Texas Hold'em
How to Play Texas Hold'em
Texas Hold'em is the poker game most kitchen tables mean when they say "deal some poker." You get two private cards. Five more are dealt face up in the middle. You make the best five-card poker hand from that mix, or you fold and let someone else fight over the pot. Forced bets called blinds put chips in before anyone looks, so every hand has something to play for.
This page is one first hand, start to finish. It is a practice-table version, the same game CardPractice teaches in the Hold'em lessons. After you can name the streets and the rankings, replay the awkward spots in poker practice.
What you need
- A standard 52-card deck. No jokers.
- Two to nine people. Six is a friendly first-night number.
- Chips, matches, or a paper bank. Agree the small blind and big blind before you shuffle. A common home pair is 1 and 2, in whatever unit you are using.
CardPractice is a trainer. You are learning the decisions, not running a cash game.
The button and the blinds
Pick someone to start with the dealer button. After each hand the button moves one seat clockwise, so the job of acting last rotates.
The player immediately left of the button is the small blind. The next seat is the big blind. They put those bets in before any cards come out. That is the whole reason the pot is not empty.
Hole cards, then preflop
Deal one card at a time, face down, until each player has two. Those are your hole cards. Do not show them.
Betting starts with the player left of the big blind (under the gun) and goes clockwise. On this street you cannot check unless you already have the bet covered. The usual choices:
- Fold — toss the hand. You are done until the next deal.
- Call — match the current bet (the big blind, if nobody has raised).
- Raise — put in more than the current bet. Everyone still in must call that new number, raise again, or fold.
The big blind acts last preflop. If nobody raised, they may check and see a flop for the chips they already put in, or they may raise.
Flop, turn, river
Burn one card face down (optional at home, standard in the book), then:
- Flop: three community cards at once. Betting starts with the first still-in player left of the button. Now you may check if nobody has bet yet.
- Turn: a fourth community card. Another betting round, same order.
- River: a fifth community card. Last betting round. If more than one player is still in, you show down.
After the flop, check / bet / call / raise / fold are all on the table. If someone bets, a check is no longer legal. You call, raise, or fold.
Hand rankings, high to low
| Rank | Hand | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A-K-Q-J-10, all one suit |
| 2 | Straight flush | Five in a row, all one suit |
| 3 | Four of a kind | Four cards the same rank |
| 4 | Full house | Three of a kind plus a pair |
| 5 | Flush | Five cards, one suit, not in a row |
| 6 | Straight | Five in a row, mixed suits. Ace can be high or low. |
| 7 | Three of a kind | Three of one rank |
| 8 | Two pair | Two different pairs |
| 9 | One pair | Two of one rank |
| 10 | High card | Nothing connected. Highest card speaks. |
Suits never break a tie. If two players have the same ranking, the higher cards inside that ranking win. If the five-card hands are identical, the pot is split.
A first-hand walkthrough
Six players. You are on the button. Blinds are 1 and 2. You look at ace-king of hearts. Under the gun folds. Two people call 2. You raise to 6. The blinds fold. One caller comes along.
Flop: king of clubs, 9 of hearts, 4 of hearts. They check. You bet. They call.
Turn: 2 of diamonds. Check, you bet, they fold. You take the pot without showing. You do not owe the table a speech about the second heart. That is a legal first night.
If they had called the river too, you would turn ace-king up. Pair of kings with an ace kicker, plus a missed flush draw, is still just one pair. The board might have been kinder to them. That is why the rankings chart stays on the table.
Night-one habits
- Fold the junk. 7-2 offsuit is a famous lemon for a reason.
- Play fewer hands from early position. The button can play a little wider because it acts last after the flop.
- Count to five. Your hand is five cards, not seven. Extra hole cards do not ride along for free.
- If the board is three of one suit, someone may already have a flush. Your pair of aces is not automatic.
Keep the Hold'em cheat sheet nearby, then the starting-hands chart for which hole cards to play, then the lessons for betting and reading the board. Practice with the cards where you can see them.