How to Play Texas Holdem: Texas Holdem Rules

Texas Holdem is a Community Card game, which means that players in the game will have cards of their own but will also be sharing cards with other players. For people who have never played poker like this it's a little confusing at first, but don't worry: like anything else, all it takes it practice.

The first thing that happens, before any cards are dealt, the Dealer Button is given to a player in order to represent the dealer for that hand (whether the person is dealing or not). Different people decide who gets the button in different ways, so unless it's terribly important, like you're playing at the WSOP or against a guy with an eyepatch, it doesn't really matter how the dealer is chosen. At my own Tuesday night game, we deal out all the cards face up and the first guy to be dealt the Jack of Spades is the dealer.

The Dealer Button is an important aspect of Texas Holdem because it determines who is dealt to first, but also who will be putting the Blinds into the pot. The blinds are forced bets, like an ante, that ensures that there is always money in the pot to be won. The player to the Dealer's left is on what's called the "Small Blind," and is required to post half the minimum bet before they have seen their cards (hence why they're called "Blinds"). The person to the left of the Small Blind is on the "Big Blind," meaning they have to post the full amount of the minimum bet. After this is done the cards can be dealt.

The first card is dealt to the player to the left of the Big Blind for this round only (afterwards dealing starts at the Small Blind) and each player is dealt two cards called their Hole cards or Pocket cards. After this comes a round of betting which again starts, for this round, with the player to the left of the Big Blind. The players have the option of calling, raising or folding their cards based on how good a chance they believe to have of eventually winning the pot (see the poker betting page for more information). Because the Blinds are considered a type of bet, to stay in the hand the small blind only has to post the other half of the minimum bet and the Big Blind doesn't have to post anything.

After this a card is "burned," which means it is placed face down on the table never to be seen, and the first three community cards are laid out (called the "Flop"). Another round of betting begins with the player to the left of the Dealer Button, and this time he has the option of checking, betting or folding.

Another card is burned and a fourth community card, called the Turn card or Fourth Street, is laid out, and there is a third round of betting. Then one last card is burned and the fifth and last card, called the River card or Fifth Street, is laid out. There is a final round of betting, and then the Showdown, where the players still in the pot show their cards, and the winner takes the money.

And that's it. It's actually a really easily game on the surface: it's not hard to learn the rules. But to become really good at Texas Holdem can take years.

Texas Holdem Rules | Poker Hands | Betting