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Card Games

How to play Texas Hold'em

Two private cards each, five shared cards in the middle, four rounds of betting. Make the best five-card hand from any of your seven cards, or win the pot by being the last player who hasn't folded. Use chips with no cash value while you learn.

2–10 players30–120 minAge Adults for wagering

By K.R. · Updated October 2026 · Sources and editorial process

What you need

A standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
Two to ten players. Six to nine is the most common home table.
Chips with no cash value: about 100 big blinds' worth per player is a comfortable start (for blinds of 1 and 2, give everyone 200 in chips).
A dealer button: any coin or marker works. It moves one seat clockwise every hand.
An agreed end: a set time for a "cash-style" session, or play until one player has every chip (a freezeout).

Set up the game

Seat everyone and give equal stacks.
Choose who starts with the button any fair way. Dealing one card face up to each player and giving the button to the highest is a common method.
Set the blinds. The player immediately clockwise from the button posts the small blind; the next player posts the big blind, usually double. With blinds of 1 and 2, the big blind is also the minimum bet.
Heads-up exception. With only two players, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop; the other player posts the big blind and acts first on every later round.
Deal two hole cards to each player, one at a time, face down, starting left of the button. In a formal deal the dealer burns (discards face down) one card before dealing.

Playing Texas Hold'em

Preflop betting. Action starts with the player left of the big blind ("under the gun") and goes clockwise. Facing the big blind, you may fold, call it, or raise. The blinds count as bets already made, and the big blind may still raise when it's their turn even if everyone just called.
The flop. Burn one card, then deal three community cards face up. Betting starts with the first active player left of the button. If no one has bet, you may check or bet.
The turn. Burn one, deal one more community card. Another betting round, again starting left of the button.
The river. Burn one, deal the fifth and last community card. Final betting round.
A betting round ends when every active player has put in the same amount, or everyone has checked.
No-limit raising. You may bet any amount up to your whole stack. A raise must be at least as large as the previous bet or raise in that round. An all-in that is smaller than a full raise does not reopen the betting for players who have already acted.
Winning. If everyone else folds, the last player takes the pot without showing. Otherwise, at the showdown, each player makes their best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards, using two, one or none of their own cards. Best hand wins; identical hands split.
Move the button one seat clockwise and deal again.

A seven-handed table. The small and big blinds sit to the button's left, so the first player to act before the flop is the one left of the big blind (UTG). After the flop, the first active player left of the button acts first. The board shown is from the sample hand below.

A sample hand, street by street

Six players, blinds 1 and 2, everyone starting with 200. Ben has the button. Sam is the small blind, Lou the big blind; Ula, Maya and Cole act after them.

Blinds. Sam posts 1, Lou posts 2. Pot: 3.
Preflop. Ula (under the gun) folds. Maya holds A♠ K♥ and raises to 6. Cole folds. Ben, on the button with 9♠ 9♥, calls 6. Sam folds, leaving his 1 in the pot. Lou calls 4 more to make 6. Pot: 6 + 6 + 6 + 1 = 19.
Flop: K♠ 9♦ 4♣. Lou acts first (the first active player left of the button) and checks. Maya, with top pair and an ace kicker, bets 10. Ben has three nines and just calls, hoping Maya keeps betting. Lou folds. Pot: 39.
Turn: 2♥. Maya checks. Ben bets 20. Maya calls. Pot: 79.
River: K♦. Maya checks. Ben checks behind, wary that the second king might have helped Maya.
Showdown. Nobody bet on the river, so the first active player clockwise from the button shows first: Maya. Her best five cards are K♥ K♠ K♦ A♠ 9♦, three kings. Ben's are 9♠ 9♥ 9♦ K♠ K♦, a full house, nines full of kings. Ben wins 79.

Notice that Ben's best hand uses both hole cards and three board cards, while the king on the river improved both players. Each of them still only counts five cards.

Pots, side pots and minimum raises: worked examples

Minimum raise. Blinds are 1 and 2. Ula raises to 6, which is a raise of 4 over the big blind. Anyone re-raising must make it at least 10 (6 + 4). If Maya then makes it 20, a raise of 14, the next raise must be to at least 34.

Side pots. Three players are all in on the flop: Ana has 20 chips, Ben and Cal have 50 each and both call off everything.

Pot	Made of	Size	Who can win it
Main pot	20 from each of Ana, Ben, Cal	60	Ana, Ben or Cal
Side pot	The extra 30 from each of Ben and Cal	60	Ben or Cal only

If Ana shows the best hand, she wins the 60 main pot; the side pot goes to whichever of Ben or Cal has the better hand. An all-in player can never win more from each opponent than they put in themselves.

Playing the board. The board is A♣ K♦ Q♥ J♠ 10♦ and nobody can make a flush. Every remaining player has the same ace-high straight, so the pot is split, no matter what low hole cards anyone holds. Holding a 9 doesn't create a better "six-card straight."

Kickers from the board. Pagat's example: board A♣ Q♦ Q♥ 9♠ 6♥. Players holding K♥ 9♦, 9♥ 6♠ and 9♣ 3♣ all end up with Q Q 9 9 A, so all three split the pot.

