How to play Texas Holdem: a guide for beginners

The idea of the game

Poker is played against other players, not against the house, which is the main difference from roulette or blackjack. In a casino the operator takes a fee, called the rake, from each pot or charges an entry fee in tournaments. A hand ends either when everyone but one player folds, or at a showdown where the remaining players reveal their cards.

A game is normally played by two to ten people at one table. A marker called the dealer button moves one seat clockwise after each hand and decides who acts first and last.

Blinds and the deal

Two players put in forced bets before the cards are dealt. The player next to the button posts the small blind, and the next player posts the big blind, usually double the small one. This creates a pot to play for. Each player then receives two face-down cards, called hole cards.

The four betting rounds

Play moves through four rounds, each followed by betting.

• Pre-flop: after the hole cards are dealt, starting with the player left of the big blind.
• Flop: three shared cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table.
• Turn: a fourth shared card is added.
• River: the fifth and last shared card is added, followed by the final round of betting.

What a player can do

When it is a player's turn there are up to four actions. Fold means giving up the hand and any chips already in the pot. Check means passing without betting, which is only possible if no one has bet. Call matches the current bet. Raise increases it, and others then have to match, raise again or fold.

Holdem games are dealt in no-limit, pot-limit or fixed-limit form. Fixed-limit caps the size of each bet, pot-limit caps a raise at the size of the pot, and no-limit lets a player bet all their chips at any time.

Making a hand

A player builds the strongest five-card hand from any combination of their two hole cards and the five shared cards. Using both hole cards, one, or none (playing the board) are all allowed. The order of hands, from high card up to a royal flush, is set out on the Texas Holdem rules page, and the Texas Holdem game page lists how it appears at online casinos.

Position and starting hands

Acting later in a round is an advantage because more information is available. Beginners often play too many hands. A tighter selection of starting hands, with pairs and high connected cards, tends to lose less over time, though no strategy removes the element of chance or the rake.

Common early mistakes include calling too often, chasing draws that are unlikely to arrive, and playing stakes that are too high for the available funds.

A sample hand

Suppose a player holds an ace and a king. Pre-flop, they call the big blind. The flop brings a king, a seven and a two, giving them a pair of kings with an ace as the kicker. They bet, one opponent calls and the rest fold. The turn is a four and both players check. The river is a nine, the opponent bets and the first player calls. At showdown the opponent shows a pair of sevens, so the pair of kings wins the pot. Poker rarely runs so smoothly, and the same hand loses whenever an opponent has a better pair or a flush.

Playing within limits

Poker involves skill, but results in the short term are driven by luck, and sessions can run long. Decide in advance how much money and time to spend, and stop when either is reached; limits and self-exclusion are set out in the responsible gambling guide. Poker for money is for adults only, and playing online breaks the law for residents of most Arab states, so local law comes first.