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Games
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Texas Holdem Game Rules Learning how to play a game of Texas Hold'em can seem much more difficult than it really is. This article provides all the information you need to start playing the game, and the free Flash game above (just click the play button to get started) can help you get used to the speed of play. Any time you get confused by the action, read below for some guidance. Each topic below also contains links to more in-depth articles on that specific subject. Quick Glossary Before we get into describing the rules and game-play, here's a quick glossary of terms you'll encounter.
Overview Texas Hold'em is a community card poker game, with game play focused as much on the betting as on the cards being played. Although the rules and game play remain mostly the same, the end goal is slightly different depending on if you're playing a cash game or a tournament. A Hold'em tournament is the same as any other game of Hold'em with a few added rules and twists. (There will also be a link at the bottom of the page). Texas Holdem is played on a single table with two to 10 players. The goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time. You win a pot by having the best hand, or by having all other players fold before the showdown. The structure of Texas Hold'em can be broken up into three main divisions:
Setup Once you have your players sitting around the table, the first thing you need to have is chips. Before you can figure out what kind of chips to give each player, you need to understand how the game works a little better, so we'll get back to this. For now, assume all players have chips in front of them. The next step is picking the player who will start with the dealer button. Hold'em is played with what's known as a rotating dealer, meaning a player will act as the dealer for one hand, handing the role of dealer to the player on their left when the hand is completed. To choose the dealer, either deal every player one card, or spread the cards facedown on the table and have every player choose one. The player with the highest-valued card (aces are high for selecting a dealer) starts as the dealer. If you're in a place with a professional dealer, or someone volunteers to always physically deal the cards, the dealer button will still rotate around the table. Even though they're not physically dealing the cards, for all intents and purposes, the person with the button is viewed as being the dealer for the hand. Once the hand completes, the player with the dealer button will pass it to the player on their left. Putting Out the Blinds Now that you have a dealer, you need to put out the blinds. There are two blinds in Holdem - a small blind and a big blind. The player directly to the left of the dealer puts out the small blind. The big blind (exactly, or conveniently close to, double that of the small blind) is placed by the player to the left of the small blind. The size of the blinds will dictate the stakes of the game you're about to play. Typically, you want players to buy in for no less than 100 times the size of the big blind. If you want to buy in for $20, you should play with blinds 10¢/20¢, or for convenience, most people will play 10¢/25¢. Back to chips: Once the blinds are set we know what kind of chips we'll need to play. (In the above example, we'd use 10¢ chips, 25¢ chips and maybe a few $1 chips.) You want to give players enough chips in each denomination to allow the game to run smoothly. Typically a player will need only 10% of their total chips in the smallest denomination, as they are only ever used to pay the small blind. For the most part, all betting will be done with chips larger than that of the small blind. Once you have the blinds out, you're now ready to deal the first hand. Game-Play and Betting Rounds The person dealing the cards deals to the left of the player with the dealer button first, rotating around the table in a clockwise manner, giving each player one card at a time until each player has two cards. These are known as your hole cards. A hand of Hold'em consists of a minimum of one and a maximum of four betting rounds. A hand ends when all players but one have folded, or the fourth and final betting round completes with multiple players still in the hand - whichever comes first. At that point, players enter into the showdown (to be explained in the next section). Preflop When all players receive their hole cards, you are now in the preflop betting round. Each player must look at their cards and decide what action they would like to take. In Hold'em, only one player can act at a time. The preflop betting round starts with the player to the left of the big blind. This player has three options:
Once a player has made their action, the player to the left of them gets their turn to act. Each player is given the same options: fold, call the bet of the player to their right (if the previous player raised, that is the amount you must call) or raise. A raise is always the amount of one bet in addition to the amount of the previous bet, for example: if the big blind is 25¢, and the first player to act would like to raise, they put in a total of 50¢ (the big blind + one additional bet). If the next player would like to reraise, they would put in a total of 75¢ (the previous bet + one additional bet). A betting round ends when two conditions are met:
