Playing Texas Hold’em

A. Antonova

Since 2017, Anisia has been sharing her iGaming expertise with readers of CasinoGamesPro.com. Her work covers comprehensive reviews of casino favourites like slots, roulette, blackjack, and video poker, along with thorough assessments of payment options, mobile casino platforms, and leading online casinos.

(editor) | Updated: 2025-08-14 15:14:15

As far as poker is concerned, there are many different variations of the game that translate into differences in the rules and betting structure. Texas Hold’em is among the most popular and commonly played variations of the game of skill. Certain parallels can be drawn between Hold’em and other widespread variants, such as Seven Card Stud. The object of the game is simple: to win your opponents’ chips.

Both Texas Hold’em and Seven Card Stud use the same hand rankings, and players aim to form the best possible five-card hands. However, at the start of a Texas Hold’em game, each participant receives two hole cards dealt face down. This marks the start of the first betting round. In addition, five community cards are dealt in Texas Hold’em at three stages — the Flop, the Turn, and the River — and they are available for all players to use. The purpose of each player is to form the highest-ranking hand possible by combining their hole cards with some of the community cards at the table.

The present article aims to address all Texas Hold’em basics that players need to be aware of. We will start with the rules of the highly popular casino game and continue with the hand rankings.

The Button

The game of Texas Hold’em is played with a standard 52-card deck. In gambling establishments, the dealer does not take part in the game with bets but is there simply to shuffle the deck, deal the cards to players, and help them evaluate their hands during the showdown. The player seated to the immediate left of the dealer is the one to act first.

A small plastic disk, referred to as the dealer button, is placed in front of the first person to act. The button then moves clockwise, ensuring that every player gets to act as the “dealer” in turn. This prevents certain players from gaining an advantage over their opponents. The first person to act is typically at a disadvantage because they cannot gather enough information about what their opponents will do next. For this reason, the dealer button moves to the next player in a clockwise direction for the following hand.

The Blinds

At the start of each hand in Texas Hold’em, two players are required to post forced bets so that a pot can accumulate before any cards are dealt. These forced bets are known as the small blind and the big blind. The player to the left of the dealer assumes the role of the small blind and places half of the minimum bet at the table. The player to the small blind’s left posts the entire minimum bet, or the big blind. Thus, the big blind is twice the size of the small blind — for example, $10 and $20.

Pre-Flop

Once the two players have posted the small and big blinds, the first betting round, called the pre-flop, can commence. The croupier then deals each player two hole cards that are dealt face down. These hole cards are dealt one at a time to each participant, with the player immediately to the left of the button (the small blind) being the first to receive a card.

After everyone has received their two hole cards, each player must act in turn and choose from several betting options. The player sitting to the left of the big blind is entitled to act first. Players can call (match the amount of the big blind), fold (surrender their hole cards and no longer remain in the hand), or raise (bet an additional amount that is at least twice the size of the big blind). Checking (refusing to act while remaining in the hand) is not allowed during the pre-flop.

The Flop

Once all players have acted in the pre-flop round, the croupier “burns” or discards, the top card of the deck. A new betting round begins after three community cards — the Flop — are dealt face up in the center of the table. Players then evaluate the situation and choose to call, fold, raise, check, or bet. If a player chooses to bluff or believes they have a strong enough hand, they may bet by moving their chips toward the center of the table.

The Turn

Once the second betting round is complete, the croupier burns another card from the top of the deck and deals the fourth face-up card in the center of the table, next to the Flop. This card is known as the Turn, or less frequently, as Fourth Street. All players still in the hand can again choose from the above-mentioned betting actions. If all participants opt to check, the betting round is complete, and the remaining players see the fifth and final community card for free.

The River

The fifth and final community card dealt face up in the center of the table is called the River, or less often, Fifth Street. It is dealt after the croupier burns another card from the top of the deck, marking the start of the final round of betting. Each player still in the hand may choose to fold, call, raise, bet, or check.

The Showdown

Once all five community cards are on the table, the most exciting part of the game — the showdown — begins. Players flip over their hole cards to reveal who has the best hand, which must always consist of exactly five cards. At this point, players have several possible hand combinations.

Their final hand may consist of three community cards and both hole cards, or one hole card combined with four community cards. On rare occasions, players can use all five community cards on the board to form their hand. This last scenario can result in participants chopping the pot, as ties are possible.

The player with the highest-ranking five-card hand at the table is awarded the pot. Whenever two players tie, kicker cards that are otherwise irrelevant to their hands are used to break the tie. If both hold kickers of the same rank, the pot is split between them.

Hand Rankings

The hand rankings explained below are not specific to Texas Hold’em; they apply to many other forms of the game. Understanding them is essential if players want a good chance of winning pots. The best possible pre-flop hand in Texas Hold’em, when no community cards have been dealt yet, is a pair of Aces.

Now that we have covered the game’s basic rules, let us list the hand rankings below, from the strongest to the weakest, and check out what beats what.

Royal Flush

The Royal Flush is the strongest possible hand in poker. The combination comprises five consecutive cards of the same suit, from 10 through to Ace.

Straight Flush

Also quite rare, the Straight Flush is formed by any five successive cards of the same suit that do not constitute a Royal Flush.

Four-of-a-Kind

The Four-of-a-Kind hand, also referred to as “quads”, includes four cards of equal value in all four suits and is completed by the highest additional card on the table or in your hand.

Full House

To form a Full House hand, you need three cards of the same value and two cards of another matching value. If two players have a Full House, the one with the higher three-of-a-kind wins the hand.

Flush

The Flush is formed by five cards of the same suit, regardless of their values. If two players have a Flush, the winning hand is the one whose highest card has the greater value.

Straight

A Straight consists of five consecutive cards of more than one suit.

Three-of-a-Kind

The Three-of-a-Kind hand, also known as “trips”, includes three cards of the same rank and different suits. The hand is completed by two side cards of different values.

Two-Pair

Two Pair is formed by two distinct pairs of cards of the same ranks in different suits and is completed by one additional card.

One-Pair

One Pair is formed by two cards of the same rank in different suits, with the remainder of the hand made up of three unrelated cards.

High Card

High Card is the lowest possible hand in poker; it is determined solely by the highest card held.