How to Play Texas Hold’em: Rules, Hand Ranks & Odds

What is Texas Hold’em?

Texas Hold’em is the most popular version of poker worldwide. It is played in casinos, online poker sites, televised livestreams, and home games. The poker boom of the early 2000s brought the game to the attention of millions, and it remains the standard variant in tournaments and cash games today.

Texas Hold’em is fast and easy to learn compared to other poker formats. Each player receives two private cards and uses five shared community cards to make the best five-card hand. While simple at first, the depth of betting and bluffing makes the game endlessly engaging.

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Texas Hold’em Rules: What to Know Before Playing

The game’s beauty is in its simplicity, so before sitting at the poker table, familiarize yourself with these easy-to-understand Texas Hold’em rules:.

• Two bets, the small blind and the big blind, start the game.
• The blinds are posted after the dealer and move clockwise around the table when a game finishes.
• Each player gets two private cards, called hole cards.
• Betting occurs in four rounds: preflop, flop, turn, and river.
• Five community cards are dealt face-up. Three on the flop, one on the turn, and one on the river.
• Players use any combination of their cards and community cards to make the best five-card hand.
• After the river card (shown below) the best hand at showdown, or the last player left, wins the pot.

How No-Limit Betting Works in Texas Hold’em

Most Hold’em games follow no-limit rules, meaning you can bet any amount of your chips when it’s your turn. No maximum bet limit rule means you can bet all your chips in one move, known as going all-in.

Unlike fixed-limit or pot-limit betting, no-limit Holdem offers more flexibility. You can bet small, raise gradually, or go all-in during any of the four betting rounds. This complete control over betting amounts is one reason why the game is so popular among players.

How to Make Hand Combinations in Texas Hold’em

Players build hands in Texas Hold’em using five cards, taken from any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards on the table. 

You can use both hole cards, one, or even none. This flexibility means the winning hand might come entirely from the board, or from a mix of hole cards and community cards.

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Texas Hold’em Hand Rankings: Learn What Beats What

Knowing the hand rankings in Texas Hold’em is a crucial yet basic skill. Luckily, which hands beat others in Hold’em will quickly become familiar as you play the game. Wondering if a full-house beats a flush? Here’s a useful table for you to check the strength of your hand:

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How to Play Texas Hold’em: Step-by-Step Guide

The next important aspect of understanding Texas Hold’em is knowing how the game plays out. 

We’ve created this easy step-by-step guide to walk you through each stage.

1. Place the Big Blind and Small Blind 

Firstly, before any cards are dealt, two players post blind bets. The small blind is half the minimum bet, and the big blind is the full minimum. Blinds rotate clockwise after each hand to ensure every player contributes equally.

Image: Player for has Pocket Kings in the Small Blind position.

2. Choose to Check, Call, Fold, or Raise

After receiving two hole cards, players act in turn, starting left of the big blind. You can fold to give up your hand, call to match the current bet, raise (and re-raise) to increase it, or check if no bet has been made.

Image: Player 4 decides to fold, call, or raise when the action reaches them.

3. See the Flop and 3 Community Cards

Three community cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table. All players share these cards and can use them to improve their hands. A new betting round begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer.

Image: The flop is 5h Jh Ts and Player 4 has an overpair.

4. Choose Your Action for the Flop Round

Players decide whether to check, bet, call, fold, or raise at this stage. The round continues clockwise until all bets are matched. The community cards are now partly revealed, with only the turn and the river to come.

Image: Player 4 decides to check or bet.

5. Deal the Turn Community Card

The fourth community card is dealt face-up. The turn adds further possibilities for hand combinations that can increase the size of the pot. Another betting round begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer.

Image: After checking the flop, Player 4 sees that the turn card is a 4 of Spades.

6. Choose Your Action for the Turn

Decisions are now more informed because four community cards are visible. Players can again check, bet, call, raise, or fold at this stage. Once the betting is over, only the fifth community card, the river, is left to be dealt.