Example Betting Round 1 There are five players at the table: Player 1 - Button Player 2 - Small blind (10¢) Player 3 - Big blind (25¢) Start of betting round Player 4 - Calls the big blind (25¢) Player 5 - folds Player 1 - Calls the big blind (25¢) Player 2 - Calls the big blind (since they already have 10¢ bet, they only have to add another 15¢, for a total of 25¢) Player 3 - Checks (since they already have the bet matched, they do not need to add more money to call; this is called checking) End of betting round When Player 2 calls the big blind, all players now have the same amount of money in front of them, but Player 3 (the big blind) has not had a chance to act, so the betting round is not over. Once Player 3 checks, both conditions are met, and the betting round is over. Example Betting Round 2 There are five players at the table: Player 1 - Button Player 2 - Small blind (10¢) Player 3 - Big blind (25¢) Start of betting round Player 4 - Calls the big blind (25¢) Player 5 - Raises (50¢) Player 1 - Folds Player 2 - Folds Player 3 - Reraises (they already have 25¢ in as the big blind. They complete the bet of 50¢, and add one additional bet for a total of 75¢) Player 4 - Folds (their previous call of 25¢ is now in the pot) Player 5 - Calls (matches the bet of Player 3 for a total of 75¢) End of betting round In this scenario all players had had a chance to act when Player 3 made the reraise. But all players did not have the same amount of money bet. Once Player 4 folds, only Player 3 and Player 5 are left in the pot. When Player 5 calls, both conditions are met, and the betting round ends. The Flop Once the preflop betting round ends, the flop is dealt. This is done by dealing the top card in the deck facedown on the table (it becomes the burn card), followed by three cards faceup. Once this has been dealt, the first post-flop betting round begins. The rules of a post-flop betting round are the same as a preflop, with two small exceptions: The first player to act is the next player with a hand to the left of the dealer, and the first player to act can check or bet; as there has been no bet made, calling is free. A bet on the flop is the amount of the big blind. In our game, a player must put out 25¢ to make a bet. The Turn Once the betting round on the flop completes, the dealer deals one card facedown followed by a single card faceup, also known as the "burn and turn." Once the turn has been dealt, the third betting round starts. The third betting round is identical to the flop betting round with one single exception: The size of a bet for this round, and the final betting round, is doubled, meaning that to make a bet in our game will now cost a player 50¢. The River Assuming more than one player is left, having not folded on one of the previous streets, the river is now dealt. Dealing the river is identical as dealing the turn, with one card being dealt facedown, followed by a single card faceup. This is the final street, and no more cards will be dealt in this hand. The betting round is identical to the betting round on the turn. Showdown Once the river betting round has been completed, the players now enter into the showdown. At this point, the best hand wins the pot. Here are the rules you need to know about a Hold'em showdown:
Evaluating Hands In Hold'em you must make the best hand possible using any combination of your two cards and the five community cards on the table. You can use both, one or none of your own cards in making your best hand. Here are some rules about evaluating a winning poker hand:
Both players hold the very same hand (a straight from ten to ace). This means the pot is split between the two players. The remaining cards and the fact Player 1 also has a pair means nothing - only the best five-card hand factors into deciding the winner.
Once you determine the winning hand, that player receives the pot. The dealer passes the dealer button to his or her left and the two players to the left of the new dealer put out their big and small blinds respectively. Random Rules Raising
Buying Chips
Texas Holdem Tournament Rules Every single day, thousands of poker players try their luck against friends, family and strangers in both online and live Texas Hold'em tournaments. The idea behind tournament poker is that every player puts up a buy-in and gets tournament chips. Play goes on as normal with the blinds going up in regular pre-determined intervals and until one player is left with all the chips. Where you are eliminated is where you finish in the tournament. In a standard Hold'em tournament, 10% to 20% of the field is paid out with most of the money reserved for the top spots. Because you can win so much more than your initial buy-in, big tournaments attract both pros and amateurs trying to make a big score. Each room's rules vary slightly so it's always a good idea to brush up before the tournament starts. Here are some of the most standard rules for playing a poker tournament.
It is up to you to know the basic poker rules when playing in a tournament. Not properly educating yourself can cause you to unknowingly commit an infraction and get penalized or even disqualified. Hold'em Betting Rules: No-Limit, Limit, Pot-Limit Even though No-Limit Texas Hold'em is the most popular form of poker being played today, there are still many players who would rather play a Limit or Pot-Limit variant instead. In the world of poker, the popularity of No-Limit games is a relatively recent development. For many years poker was a Limit or Pot-Limit game. No-Limit only really took off once Doyle Brunson and his crew introduced the game to Las Vegas casinos. Ever since, No-Limit has steadily increased in popularity, exploding into the spotlight with the 2003 WSOP Main Event, which amateur Chris Moneymaker won. Given that it's the most popular betting variation, it only makes sense to explain it first. No-Limit Texas Hold'em People are drawn to No-Limit because of its unique mix of skill, chance and action, and because you can bet all of your chips at any point during the hand. In Texas Hold'em, players are always faced with the ability to choose one of three options:
Fixed-Limit Hold'em The second most popular form of Texas Hold'em is Limit. Whereas No-Limit is a game of brute force where players play big stacks and run up huge bluffs, Fixed Limit Hold'em is a more subtle, gentleman's game where players look to exploit small edges: a game of finesse and well-timed aggression.
