Texas Holdem Poker Rules
Texas Holdem Poker Rules
The descriptions below assume a familiarity with the general
game play of poker, and with poker hands. For a detailed online
poker strategy see
Online Poker Strategy and Tips. Play of the hand
Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down.
These are the player's hole cards. These are the only
cards each player will receive individually, and they will only
(possibly) be revealed at the showdown, making Texas holdem a
closed poker game. The hand begins with a "pre-flop" betting
round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind
(or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used)
and continuing clockwise. After the pre-flop betting round, the
dealer deals a burn card, followed by three face-up community
cards called the flop. The flop is followed by a second betting
round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the
player to the dealer's left and continue clockwise. After the
flop betting round ends, another card is burned, and a single
community card called the turn (or fourth street) is dealt,
followed by a third betting round. A final burn card is followed
by a single community card called the river (or fifth street),
followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if
necessary. Betting structures
In casino play, it is common to use a fixed limit and two
blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called
a small bet, while the limit for the third and fourth
betting rounds is called a big bet and is generally double the
small bet. The small blind is usually equal to half of a
small bet, and the big blind is equal to a full small
bet. (In some cases, the small blind is some other fraction of a
small bet, e.g. $10 is a common small blind when the small bet
is $15; this occurs mainly in brick and mortar rooms where
higher-denomination chips are used. The double-blind
structure described above is relatively recent; until the 1980s,
a single-blind structure was most common.)
Occasionally, the fourth bet is larger still (a big river
bet), and the big blind is sometimes less than the small
bet, in which case it is treated the same way a sub-minimum
bring-in is treated in stud poker. Antes may be used instead of,
or in addition to, blinds; this is especially true in tournament
play. The game also plays very well at the no-limit level, and
many tournaments (including the above mentioned World Series
championship event) are played with this structure.
In no-limit hold 'em, any player may wager all of the chips that
he has on the table at any time. This is known as an "all-in"
wager. If another player still in the hand wants to call the
all-in bet, but doesn't have enough chips on the table to match
the bet, he may call for the amount of chips he has in front of
him. The original bettor then takes back the part of his bet
that exceeds the amount of the call, unless there is another
player also in the hand who calls the bet, in which case a side
pot is created between those two players for the amount in
excess of that matched by the caller with the fewer chips.
The showdown
If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining
player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole
cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting
round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the
best five-card hand he can make from the seven cards comprising
his two hole cards and the board (the five community cards). A
player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none
at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community
cards form the player's best hand, then the player is said to be
playing the board.
If the best hand is shared by more than one player (e.g. if no
player is able to beat the board), then the pot is split equally
amongst all remaining players. However, it is common for players
to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked hands. In
particular, kickers are often needed to break ties.
Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand,
because often the board nullifies kickers. (See the second
example below.) Straights often split the pot, and multiple
flushes may occur. In the case of flushes, the flush is awarded
to the player with the highest flush card which completes a
flush and beats the board's flush cards. If there is a flush on
board, (i.e. if all the board cards are the same suit), then
under cards in that suit do not play, and if no
one has a card in the flush suit beating the board, then the pot
is split. The sole exception to this rule is the case of a
straight-flush.
The best possible hand given the five community cards is
referred to as the nuts. The lowest possible nuts is three
queens (this occurs with, for example, 2 3 7 8 Q on the board,
with no more than two cards of any one suit). Online
Poker
We suggest that you practice at any online poker room at the
free tables before wagering your own money. Many
online poker rooms such as Party
Poker will offer you sign up bonuses so that you can play
for money, but minimize your risk and capital outlay