Texas Hold’em Poker Rules

Setup and the dealer button

Texas Hold’em uses a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. A marker called the dealer button shows who is nominally the dealer for the hand. After every hand the button moves one seat clockwise, so everyone gets the same share of good and bad positions over time. The button matters because it decides who acts first and last (see poker positions).

Blinds

Before cards are dealt, two players post forced bets:

• The small blind sits immediately clockwise of the button and posts half the minimum bet.
• The big blind sits next to the small blind and posts the full minimum bet.

Heads-up (two players), the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop; the other player posts the big blind. Some tournaments also add an ante, a small forced contribution from every player.

The betting rounds

There are four rounds of betting. Before the flop, action starts with the player to the left of the big blind. On every later round, action starts with the first active player to the left of the button.

A betting round ends when every player who is still in the hand has either folded or put in the same amount as the highest bet. The big blind keeps an “option”: if everyone only calls, the big blind may still check or raise before the flop.

Your actions

• Fold: discard your hand and forfeit any chips you have already bet.
• Check: pass without betting. Allowed only if nobody has bet in this round (the big blind may check before the flop if no one raised).
• Call: match the current bet.
• Bet: be the first to put chips in during a round. The minimum bet is the size of the big blind.
• Raise: increase an existing bet. See the minimum raise rule below.
• All-in: bet every chip you have left.

The minimum raise rule

A raise must be at least as big as the largest previous bet or raise in that round. Example before the flop with blinds 50/100:

1. The big blind is 100, so the first raise must make the bet at least 200 (a raise of 100).
2. You raise to 300. That is a raise of 200 over 100.
3. The next player must raise to at least 500 (300 plus another 200).

You may always put in less than a full raise if it is all of your remaining chips (an all-in).

Reopening the betting. A full raise gives everyone another chance to raise. An all-in that is smaller than a full raise does not: players who have already acted may only call or fold, though players yet to act can raise normally. If several short all-ins together add up to at least a full raise, the betting is reopened.

All-in and side pots

When you bet all your chips you cannot be forced to put in more, but you can only win as much from each opponent as you matched. Extra bets from deeper-stacked players go into one or more side pots that you are not eligible to win.

Example. Anna has 100 chips, Ben has 300 and Cara has 1,000. All three go all-in or call as much as they can.

• Main pot: 100 from each of three players = 300. Anna, Ben and Cara can all win it.
• Side pot 1: the next 200 from Ben and Cara = 400. Only Ben and Cara can win it.
• Side pot 2: Cara’s remaining 700 has no one to match it, so it is simply returned to her.

Each pot is awarded separately to the best hand among the players eligible for it, so the short stack can win the main pot while someone else wins the side pot.

Showdown and tied hands

If two or more players remain after the river betting, they reveal their cards. Each uses the best five of their seven cards (two hole cards plus five community cards) and the best hand wins according to the hand rankings. Suits never break ties.

• Kickers. When two players have the same type of hand, the remaining cards decide. For example, with A-K against A-Q on a board of A-7-4-2-2, both players make two pair (aces and twos), and the king kicker beats the queen.
• Playing the board. If the best five cards are all on the table, everyone who is still in splits the pot.
• Split pots. Tied players share the pot equally. If chips cannot divide evenly, the odd chip goes to the first tied player to the left of the button.
• Uncontested pots. If everyone else folds, the last player wins without showing any cards.

Table conduct

Act in turn, do not reveal your cards or discuss a live hand, and keep chat friendly. Online, you also have a turn clock: if it runs out, your hand is checked when that is free and folded otherwise. After several missed turns in a row a player is sat out until they return.