Image: Player 4 bets $0.20, but another player raises to $0.40.

7. Deal the River Community Card

The river card is placed face-up, completing the five cards on the board. Players can now see their best 5-card poker hand. The final betting round begins with the first active player to the dealer’s left once again.

Image: Player 4 sees the river is a 7 of Clubs.

8. Choose Your Action for the River

With all community cards revealed, the last betting round begins. Players make final decisions based on the complete hand: check, bet, call, raise, or fold. Once the betting is complete, any remaining players move to the showdown.

Image: Player 4 checks, another player goes all-in and Player 4 must decide to call or fold.

9. Showdown and Decide a Winner

All remaining active players reveal their cards after the river. The best five-card hand is confirmed and wins the pot, which is moved towards the winner. In case of a tie, the pot is equally split between the winning players.

Image: Player 4 calls, and their pair of Kings loses to the set of Fives from Player 2.

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Texas Hold’em Odds: Use Math to Improve Your Decisions

Texas Hold’em is a game based mainly around skill, so understanding the math behind it can give you a decisive advantage. Poker odds show the likelihood of improving your hand or hitting a winning combination based on the remaining cards. 

Here are some basic poker odds to inform your strategy, such as odds of being dealt hands and odds of drawing to hand combinations.

Odds of Being Dealt Hands in Texas Hold’em

Firstly, let’s look at the probability of being dealt specific hole cards in Texas Hold’em:

Hand Type	Probability
Pocket Aces	0.45%
Pocket Kings	0.45%
Pocket Queens	0.45%
Any Pair	5.9%
Ace-King Suited	0.30%
Ace-King Offsuit	1.2%
Any Two Suited	23.5%
Any Two Offsuit	76.5%

Odds of Drawing to Hand Combinations in Texas Hold’em

Your randomly drawn hole cards won’t influence your decision in Hold’em, as that’s simply how a hand begins. However, knowing the likelihood of drawing to a certain hand should greatly influence your action.

Draw Type	Your Hand on The Flop	Probability by River
Flush Draw	You have four cards of the same suit and need one more on the turn or river to complete a flush	35%
Open-Ended Straight Draw	You have four consecutive cards and can complete a straight with a card on either end	31.5%
Inside Straight Draw	You need one specific card in the middle of a straight to complete it by the river	16.5%
Two Overcards to Pair	You hold two cards higher than any on the board and are drawing to make a top pair on the turn or the river	24%
Set Draw	You hold a pocket pair and are drawing to make three of a kind (trips) by the turn or river	11%
Open-Ended Straight Flush Draw	You have four suited consecutive cards and can complete a straight flush with one card on the turn or the river	4.25%

Understanding these draw types and their probabilities allows you to make more informed decisions as you play Texas Hold’em.

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Texas Hold’em Strategy: Learn the Basics and Level Up

Using our solid Texas Hold’em strategies for beginners lifts you from someone who understands Hold’em to someone who is hard to beat at the game.

Here are three essential strategies to take to the poker tables.

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Texas Hold’em Variants: Different Styles of Poker to Play

Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker format, but other great alternatives are ready.

Here are three great Hold’em variants to discover for yourself:

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The History of Texas Hold’em

The precise birthplace and date of Texas Hold’em isn’t known, but it is believed to have originated in Robstown, Texas, during the early 1900s.

But, who invented poker? The game was played widely through Texas until the 1960s, when a group of players introduced Hold’em to Las Vegas. Casinos quickly adopted the game, and it grew to become a staple across the bright-light city.

By the 1970s, Texas Hold’em was the centerpiece of the World Series of Poker. Televised coverage and the online poker boom in the 2000s cemented its reputation as the most popular form of poker worldwide.

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Related Texas Hold’em Articles

Learn more about Texas Hold’em at these pages:

• How to Deal Texas Hold’em Poker
• How to Play Texas Hold’em at Home
• Value Betting in Texas Holdem

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