Texas Holdem Betting Rules

The person dealing the cards deals to the left of the player with the dealer button first and rotates clockwise around the table. Each player gets one card at a time until each player has two cards, both face down. These are known as your hole cards, and they are for your use alone when making your final 5-card poker hand.

A round of Texas 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) and the player with the highest hand takes the pot. If two players share the highest hand, the pot is split equally between them.

Texas Holdem Betting Rules - Pre-Flop

When all players receive their hole cards you're now in the pre-flop betting round. Each player looks at his or her cards and decides what action to take. In Hold'em only one player can act at a time.

The pre-flop betting round starts with the player to the left of the big blind. This player has three options:

Fold: Pay nothing to the pot and throw away their hand, waiting for the next deal to play again.

Call: Match the amount of the big blind (pre-flop this is also known as "limping in.")

Raise: Raise the bet by doubling the amount of the big blind. (Note:  a player may raise more depending on the betting style being played, again see the rules for No-Limit and Pot-Limit above.)

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 current bet (if the previous player raised, that is the amount you must call; if no one has bet it's the big blind amount) or raise.

In Limit Hold'em 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 re-raise they would put in a total of 75¢ (the previous bet + one additional bet). Again, though, in No-Limit Hold'em a player can bet as much as the total amount of their chips on the table at any time.

A Texas Hold'em betting round ends when two conditions are met:

1. All players have had a chance to act.

2. All players who haven't folded have bet the same amount of money for the round.

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 re-raise. 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.

Texas Holdem Betting Rules - 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 (called the "burn" card, it's not in play), followed by three cards face-up in the middle of the table (see below). These are the community flop cards which all players can use to make their best 5-card poker hand.

Once the flop has been dealt the first post-flop betting round begins. The rules of a post-flop betting round are the same as a pre-flop with two small exceptions:

-  The first player to act is the next player with a hand to the left of the dealer

-  The first player to act can check or bet; as there has been no bet made, calling is free.

A bet on the flop in Limit Holdem is the amount of the big blind. In No-Limit it has to be at least twice the size of the big blind but can be as much as all of a player's chips. In our Limit Hold'em game as described above, a player must put out 25¢ to make a bet in the first post-flop betting round.

Texas Holdem Betting Rules - The Turn

Once the betting round on the flop completes (meaning any players who want to see the next card have matched the value of any bets), the dealer again 'burns" one card facedown out of play followed by a single card face-up in the middle of the table beside the 3 flop cards. Once the turn has been dealt the third betting round starts.

The third betting round in Limit Hold'em 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¢. In No-Limit Hold'em a player can again bet any amount of their chips as long as it's at least twice the big blind or double that of any previous bet.

Texas Holdem Betting Rules - 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 burned facedown followed by a single card face-up.

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 5-card poker hand wins the pot. Here are the rules you need to know about a Hold'em showdown:

- The player who bet on the river is the default first player to reveal their hand. If any other players choose to show their hand first, that is OK.

-  If no betting happened on the river (all players checked), the player closest to the left of the dealer must open their hand first, continuing clockwise around the table.

-  If a player is holding a losing hand it is their option to reveal their cards or simply muck their hand and concede the pot.

Texas Holdem Rules - Best 5-Card Hand

In Hold'em you must make the best 5-card hand possible using any combination of your two hole cards and the five community cards on the table. You can use both, one or none of your own hole cards to make your best hand. Here are some rules about evaluating a winning poker hand:

-  Remember the official poker hand rankings. There are no exceptions to this order: a flush always beats a straight; three of a kind always beats two pair, etc.

-  There are no hands used in Hold'em other than the hands listed in this chart. For example having three pairs is actually only "two pair," and the highest-valued two pair make up your final hand.

-  Final poker hands must be exactly 5 cards and only those five cards are used to evaluate the winning hand. For example:

-  If the board is 2♥ J♣ Q♣ K♠ A♦

-  Player 1 holds T♠ 9♣

-  Player 2 holds T♣ 2♣

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.

If all remaining players have nothing (no pair or anything stronger), the winning hand is the hand with the highest-valued single card, meaning:

-  A♣ 3♥ 4♦ 6♠ 7♠ is a better hand than K♠ Q♠ J♣ 9♣ 8♦

-  A♣ J♥ 9♠ 8♦ 6♥ is a better hand than A♥ J♣ 9♦ 8♣ 2♠

-  Suits are never used to evaluate the strength of a hand.

Once you determine the winning poker 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.