Learn how to play Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold’em is the world’s most widely played poker variant and the game most commonly associated with major live and online poker tournaments. It is a community-card game that combines relatively simple rules with considerable strategic depth.

Each player receives two private cards, known as hole cards, and can use them together with five community cards dealt face up on the table. The objective is to make the best five-card poker hand — or win the pot by getting every other player to fold before showdown.

This guide explains how to play Texas Hold’em, including the basic rules and betting rounds, popular Hold’em variations, fundamental strategy concepts, and the differences between cash games and tournaments.

Texas Hold’em Basic Rules and Gameplay

Texas Hold’em is normally played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player receives two private hole cards, while up to five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. Players make their best five-card poker hand using any combination of their hole cards and the community cards.

That means a player can use both hole cards, one hole card, or neither hole card. If the five community cards form the player’s best possible hand, the player is said to play the board.

Before the cards are dealt, the two players immediately to the left of the dealer button normally post forced bets called the small blind and big blind. The exact size of the blinds depends on the stakes or tournament level. The dealer button and blinds move clockwise after each hand.

Texas Hold’em has four betting rounds: preflop, flop, turn, and river.

• Preflop: Each player receives two hole cards. The first player to act is normally the player immediately to the left of the big blind, known as under the gun.
• Flop: Three community cards are dealt face up. Betting begins with the first active player clockwise from the dealer button.
• Turn: A fourth community card is dealt, followed by another betting round.
• River: The fifth and final community card is dealt, followed by the final betting round.

Players can fold when facing action, call an existing bet, or raise it. When no bet has been made on the current betting round, a player can normally check or bet.

If all but one player folds, the remaining player wins the pot without having to show their cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, the hand proceeds to showdown.

At showdown, each remaining player forms the best possible five-card hand from the seven cards available to them. The player with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot. If two or more players have identical best five-card hands, the pot is split between them.

Popular Variations of Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em can be played with different betting structures, including No Limit, Fixed Limit, and Pot Limit. There are also related Hold’em variants that change the deck, number of hole cards, community boards, or other rules.

No Limit, Fixed Limit, and Pot Limit

No Limit Hold’em allows players to bet any amount from the minimum legal bet up to their entire remaining stack. It is the most familiar Hold’em format and is widely played in cash games and tournaments.

Fixed Limit Hold’em uses predetermined betting increments. A typical structure uses a smaller bet size before and on the flop and a larger bet size on the turn and river. The number of bets and raises permitted on each street may also be capped.

Pot Limit Hold’em limits the maximum wager to the size of the pot after accounting for the amount required to call. Pot Limit is much less common for Hold’em than for Omaha, but the structure can be used with either game.

Six Plus Hold’em

Six Plus Hold’em, also known as Short Deck Hold’em, uses a 36-card deck with the twos through fives removed.

The smaller deck changes hand frequencies and creates different strategic considerations from traditional Texas Hold’em. An ace can play low in the A-6-7-8-9 Straight because six is the lowest card remaining in the deck.

Hand-ranking rules can vary. In many Short Deck games, a Flush ranks above a Full House because Flushes are less common with only nine cards in each suit. Some rulesets also change the ranking of Three of a Kind relative to a Straight, so players should confirm the house rules before playing.

Royal Hold’em

Royal Hold’em is a Hold’em variant played with a 20-card deck consisting only of tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces.

Players still receive two hole cards and use community cards, but the drastically smaller deck produces much stronger average hands than standard Texas Hold’em.

Because only five ranks are available, traditional Hold’em hand frequencies and starting-hand values do not apply in the same way.

Super Hold’em

The name Super Hold’em has been used for several Hold’em variants, and rules can vary.

One version deals players three hole cards rather than two and requires one card to be discarded, leaving the player with two hole cards for the remainder of the hand. Players should confirm the exact rules before playing because there is no single universally standardized Super Hold’em format.

Pineapple

Pineapple is a family of Hold’em-style games in which players receive three hole cards instead of two and eventually discard one.

The timing of the discard depends on the variant. In standard Pineapple, players generally discard one card before the flop. In Crazy Pineapple, the discard occurs after the flop.

Other versions use different rules, so players should confirm when the discard takes place and how many hole cards can ultimately be used.

Double Board Hold’em

Double Board Hold’em uses two separate community-card boards. Players make their best Hold’em hand on each board, with the pot typically divided between the winner of each board.

A player who has the best hand on both boards can win the entire pot, commonly called scooping.

Specific rules can vary, particularly in bomb-pot versions of Double Board Hold’em.

Irish Poker

Irish Poker combines elements associated with Omaha and Texas Hold’em. Players are typically dealt four hole cards and see a flop before discarding two of them.

After the discard, the hand continues using Hold’em rules with the player’s remaining two hole cards.

Because rules can vary between games, players should confirm the discard procedure before playing.

Texas Hold’em Basic Strategy

Learning the rules is relatively easy, but becoming a strong Texas Hold’em player requires understanding how starting hands, position, ranges, bet sizing, pot odds, and stack sizes interact.

For beginners, one of the most useful principles is to be selective about which starting hands to play. Stronger starting ranges reduce the number of difficult situations a new player encounters after the flop.

Position is another fundamental concept. Players acting later in a betting round get to see what opponents do before making their own decisions. The button is particularly valuable because the player on the button acts last after the flop whenever the hand remains multiway or heads-up under standard action order.

Rather than judging a hand only by its absolute strength, players should learn to think in terms of ranges. An opponent who raises from early position may have a different range from one who raises from the button, and those differences affect how other players should respond.

Bet sizing also matters. The appropriate size depends on factors including the board, ranges, stack depth, position, and the objective of the bet. There is no single correct size for all value bets or bluffs.

