Texas Holdem rules and the order of poker hands

Poker hands from highest to lowest

Every hand is made of five cards. Suits have no value in Texas Holdem, so two hands of equal value share the pot. The order is the same in nearly all casino poker.

• Royal flush: ten, jack, queen, king and ace of one suit.
• Straight flush: five consecutive cards of one suit.
• Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank.
• Full house: three of one rank and two of another.
• Flush: five cards of one suit, not in sequence.
• Straight: five consecutive cards of mixed suits. The ace may count high or low.
• Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank.
• Two pair: two cards of one rank and two of another.
• One pair: two cards of the same rank.
• High card: none of the above, valued by the highest card.

Kickers and ties

When two players hold the same type of hand, the higher cards decide. A kicker is the highest card outside the main combination. If one player has a pair of kings with an ace and the other a pair of kings with a queen, the ace wins. When all five cards play equally, the pot is split.

The shared cards can make a hand for everyone at the table. A player may play the board, using none of the hole cards, but a better kicker or hand held by someone else will beat it.

Dealing and betting rules

Two players post the blinds, each player receives two cards, and betting runs through the pre-flop, flop, turn and river. Players act in turn clockwise, and each may fold, check, call or raise. A bet or raise normally has to be at least the size of the previous one. A betting round ends when all active players have put in the same amount.

Casinos run Holdem in no-limit, pot-limit and fixed-limit forms, which differ in how much can be raised. Many online rooms also offer tournaments, where the entry fee buys a stack of chips and play continues until one player holds them all. The casino charges a rake on cash games and a fee on tournaments.

Showdown and table etiquette

At showdown the player who made the last bet or raise shows first. A hand that is not shown cannot win. Actions made out of turn, or splashing chips into the pot, can be corrected by the dealer in a live room. Online software handles most of this automatically, which also removes some common beginner errors.

If you are new to the game, the Holdem beginners guide walks through a full hand. Other formats are described on the poker page and the video poker page, which is played against a machine rather than other people.

Formats and common house rules

Cash games use chips that equal money and a player can leave when they choose. Tournaments set a fixed entry fee, and play continues while blinds rise at set intervals, which forces action. Heads-up play, between two players, changes who posts the blinds, with the button posting the small blind and acting first before the flop.

Rooms also differ in minor points. Some rule that a raise has to be at least the size of the previous raise, others set a minimum of one big blind. A burn card is discarded before each shared round to guard against marked cards. In a live room a player who reveals cards early may be asked to show hands to the whole table. Online, timers apply, and a player who runs out of time is folded automatically. Always read the room's own rules before sitting down.

Responsible play

Poker rewards patience, but the cards are still random and sessions can run for hours. Setting limits first helps, and the responsible gambling guide covers how. Poker for stakes is an adult activity, and residents of most Arab states break the law by playing it online.