Learn. Understand. Take your seat.
Texas Hold’em rules for beginners
Texas Hold’em is a poker game in which each player receives two private cards and shares up to five community cards with the table.
This guide explains standard 52-card, no-limit Texas Hold’em using practice chips. You do not need money to learn the game.
Texas Hold’em in one minute
Each player receives two face-down cards. There is a betting round, followed by three shared cards called the flop. Another betting round follows.
A fourth shared card, the turn, brings another betting round. A fifth, the river, brings the final betting round.
You win a pot either when every opponent folds or by having the strongest eligible five-card hand at showdown. If winning hands are equal, the relevant pot is shared.
In Texas Hold’em, your best five cards can use both of your private cards, one of them or neither.
The button, blinds and who acts first
The dealer button marks the dealer position for the hand. At a table with three or more players, the next player clockwise posts the small blind, and the following player posts the big blind.
For a practice game, you might use blinds of 5 and 10 chips. These chips count towards the players’ first-round contributions.
Before the flop, action starts with the player immediately clockwise from the big blind. After the flop, action starts with the first player still in the hand clockwise from the button.
Action continues clockwise. A player who has folded is skipped; a player who is all-in has no further betting decision.
The two-player exception
With only two players, the button posts the small blind. That player acts first before the flop but last on the flop, turn and river.
Do not apply “the button always acts last” to the first betting round of a two-player game.
Check, bet, call, raise and fold
| Action | Exact visible explanation |
|---|---|
| Check | Keep your hand without adding chips when you do not face an unmatched bet. |
| Bet | Put chips forward when nobody has bet yet in that betting round. |
| Call | Match the current bet by adding the amount you still owe, or go all-in for less when you do not have enough chips. |
| Raise | Increase the current bet, subject to the minimum-raise and all-in rules. |
| Fold | Give up your hand and your claim to the pot. Chips already committed stay in the pot. |
Checking is not the same as folding. Calling is not the same as raising.
If the current bet is 30 chips and you have already committed 10 in this round, a full call requires 20 more—not another 30.
Walk through your first hand
One hand. Three players. Follow the cards and chips, one step at a time.
These two cards belong to you
You’re playing with Alex and Sam. Your ace and queen are private: only you can see them. Everyone starts with 100 practice chips.
The dealer button is beside you. It marks the dealer position and helps set the order of play.
A made-up hand using practice chips. These actions explain the game, rather than recommend a betting strategy.
Read the full hand as text
1. These two cards belong to you
You’re playing with Alex and Sam. Your ace and queen are private: only you can see them. Everyone starts with 100 practice chips. The dealer button is beside you. It marks the dealer position and helps set the order of play.
Pot: 0 chips.
2. The hand starts with 15 chips
Alex puts in 5 chips. Sam puts in 10. These required starting bets are called the small blind and big blind. The pot is the chips in the middle. Whoever wins the hand collects them.
Pot: 15 chips.
3. You call: add 10 chips
To stay in this hand, you match Sam’s 10-chip bet. Matching a bet is called a call. Your 10 joins the 15 already in the middle: the pot is now 25.
Pot: 25 chips.
4. Everyone has now put in 10
Alex already paid 5, so adds just 5 more. Sam has already paid 10 and checks: stays in without adding chips. You 10 + Alex 10 + Sam 10 = a 30-chip pot. The first betting round is finished.
Pot: 30 chips.
5. Three shared cards appear
The first three shared cards are called the flop. Everyone still playing can use them with their own cards. Your queen and the shared queen make a pair of queens. No chips have been added yet.
Pot: 30 chips.
6. You bet 10 chips
Alex checks, then Sam checks. Neither adds chips. It’s your turn, and you choose to bet 10. A bet starts the betting in a round. The others must respond before the next card appears.
Pot: 40 chips.
7. Alex calls. Sam folds
Alex matches your bet by adding 10. Sam folds: gives up this hand. Sam’s earlier chips stay in the pot. It’s now just you and Alex. The pot is 50 chips.
Pot: 50 chips.
8. A fourth shared card appears
This card is called the turn. It’s a four. Alex checks, then you check, so neither of you adds chips. You still have a pair of queens. Checking keeps you in the hand; it does not mean folding.
Pot: 50 chips.
9. The last card is another queen
The fifth and final shared card is called the river. There are now two queens on the table, plus the queen in your hand. You now have three of a kind: three queens. One final betting round comes next.
Pot: 50 chips.
10. You bet 20 chips
Alex checks. You choose to bet 20, bringing the pot from 50 to 70 chips. Alex must now call, raise or fold. The hand is not over yet.
Pot: 70 chips.
11. Alex calls your 20
Alex adds 20 to match your bet. The pot is now 90 chips, and the betting is finished. You both stayed in. It’s time to reveal your cards and compare your best five.
Pot: 90 chips.
12. Your three queens win
Alex reveals two kings. Alex’s best hand is two pair: kings and queens. Your three of a kind beats two pair, so you collect the 90-chip pot. The gold outlines show the five cards that make your winning hand. Sam folded, so Sam’s cards stay hidden.
Pot: 90 chips.
How betting, all-ins and side pots work
A betting round finishes when every player who can still act has had the required opportunity to act and has either matched the current bet or folded. Players who are already all-in do not need to add more chips.
In no-limit Hold’em, you may commit all your remaining chips. “No limit” does not remove the minimum-bet and minimum-raise rules.
With a 10-chip big blind, an ordinary first raise must be to at least 20. If someone raises from 10 to 30, the increase is 20, so the next ordinary minimum raise is to 50.
A player with insufficient chips may make a smaller all-in. A short all-in does not by itself reopen raising for a player who has already acted and is not facing a full raise. Several short all-ins can together change that situation.
A side pot separates contributions that a shorter stack cannot win. Suppose three remaining players contribute 30, 80 and 80 chips. The main pot contains 90 chips: 30 from each player. The remaining 100 forms a side pot contested only by the two players who contributed 80.
Choose your best five cards
Only five cards decide the strength of a poker hand. Extra cards do not act as sixth or seventh tie-breakers.
Aces can be high in 10-J-Q-K-A or low in A-2-3-4-5. They cannot wrap a straight around: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
Use the poker hand rankings chart and quiz to practise comparing hands, kickers and shared-board ties.
Try the next hand yourself
Start with a practice table, or try the short lesson that follows a whole hand. Before a first game with friends, agree the chip amounts and explain that the session uses chips with no cash value.