Players should also understand pot odds. Comparing the cost of a call with the amount that can be won helps determine how much equity a hand needs for calling to be profitable.

Tournament vs Cash Game Strategy

Cash games and tournaments use the same fundamental Hold’em rules, but their structures create important strategic differences.

In a cash game, blinds normally remain fixed and chips represent money directly. Players can generally leave between hands and can buy additional chips within the table’s minimum and maximum buy-in rules.

Tournament blinds and antes increase as the event progresses. A player’s stack should therefore often be considered in relation to the blinds, usually expressed in big blinds.

Tournament payouts introduce another important difference. Tournament chips do not have a direct one-to-one cash value, and the value of accumulating or losing chips can change according to the payout structure.

The Independent Chip Model, or ICM, is one method used to estimate the monetary value of tournament chip stacks. ICM becomes particularly relevant in situations such as tournament bubbles, final tables, and other significant payout transitions.

No Limit Hold’em Strategy

No Limit Hold’em allows players to wager their entire stack, making effective stack size an important part of nearly every decision.

A player with 20 big blinds faces very different strategic choices from a player with 200 big blinds, even when holding the same cards. Deeper stacks allow more betting on later streets and increase the importance of concepts such as implied odds and reverse implied odds.

Bet sizing is also a major part of No Limit strategy. Players can choose among many different sizes based on the board, ranges, stack-to-pot ratio, and objective of the bet.

As stacks become shorter, preflop decisions generally become more important because fewer chips remain available for postflop betting. Tournament players may eventually encounter situations in which moving all-in or folding becomes a significant part of their strategy.

Limit Hold’em Strategy

Fixed Limit Hold’em restricts bets and raises to predetermined amounts, changing many of the incentives found in No Limit Hold’em.

Because opponents often receive relatively favorable pot odds to continue, draws and marginal made hands can play differently than they do in No Limit games. Bluffing opportunities also differ because players cannot use very large bet sizes to place maximum pressure on an opponent.

Position, starting-hand selection, pot odds, value betting, and understanding opponents’ ranges remain important despite the fixed betting sizes.

Limit Hold’em can also produce substantial variance, particularly in games with frequent multiway pots. A fixed betting structure should not be interpreted to mean that the game necessarily produces low short-term variance.

Position-Based Strategy

Position describes where a player acts relative to the other players, and starting-hand ranges generally change according to position.

Early position requires acting before most of the table preflop and often playing out of position after the flop. Players therefore generally use narrower opening ranges from early position.

Middle position allows ranges to expand as fewer players remain to act behind.

Late position, particularly the cutoff and button, provides more opportunities to enter pots because fewer opponents remain and the player is more likely to have positional advantage after the flop.

The small blind and big blind are special positions because they have already contributed chips before receiving their cards. This improves the immediate price they receive when facing some raises, but the blinds frequently have a positional disadvantage after the flop.

There is no universal percentage of hands that should be played from each position. Appropriate ranges depend on factors including the number of players, stack depth, betting structure, ante structure, raise size, opponents, and whether the game is a cash game or tournament.

Texas Hold’em FAQ

What is the best starting hand in Texas Hold’em?

Pocket aces (A-A) are the strongest starting hand in Texas Hold’em.

Against one completely random hand, pocket aces have roughly 85% equity before the flop, although their exact equity depends on the opponent’s cards. Their equity also decreases as additional players enter the pot.

How do you calculate pot odds?

Pot odds compare the cost of calling with the pot you can win.

For example, suppose the pot contains $100 and an opponent bets $25. Before you call, the pot is now $125, and calling costs $25. You are risking $25 to contest a final pot of $150.

The break-even equity required is therefore:

$25 / ($125 + $25) = 16.7%

The same situation can be expressed as pot odds of 5-to-1.

What does position mean in poker?

Position refers to when a player acts relative to their opponents.

Acting later generally provides more information because the player sees what opponents do before making a decision. The button is therefore considered the strongest positional seat after the flop because it acts last.

When should you fold pocket kings preflop?

Pocket kings are the second-highest starting pair in Texas Hold’em and will usually be a very strong preflop hand.

However, there is no universal rule that kings should never be folded before the flop. The correct decision depends on factors such as stack depth, betting action, opponent ranges, game format, and, in tournaments, payout considerations.

Against pocket aces specifically, pocket kings are a substantial underdog, although exact equity varies slightly according to suits.

What is the difference between cash games and tournaments?

Cash-game chips represent money directly, and blind levels normally remain fixed. Players can generally buy in, rebuy, or leave according to the table’s rules.

Tournament players pay an entry fee and receive tournament chips. Blinds increase according to a schedule, players are eliminated when they lose all their chips unless re-entry or rebuy rules apply, and prizes are determined by finishing position.

Tournament strategy can therefore involve considerations such as changing stack depths, escalating blinds, payout structures, and ICM that do not apply in the same way to cash games.

What percentage of hands should you play in Texas Hold’em?

There is no single correct percentage of starting hands to play.

Appropriate ranges depend on position, number of players, stack depth, raise sizes, opponents, antes, and game format. In general, players should enter fewer pots from early position and can play wider ranges as they move closer to the button.

How many hole cards do you get in Texas Hold’em?

Each player receives two private hole cards.

Players can use both, one, or neither of those cards when making their final five-card hand.

Do you have to use both hole cards in Texas Hold’em?

No. Unlike Omaha, Texas Hold’em does not require players to use a specific number of hole cards.

A player’s final hand is simply the best five-card combination available from their two hole cards and the five community cards.

How many community cards are there in Texas Hold’em?

Up to five community cards are dealt: three on the flop, one on the turn, and one on the river.

A hand can end before all five cards are dealt if every player except one folds.