Beginner strategy that actually helps

Play fewer hands. Most two-card hands are losers. Pairs, two high cards (A-K, A-Q, K-Q), and suited aces are a reasonable starting range for a new player; fold most of the rest, especially early in the betting order.
Position is power. Acting last after the flop lets you see what everyone else did. The button is the best seat at the table; under the gun is the worst. Play tighter when you act first.
Raise or fold more than you call before the flop. Raising thins the field and builds pots with your good hands; limping in with weak hands invites trouble.
Name your exact five-card hand on every street. Saying "I have top pair, ace kicker" or "I'm drawing to a flush, nine outs" keeps you honest and avoids misreading the board.
Watch for board pairs and three of a suit. When the board pairs, full houses become possible; when three cards share a suit, someone may have a flush. Maya's three kings lost to a full house on a paired board.
Bet with purpose. Ask whether a worse hand will call or a better hand will fold. If neither, checking is usually better.
Keep chip handling clean. Announce "raise" before moving chips and push the full amount in one motion. It prevents disputes over string bets at home games.

Common mistakes and rule disputes

"You have to use both hole cards." No. You use any five of the seven, including none of yours (playing the board). That's Omaha's rule, not Hold'em's.
Suits breaking a tie. Never. Bicycle: all suits are equal; identical hands split.
An all-in player winning more than they matched. They can only win the main pot they're eligible for; extra bets go into side pots.
Who acts first after the flop. The first active player left of the button, not the player left of the big blind.
The big blind's option. If everyone just calls preflop, the big blind may still raise.
Short all-in reopening the betting. In no-limit, an all-in that's less than a full raise doesn't let players who already acted re-raise.
Mucking a winner. Pagat notes that to win at showdown you must show both hole cards, and the cards speak for themselves: the best hand shown wins even if its owner misreads it. Table up your hand rather than announcing it.

Popular variants and house rules

Limit Hold'em: fixed bet sizes that double on the turn and river, usually with a cap of one bet and three raises per round.
Pot-limit Hold'em: the largest bet allowed is the size of the pot.
Antes plus blinds: common in tournaments as the blinds rise.
Pineapple and Crazy Pineapple: three hole cards, with one discarded before the flop (Pineapple) or before the turn (Crazy Pineapple).
Informal dealing: some home games skip burn cards and deal the five board cards face down at the start, turning them over as play goes. Pagat warns this raises the risk of a board card being seen early.
Short deck and Omaha are separate games with different rules and hand rankings.

Teaching it in 5 minutes

"You get two cards. Only you see them. Five cards will come face up in the middle for everyone to share."
"Your hand is the best five out of those seven. Here's the ranking card."
"Two people post forced bets each hand so there's always something to play for. Those move around the table with this button."
"On your turn: if nobody's bet, check or bet. If someone has, fold, call or raise."
"We bet now, then three cards come out, bet, one card, bet, one more card, bet."
"Last person standing wins, or the best hand at the end. Ties split."
"If you want to bet everything, say all in. You can only win as much from each person as you put in."

Run three or four hands with everyone's cards face up and talk through each decision.

Ages and group size

Hold'em plays well anywhere from heads-up to ten players; six to nine feels most like the game people see on TV. The rules are learnable by teenagers, and many families play for chips only. Gambling for money is for adults, and only where it's legal; Bicycle lists the game as 18+. For mixed-experience groups, a freezeout with a fixed finishing time keeps beginners from feeling stuck at the table.

Frequently asked questions

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. From the top: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.

Do you have to use both of your cards in Texas Hold'em?

No. Use two, one or none of your hole cards to make your best five-card hand.

Can suits decide a tied showdown?

No. Identical best five-card hands split the pot.

Who acts first after the flop?

The first player still in the hand to the left of the dealer button.

What is the minimum raise in no-limit?

At least the size of the previous bet or raise in that round. After a bet of 10, the smallest raise is to 20.

How do side pots work?

When a player is all in for less, the main pot holds what they could match from everyone. Extra chips go into a side pot that only the players who contributed to it can win.

What does "burn" mean?

Discarding the top card face down before dealing the flop, turn and river, to protect against anyone glimpsing the next card.

How does heads-up Hold'em work?

The button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop; the other player posts the big blind and acts first after it.

Check yourself

Board: 8♥ 8♣ 5♦ 5♠ 2♥. You hold A♣ 3♦; your opponent holds K♠ Q♠. Who wins?

You do. Both have 8 8 5 5, and your ace beats their king as the fifth card.

Blinds 1 and 2. The first player raises to 7. What's the smallest legal re-raise?

To 12. The first raise was 5 over the big blind, so the next raise must add at least 5.

Everyone checks on the river. Who shows first?

The first active player clockwise from the button.

Sources and edition notes

Standard high-hand No-Limit Texas Hold'em, 52 cards, no wilds. Hole cards, blinds, betting order, flop/turn/river, showdown order and equal suits from Bicycle. Heads-up blind order, burn cards, use of zero to two hole cards, showing both hole cards, cards-speak rule, the Pagat board-split example, minimum raise, short all-in and side pots from Pagat's Hold'em and betting pages.

Sources checked October 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.

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