Learn to Play Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold’em (often simply called Hold’em) is the most popular poker game on the planet. Fueled by the boom of online and televised live Hold’em tournaments over the last decade, this game has become a favorite among pros and amateurs alike.

Texas Hold’em is particularly appealing to novice poker players because it takes only a few minutes to learn and can be played with as little as two people. The rules are quite simple, making Texas Hold’em a great place to start if you haven’t played poker before.

The object of Texas Hold’em is to create the best five-card poker hand by using your hole cards (which are dealt face down to you and are hidden from other players) combined with the shared community cards (dealt face up in the center of the table to be used by all players in the hand). If you are unfamiliar with how poker hands are ranked, please see the poker hand rankings page to learn the order.

Texas Hold’em Betting

There are several ways that Texas Hold’em is played. The betting variations below are most common, and you can play them all at PokerStars:

• No Limit Texas Hold’em - This is the most popular way to play Hold’em in both tournaments and cash games. There is no structured betting in No Limit Hold’em (NLHE), meaning a player can bet as many chips as they have in front of them at any given time. This creates a good deal of action which makes No Limit Hold’em an exciting game.
  • No Limit games are generally defined by the size of the blinds, so a $10-$20 game would have a small blind of $10 and big blind of $20.
  • In No Limit, players must raise at least the amount of the last bet or raise. For example, if one player calls the $20 big blind, their opponent must raise to at least $40. Besides this rule, players may bet or raise any amount up to the size of their current chip stack.
• Limit Texas Hold’em - In this variation, the betting is structured, meaning that players can only bet and raise in certain specified increments. The small blind is typically half the size of the big blind, and the big blind is typically equal to the small bet.
  • Limit games are typically listed by their betting limits, unlike no limit games which are usually defined by their blinds. For example, in a $10-$20 Limit game, the small blind would be $5 and the big blind would be $10.
  • Preflop and on the Flop, players have the option to call the amount of the big blind, raise an equal amount, or fold their hand. In limit poker games, this amount is called a ‘small bet’. In a $10-$20 Limit game, the small bet is $10.
  • Once the Turn has been dealt, the betting limits double, which is called a ‘big bet’. Players must bet in these double increments on both the Turn and the River. In a $10-$20 Limit game, the big bet is $20.
  • In Limit poker games, only so many bets can be made before being ‘capped’ (meaning no more bets are allowed). At PokerStars, the fourth bet is the cap, meaning after the initial bet, there are three raises allowed before the pot is capped.
• Pot Limit Texas Hold’em - While less common than the first two variations, Pot Limit Hold’em is becoming more popular every day. In Pot Limit games, players may only bet or raise an amount that is equal to or less than the size of the current pot.
  • Calculating the pot is a common challenge for novices, but becomes easier once they learn how it’s done. When figuring the size of the pot, players must total the money already collected in the pot, plus the current bets, as well as the amount that they themselves would need to call before raising.
  • For example, let's suppose there is $100 in the middle, your opponent has bet $50, and you now want to raise the maximum, or "pot limit."  After your $50 call, the pot size is now $200, because $100 (already in the middle) + $50 (opponent’s bet) + $50 (your call before raising) = $200. Therefore, the maximum amount you can now raise to is $50 + $200, or $250.
• Mixed Texas Hold’em - This variation is exactly what it sounds like; a mix of several types of Hold’em. Typically, a mixed Hold’em game will alternate between rounds of Limit and No Limit.

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How to Play Texas Hold’em

There’s an old saying in the poker community; ‘Hold’em takes a few minutes to learn, and a lifetime to master’. Before you can get started on the latter, you need to take care of learning the basics of the game.

The basic rules for Texas Hold’em are the same for every variation. While Hold’em can be played with as few as two players (this is called playing ‘Heads-Up’), a full game will typically seat six, nine or ten players. A small circular marker, called the dealer button (or ‘button’ for short), is placed in front of a player and is moved clockwise after each hand is completed.

In Texas Hold’em, two forced bets called blinds are posted before each hand is dealt. These blinds help seed the pot and establish the minimum amount that players must call to enter the pot once they receive their cards. The player seated to the immediate left of the button posts a small blind, and the player seated to their immediate left posts a big blind. Usually, the small blind is half the amount of the big blind.

Players will have the option to act on their hands by checking (passing on the action), betting, calling a bet, raising a bet or folding (forfeiting their hand). These options will be limited depending on the action they are facing.

Texas Hold’em Preflop Action

Once the small and big blinds have both been posted, each player is dealt two face-down hole cards. Beginning with the player seated to the left of the big blind, everyone at the table has a chance to act on their hand. Before the flop, players are required to either call the amount of the big blind, raise, or fold their hand. The action continues clockwise and the players seated in the blinds are the last to act preflop. If they chose to fold their hands, their blinds will be forfeited.

Texas Hold’em Flop Action

Once the preflop betting action is complete, three community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. These cards make up the Flop and are the first three of a possible five community cards that will be dealt. Players may now use these cards combined with their two hole cards to create the best five card poker hand, with the anticipation of more community cards to complete or improve their hands. Unlike Omaha, players may use one, both or none of their hole cards to make up their hand.

Beginning with the first active player to the left of the dealer button, each person at the table will be given an opportunity to act on their hand. The action moves clockwise until the betting round is complete.

Texas Hold’em Turn Action

Once the Flop action is complete, another community card called the Turn (or Fourth Street) is dealt face up in the center of the table. Another round of betting ensues in the same clockwise order until all active players have acted on their hands.

Texas Hold’em River Action

The fifth and final community card is called the River, or Fifth Street. After the turn action is complete, the River is dealt face up in the center of the table and there is a final round of betting. This is the last chance for players to act before a winner is determined and the hand is complete.

Texas Hold’em Showdown

After the completion of the final betting round, players must expose their hands so that a winner can be determined. This is called a Showdown. The player who has the highest ranking five card poker hand will be awarded the pot. Occasionally, a tie will occur when two or more players hold hands of the same ranking. When this occurs, the pot is split evenly among the two (or more) players. The dealer button is moved clockwise and the next hand begins.

If at any point during the hand there is only one player remaining, they will receive the pot and there will be no Showdown of hands and no more cards dealt.

Play Texas Hold’em on PokerStars

Now that you understand the basics of how to play Texas Hold’em, you can practice the game online with the free poker games offered on PokerStars, or challenge yourself for real money in the thousands of Texas Hold’em cash games and tournaments offered daily. Download the free PokerStars software and start playing Hold’em.