d 5d Jh Tc 5c. My best hand is two pair: Kh Js Jh 5d 5c:- Your best hand is two pair: Ac Jd Jh 5d 5c. While we both have jacks and fives, your ace kicker is higher than my king, so you win the pot!

Rules Of Texas Holdem Poker For Beginners

Example 2

I hold Qh Js. You hold Kc Jd. The board is 2d 5d Jh Ac 5c. My best hand is two pair: Ac Js Jh 5d 5c:- Your best hand is two pair: Ac Jd Jh 5d 5c. In this case, the ace on the board is higher than both the king in your hand and the queen in mine, so we have identical hands and split the pot.

Example 3

I hold Kh Ks. You hold 2d 7d. The board is Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. My best hand is a club flush: Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. Your best hand is a club flush: Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. I'm unlucky here! The board has five clubs and neither one of us has one that plays. We split this pot.

Example 4

I hold Kc Ks. You hold 2d 7d. The board is Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c My best hand is a club flush: Ac Kc Tc 8c 9c. Your best hand is a club flush: Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. This hand is almost identical to the last one, but this time I have the king of clubs, which means my flush is higher. I win the whole pot.

These are just a few examples of situations that you will encounter. Every hand plays out a little differently, and there are many outcomes. Keep in mind that it’s always the best five card hand possible of all seven cards.

Good luck at the tables!

Texas Hold’em Poker has quickly become the most popular card game in the world. The idea of Texas Hold’em originally gained popularity after the movie “Rounders” was released in 1998.

Then in 2003, ESPN held the now popular World Series of Poker which was won by Chris Moneymaker, projecting the popularity of Texas Hold’em to new heights.

The 2003 World Series of Poker had 839 entrants, and triple that number in 2004. This trend continued all the way until the 2006 World Series of Poker, which had 8,773 entrants and a massive first place prize of $12,000,000 which went to a chatty Jamie Gold.

Around this time came the boom of online poker, which soon turned into a widespread frenzy for poker fans. Hands were dealt faster, with constant running cash games, sit n’ go’s, and multi-table tournaments. You could even win a seat into the World Series of Poker through online poker.

Today, most of the popular poker players that you see competing in the World Series can also be found at different online poker sites.

How To Play Texas Holdem Poker

Hold’em is a game with 2 cards dealt to each player pre-flop, and 5 community cards dealt face-up, spread across 3 rounds of betting. There is a big blind and small blind that rotate clock-wise around the table, with the small blind always being half of the big blind.

Robert's Rules Of Texas Holdem Poker

Rules of texas holdem poker for beginners

The first round of betting occurs after each player is dealt their two cards and players decide whether or not they want to play their hands. After each player has decided to bet, call, raise, or fold, the dealer then turns over 3 cards which is called ‘the flop’. Players then go through another round of betting in a clockwise fashion.

Then comes ‘the turn’ which is when just one card from the flop is turned over, leaving four cards face up on the board, followed by another round of betting. The last card turned over is called ‘the river’, and is finished off with the last round of betting with players showing their cards after the bets are finished, and the winning player taking the pot.

Poker games fall into one of two categories – cash games or tournaments. In a cash game players are free to sit down and leave the game at any point as the poker chips represent real money. Tournaments where players pay a fixed fee to enter and the game is played until one player has all the chips. Winnings are paid out depending on where a player finishes.

There are also two types of tournament – Sit n Go and Mult Table Tournaments (MTT’s). A Sit n Go tournament will have a set number of entrants, such as 10, 20, or 30. As soon as this number of players sign up, the game starts. Sit n Go’s are most commonly found online.

Multi-Table Tournaments are scheduled to start at a specific time. Anyone who is registered before the tournament starts (or sometimes even after) can play and the numbers often vary dramatically from day to day. Multi-Table Tournaments can have large payouts, even into the millions for a large tournament such as the WSOP final event.

Texas Hold’em Rules

There are a few rules of the game to be sure that you understand when sitting down at a live Texas Hold’em game (typically online Hold’em games will enforce these rules so that you cannot break them):

  • Only bet/call/raise/fold when the action is on you.
  • Never touch other player’s chips.
  • You must raise at least twice the minimum bet: example- if the blinds are 10/20, you must raise to at least 40.
  • When there are more than 2 players in a hand, only one bet and three raises can be made during one round of betting.
  • In a cash game, you may not add chips during a hand but may buy chips in between hands.

Those are the basic rules of live poker games, which of course will vary depending on the people you’re playing with. If you’re playing in a house game with some friends, they may have rules that differ slightly.

Basic Texas Holdem Strategy

The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t play every hand. Position is very important in poker; the closer that you are to the ‘button’ or the dealer (the last person to act before the big and small blinds), the more hands you should play. In other words, if you’re one of the first players to act (you’re near the big blind) you should be playing very tight and throwing away most hands.

One thing you must be well versed in is which hands are the strongest and vice verser. Here’s a list of winning hands in order of best to worst:

  • Royal Flush- example: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 (same suit)
  • Straight Flush- example: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (same suit).
  • Four of a Kind- example: Four 9’s and any other card.
  • Full House- example: Three 5’s and two 6’s (any suit).
  • Flush- example: 10, 4, 8, J, Ace- (same suit)
  • Straight- example: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (any suit)
  • Three of a kind- example: Thre 10’s and any other two cards (any suit).
  • Two Pair- example: Two 5’s, two 6’s and any other card (any suit).
  • One Pair- example: Two Kings and any other three cards (any suit).
  • High Card- example: 10, 5, 2, 8, 7 (any suit). Highest card wins.

Of course you always need to base your hand off the board, even if you have three of a kind, keep an eye out for straight or flush possibilities. It’s always important to base decisions on the board as well as how your opponent has played their hand throughout.

Examples of Hands to Play and Not to Play

Example 1:

You’re sitting directly next to the big blind and are the first player to act at a 9 player table early in a multi-table tournament. You’re dealt King of diamonds and 8 of hearts.

Recommended play: Fold. This hand is just not strong enough to play in this spot with 8 players still to act after you, especially this early in a tournament.

Example 2:

You’re sitting 3 seats to the right of the dealer at a 9 player table and are dealt Ace of diamonds and Queen of hearts in a cash game. One player raised before you to 3x the big blind.

Recommended play: Call. Ace/Queen is a very strong hand, especially in a cash game. You also have a pretty strong position at the table.

Basic Rules Of Texas Holdem Pokerer For Beginners

Example 3:

Rules Of Texas Holdem Poker Hands

You’re playing in a Sit-n-Go and are on the button, it folds all the way to you and you are dealt 8 of diamonds and 7 of clubs. It’s early in the 27 player Sit-N-Go, with 23 players still remaining.

Recommended play: I’d raise to 2.5 the big blind in an attempt to steal the blinds. 8/7 off suit is not an awful hand either, and if someone is to call you could always get a nice flop.

So now that you know the basics get out there on the tables and have some fun, but remember, start at the small stakes and build your way up to the higher buy-ins as you gain experience.