How to Play Texas Hold'em: Rules for Beginners

Texas Hold'em is the most widely played form of poker, and the game most people mean when they say "poker night". It takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.

This guide walks through one complete hand, then covers position, betting structures, all-ins and side pots, so you can run your first home game with confidence.

What you need

A standard 52-card deck with no jokers (two decks with contrasting back colours speed things up: one is shuffled while the other is dealt).
Chips for every player. Our guide to how many poker chips you need has the numbers.
A dealer button to mark the dealing position.
Two to ten players. Six to nine is ideal for a home game.

The aim of the game

Each player is dealt two private cards, called hole cards. Five shared community cards are then dealt face up in the middle of the table. You make the best five-card hand from any combination of your two cards and the five on the board. You can use both of your cards, one of them, or none.

You win the pot either by holding the best hand at the showdown, or by making a bet that nobody else is prepared to call.

The button and the blinds

Deal one card face up to each player; the highest card takes the dealer button for the first hand. The button moves one seat to the left after every hand, so everyone takes a turn in each position.

Before the cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the button post forced bets called blinds:

Small blind: the first player to the left of the button. Usually half the big blind.
Big blind: the next player to the left. This sets the minimum bet for the hand.

The blinds make sure there is always something in the pot worth playing for.

Playing a hand, step by step

1. Pre-flop

Starting to the dealer's left, each player receives two cards face down, one at a time. The first player to act is the one to the left of the big blind, a seat known as under the gun. Each player in turn may:

Fold: give up the hand and any chips already in the pot.
Call: match the current bet (at first, the big blind).
Raise: increase the bet. Everyone after must then call the new amount, raise again or fold.

If nobody raises, the big blind has the option to check (stay in without adding chips) or to raise.

2. The flop

The dealer burns the top card (places it face down to one side, out of play), then deals three community cards face up. This is the flop. A new round of betting begins with the first active player to the left of the button. With no bet in front of them, players may now check as well as bet.

3. The turn

The dealer burns another card and turns over a fourth community card, the turn. Another round of betting follows, again starting with the first active player to the left of the button.

4. The river

After a final burn card, the fifth and last community card, the river, is dealt face up. There is one last round of betting.

5. The showdown

If two or more players remain after the final bet, their cards are revealed. The player who made the last bet or raise on the river shows first; if everyone checked, the first active player to the left of the button shows first. The best five-card hand wins the pot.

A player who knows they are beaten may muck (throw away) their cards without showing them. In the end, the cards speak: a hand is judged on what it actually is, not on what a player announces.

Squirrel tip: If everyone else folds at any point, the last remaining player wins the pot straight away and does not have to show their cards.

Splitting the pot

If two or more players have hands of exactly the same value, they share the pot equally. This often happens when the five board cards are the best hand for everyone, which is called "playing the board". Any odd chip that cannot be split is usually given to the first winning player to the left of the button. Write that rule into your house rules so there is no debate.

Why position matters

Acting after your opponents is a big advantage, because you see what they do before you decide. After the flop, the player on the button acts last on every round, which makes it the strongest seat at the table.

Early position: the first few seats to act. Play fewer, stronger hands here.
Middle position: a little more freedom.
Late position: the button and the seat to its right (the cut-off). You can play more hands because you have the most information.

Position and starting-hand choice go together. The Poker Whizz Wheel is a simple pre-flop strategy guide for the table: turn it to your two cards to see how strong the hand is and whether to play it from early, middle or late position.

Heads-up (two players): the player on the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, then last on every later round.

Betting structures: limit, pot-limit and no-limit

Agree the betting structure before the game starts. The cards and the order of play stay the same; only the size of bets changes.

Structure	How bets work	Best for
No-limit	Any bet or raise can be up to all the chips in front of you ("all in"). A raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.	Tournaments and most home games
Pot-limit	The largest bet or raise is the size of the pot, counting the amount needed to call first.	Players who want big pots with a little more control
Fixed limit	Bets and raises go up in fixed steps: one big blind before the flop and on the flop, two big blinds on the turn and river. Usually one bet and three raises per round.	Beginners and friendly cash games

All-ins and side pots

You can never be forced out of a hand because you cannot afford a bet. If you go all in for less than the full bet, you can win only the amount you matched from each other player. Any extra betting between the remaining players goes into a separate side pot, which you cannot win.

Example: Amy is all in for 200. Ben and Chloe both call and keep betting until each has put in 500. The main pot is 600 (200 from each of the three), and all three can win it. The side pot is 600 (the extra 300 each from Ben and Chloe), and only Ben or Chloe can win it.

A few house rules worth agreeing

Blind levels and how often they rise (for tournaments).
Whether verbal declarations such as "raise" are binding (we recommend yes).
What happens to the odd chip in a split pot.
The finishing time.

See our home poker rules guide for a complete set you can adopt, and poker etiquette for table manners. For chip values and a ready-made blind structure, read poker chip values and colours.