Texas Hold’em does not have many rules, but the ones that trip up new players are rarely about which hand beats which. They are about seat order, when it is your turn, how much you have to raise, and where the money goes when somebody is all-in. This page covers a hand from the deal to the split.
If you have never played before, start with what poker is. If you only need to check which hand wins, go straight to the hand rankings chart.
- ✓The button decides every other position. The small blind sits to its immediate left, the big blind next, and the button moves one seat left after each hand.
- ✓Before the flop the action starts left of the big blind. After the flop it starts at the small blind, which is why the button acts last on every later street.
- ✓A raise has a minimum: it must go up by at least as much as the previous raise went up.
- ✓When a short stack is all-in, a side pot forms and that player can only win the part they actually paid into.
- ✓At showdown the last player who bet or raised shows first; identical hands split the pot.
Position: the button and the blinds
A marker called the button moves around the table and represents the nominal dealer for that hand. Everything else is defined from it.
- The player to the immediate left of the button posts the small blind, and the next player posts the big blind.
- Both put money in before seeing their cards. This is forced, not a choice. The small blind is usually half the big blind, so at a 1/2 table it is 1 and 2.
- After each hand the button moves one seat to the left, so every seat rotates through every position.
In tournaments an ante is often added in later levels. Everyone (or the big blind on their behalf) puts in an extra amount, which inflates the pot from the start and stops players from simply waiting for premium hands.
The four betting rounds
Each player receives two private hole cards, and there are four betting rounds with community cards revealed in between.
- Preflop — hole cards only. Action starts to the left of the big blind.
- Flop — three community cards at once, then a betting round.
- Turn — a fourth community card, then a betting round.
- River — a fifth community card and the final betting round.
If everyone folds to one player at any point, the hand ends immediately, that player takes the pot, and they never have to show their cards. Only hands with two or more players remaining after the river reach showdown.
The action order is not the same before and after the flop
This catches almost every beginner. Preflop the action begins left of the big blind, because the blinds have already put money in — which means the big blind acts last. After the flop it starts at the small blind instead, so the button becomes the last to act.
That is where positional advantage comes from: on every street after the flop, the button sees what everyone else does before deciding.
What you can do on your turn
Your options depend entirely on whether somebody has already bet.
- If nobody has bet: you can check (stay in without paying) or bet.
- If somebody has bet: you can fold, call (match their amount), or raise. Checking is not available.
What counts as a minimum raise
You cannot raise by a token amount. The rule is that a raise must increase by at least as much as the previous raise did.
At a 1/2 table:
- The big blind is 2, so the first raise must be to at least 4 (an increase of 2).
- If someone makes it 6 — 4 more than the big blind — the next raise must be to at least 10.
- If someone makes it 15 — 9 more than 6 — the next raise must be to at least 24.
Calling has no such restriction. You simply match whatever is in front of you.
All-in and side pots
Going all-in means pushing in every chip you have left. Once your chips are in, you no longer have to respond to any further betting and you can see the hand through to showdown.
The complication is when opponents have more chips than you. Say three players are in the pot:
- Player A is all-in for 50. Players B and C each have 200.
- B and C keep betting until each has put in 200.
Two pots now exist. The main pot is 50 from each of the three players, so 150, and A is eligible for it. The side pot is the extra 150 each from B and C, so 300, and only B and C can win it.
So even if A has the best hand at showdown, A collects only the 150 main pot. The side pot goes to whoever wins between B and C. You can never win more from a player than you put in yourself.
Showdown
When two or more players are still in after the final betting round:
- Who shows first: the last player who bet or raised. If everyone checked on the river, it starts at the small blind and moves clockwise.
- How hands are made: use your two hole cards plus the five community cards to make the best five-card hand. You may use two hole cards, one, or even none — if the board itself is the best five cards, everyone still in splits the pot.
- Ties: when two players hold the same hand type, the kicker decides. Two players with a pair of aces compare their highest remaining card. Only truly identical hands split.
Suits have no ranking. The ace of spades and the ace of hearts are exactly equal. There is no “spades beat hearts” rule in poker.
Common mistakes
Rules that vary by venue
Everything above describes No-Limit Hold’em, which covers the vast majority of cash games and tournaments today. A few things still differ from room to room:
- Betting limits — No-Limit lets you move all-in at any point; Pot Limit caps a raise at the size of the pot; Fixed Limit sets the amount for each street.
- Rake — cash games usually take a percentage of each pot, with a cap set by the room.
- Optional rules — straddles, run-it-twice, and similar options vary by venue.
Get position, action order and side pots straight and the rest is detail built on the same frame.