Pot-Limit Hold'em Pot-Limit Hold'em is a game in between  No-Limit and Fixed-Limit. You can't bet your stack whenever you want, but you can bet however much is in the pot at the time. How you determine the maximum bet is by counting all the money in the pot and all of the bets on the table, including any call you would make before raising. (It sounds more complicated than it really is.) Two examples for you:
Pot-Limit Hold'em is not very popular, and is mostly seen only in some large tournaments (such as the WSOP), but the Pot-Limit betting structure is used in Pot-Limit Omaha. But because Pot-Limit Omaha is rapidly becoming one of the most popular poker variations, it's a good idea to get acquainted with the Pot-Limit structure anyway. Other Odd Poker Rules and Exceptions In the game of poker, there are hundreds of odd situations that can occur and numerous arcane rules that may or may not apply to them. When money is on the line, however, there needs to be a set, fair way to deal with all of these anomalies. Plenty of players across poker forums, comment boards and in the real world are always looking for answers as to these odd situations, so the goal of this article is to create a definitive list of rules to resolve these conundrums.Without further ado here is my list of odd situations and Texas Hold'em poker rules. All-In Situations Two players all-in for different amounts: In this scenario, you take the amount of the smaller stack from the big stack into the pot, returning the difference to the big-stack player. Short stack all-in against two players: When a short stack is all-in against two larger stacks, the blinds, short stack, plus the amount of the short stack from each larger stack is placed in the main pot. All players are eligible to win this pot. The two players on the side are now free to play and bet as usual into a side pot, which only they are eligible to win. (This means there can be two winners in the hand - a side pot and a main pot winner.) Multiple players all-in: When multiple players are all-in, you must make multiple side pots. Make a main pot as described above. After you've done that, repeat the process with the next-smallest stack. Continue to do this until all stacks are accounted for. Make sure to keep track of who is eligible for what pots. Balancing Tables If you're running a tournament with two tables, and table 1 loses two players while table 2 is still full, you're going to have to move one player from table 2 to keep the tables balanced. How to choose who moves is done by moving the player who is in (or closest to) the same position relative to the button. So if the open seat is in the cut-off on table 1, you want to move the player from the cut-off on table 2. This keeps players from having to pay blinds twice, or not at all. Breaking a Table If you lose enough players to be able to merge one table with another (or multiple others), it's time to break the table. How to choose who sits where is done by drawing for the open seats. If you're moving everyone onto one final table, typically all players, including those already seated at the table, draw for their seat. If you don't have seat cards, just use the deck counting lowest from highest, starting left of the dealer. Can a Player Cash Out Half of Their Chips? A player in a cash game has to play with all of their chips, or none. Cashing out part of your stack (also known as going south) is against the rules, and considered very poor etiquette. If you would like to cash out only part of your chips, you must cash out your entire stack, and wait the set amount of time before taking your seat again. This is known as recycling. The amount of time to wait changes depending on where you're playing, but I've never seen it lower than 30 minutes (the default online recycle timeframe). Can a Player Purchase More Chips Off Another Player? This is never a good idea. It's essentially the same concept as going south. The table loses the amount of chips the new player would be buying in for. Always buy your chips from the dealer or the house. In a home game, one person should be in charge of all financial transactions. Card Boxed in the Deck If a boxed card (a card face up in the stub) is encountered at any time during a hand, the card is removed from the deck and shown to every player. The deal continues as if nothing went wrong. If multiple cards are boxed, the dealer continues to remove the boxed cards until he reaches a facedown card to continue the deal. If the stub runs short of nonboxed cards, the hand is declared dead, with all chips being returned to their original stacks as accurately as possible. Cards Dealt Before All Players Have Acted If the dealer burns and turns fourth street while a player has yet to make their flop decision, the play is temporarily halted. The dealer takes the turn card and puts it back into the stub, shuffling the entire stub sufficiently. Once the deck is shuffled, and the player has made his final flop action, the top card is turned over as the new turn (there has already been a card burned for this street). Card Exposed While Dealing When dealing hole cards, if the first or second card you deal is exposed (the face value was seen by someone at the table), the hand is a misdeal, meaning the cards are reshuffled and the deal starts over (the dealer button stays in the same place). If a card other than the first or second is exposed, the dealer continues to deal as if nothing had gone wrong. When the deal finishes, he give the top card on the deck to the player with the flashed card, and takes back the exposed card. That card is then turned face up and shown to everyone at the table, and put on the top of the deck to be used as the first burn card. If two cards are exposed while dealing, the hand is considered a misdeal. Card Marked When noticing a single badly marked card in play, first play out the hand normally. When the hand is complete you'll want to replace that marked card with a new one of the same value, or just grab a new deck. If you don't have a new deck and are stuck with the one you have, your best bet is to remove the card from the game, making sure everyone is aware that the card is no longer in play. It's better for everyone to know that no one has the card than for everyone to know when someone does have the card. Dealer Deals an Extra Hand or a Hand to a Seat with No Player In this scenario, as long as no one looks at the extra hand, it's folded as a dead hand, and play continues as usual. How Long Can a Player Wait Before Choosing to Rebuy? After a player loses all of their chips, they must choose whether or not to rebuy before the next hand is dealt. In a home game there is room for lenience on this issue, just as long as the player isn't doing it on purpose to gain some sort of advantage. Is a Single Over-Value Chip Considered a Raise or a Call? By putting in one over-value chip without saying anything, it is always considered a call. For example, if the big blind is $25 and you're first to act, putting in a $100 chip without actually saying "raise" is considered a call. The more lenient atmosphere of a home game means the dealer will typically ask the player what they actually wanted to do. Player Misses a Blind (Cash Games) A player can never come into the game between the blinds, or between the button and the blinds (unless they buy the button, see rule below). This applies when moving a player in tournaments as well. If a player misses his or her blind in a cash game, they're not allowed to be dealt into a hand until the button has passed by them to the player on their left (it's treated as if there is no player sitting there). When the button has passed, they must post the amount equal to the blinds they missed. For example, with blinds of $1/$2, a player who misses the big blind (therefore forcing them to also miss the small blind), they must post $3 to be dealt into the hand. A small-blind post is always considered dead, meaning it goes into the pot and does not count toward any action in the hand, while the big-blind portion of the post is live, meaning it does count. A player with a live post still receives option to check or raise when it's their turn to act in the hand. Buying the button: Buying the button is allowed in some locations during a cash game. This means that when a player sits down between the small blind and the button, or on the seat where the button would be next, they have the option to pay both the small and big blind in place of the players with whom the responsibility lies. This allows the player to play on the button, rather than having to wait for it to pass them the next hand. Player Misses a Blind (Tournaments) In a tournament, every stack gets dealt a hand regardless of a player being in the seat or not. When the last card is dealt to a player for the hand, the hands without players are mucked. Players not present during their blinds have the blinds posted for them from their stacks, referred to as blinding out. Player's Stack Size Less Than the Blind When a player's stack is less than the amount of the small blind, they are automatically considered all-in in the next hand they play, regardless of position. If the player's stack is larger than the small blind but smaller than the big blind, they will be considered all-in in any position other than the small blind, assuming they fold for their option. When all-in, the player can only win the amount of their stack, plus that same amount from all of the callers and blinds. If the person has less than the big blind, they can only win the portion of the blind equal to that of their stack. Removing Smaller Chips from Play When the blinds increase in a tournament, eventually the smaller-value chips will become obsolete. Once the chips are no longer needed, they are chipped up to the next denomination. First, make sure the chips are no longer needed (don't forget to check for antes in the future blind levels). If the blinds are $500/$1,000 doubling, you have no need for any chips smaller than $500 on the table. Change as many low-value chips as you can into higher values and hold on to the remainder. For example, if you have ten $25 chips, you will receive two $100 chips and have two $25 chips left over. Chip racing: The standard way to remove the odd low-value chips is a chip race (this is how it's done in all major tournaments such as the WSOP). First the dealer adds up the total amount of odd chips on the table to determine the amount of larger-value chips up for grabs. For example, if there are 13 $25 chips on the table, they bring four $100 chips to take their place. The dealer starts at the player to their left, dealing them as many cards as they have odd chips face up (if they have three $25 chips, they get three cards), until everyone with $25 chips has a card to represent each of them. Each available chip is given to the players with the highest-valued show card, with each player being allowed to win only one chip. In a case of a tie in rank, suits are used to determine a winner. Rounding up: To save time, some tournaments will round up all leftover chips to the higher value. Regardless of having one $25 chip or three $25 chips, you will receive one $100 chip in their place. Suit Rankings In poker, the official suit ranking goes with the official Bridge ranking system, which is alphabetical. From worst to best: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades Turn-Dealing Mistakes Turn is dealt without burning: When the dealer deals the turn card without burning, that card is simply treated as a flash card. The dealer makes sure all players see the card before turning it face down as the burn card, dealing the real turn as normal. Two burn cards dealt when dealing the turn: In the case of a dealer burning two cards, and turning over a third as the turn, that third card is treated as a flashed card, and is returned to the top of the deck as the burn for the river. The second burn card is turned face up, since it is the valid turn card. Two cards are burnt and two cards are shown when dealing the turn: The proper way to resolve this rare scenario is as follows. The second burn card (the official, should be turn) is placed face down on the top of the deck. The first up card (the would-be river burn card) is treated as a flash card and turned face down. The second show card is the official river. It is now played as it lies on the turn instead. When action completes on the turn, the top card is turned over without burning for the river. By doing it in this fashion, all cards put in play are the original cards that would have fallen if no mistake had occurred. There is no change to the results, and only one card gets exposed.
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