The Basic Rules of Poker (Texas Hold’em)
There are many different forms of poker including seven card stud, Omaha, five card draw, and Texas hold’em to name a few. Hold’em has evolved as the most popular game worldwide and is the form we shall use to cover the basic rules of poker, and indeed the vast majority of this course. Hold’em is the predominate game seen on television and is still the game used to determine the world champion each year at the World Series of Poker held in Las Vegas.
World Poker Tour (WPT) master of ceremonies and poker professional, Mike Sexton is fond of saying that hold’em poker “can take a moment to learn but a lifetime to master”. I agree, but I don’t share Mr. Sexton’s thought on the subject to dissuade you from moving forward but rather to encourage you to embrace the hold’em experience as it demonstrates just how rich and rewarding the game can be. The analogy I enjoy is that the game is like an onion – as you peel back each layer of knowledge you find another layer and another layer. Once you begin the journey you’ll never stop learning.
How to Play Texas Hold’em
The easiest way to learn how to play Texas hold’em is to watch this short video animation, which will explain the basics of the game, and take you step by step through an example poker hand. Click the play button when you’re ready to begin:
If you cannot view the above video (requires flash) then you can read the text version:
The Setup
Let’s get to the basics of how to play Texas hold’em poker. The game of hold’em is typically played with nine or ten players at the table. Please take a look at figure 1, which shows a typical hold’em setup, before any cards have been dealt. As you can see, in this example we have ten players, all with the same amount of money (chips) in play. This is just an example, remember that you can play poker online for very low amounts ($0.01/$0.02) if you desire. We’re going to use stakes of $1 and $2 in the following examples and explanations of how to play hold’em.
Figure 1
The Dealer Button
The dealer button is a round disc that has “Dealer” or “D” on it, and is a very important part of the game, as it signifies who is the dealer for each hand. Please be aware that each player gets to ‘act’ as the dealer, even if they physically don’t deal the cards. If you play at a casino or cardroom you’ll usually have a professional dealer at the table, who deals the cards for each and every hand – but they don’t deal to themselves, as their job is only to deal. Even so, each player still gets a turn at having the dealer button in front of them, meaning the cards are dealt starting with the player to the left of the button. After each hand the dealer button moves to the next player, in a clockwise manner. In figure 1, the dealer button is on player 1, but for the next hand it’ll be with player 2, and then player 3, and so on. When playing among friends where there isn’t a dedicated dealer, then each player takes it in turn to deal to the players, including themselves.
The dealer position is called “the button” and is the most favourable position in the game as that player gets to act last after he has seen everyone else make their decisions. The exception to this rule occurs on the very first round of betting wherein the “blinds” will act after the button. We’ll explain more on that in a moment, but for now let’s discuss who and what the blinds are.
Blind Bets
Before any cards are dealt the two players to the left of the dealer button are required to post what are referred to as the blinds. These are forced and compulsory bets that will encourage the action. Typically there is a small blind directly to the left of the button (see figure 1) who posts half the size of the big blind’s obligation. The amount of the blinds is determined by the stakes of the game. If the small blind is $1, then the big blind would be $2. Since these two players are required to post a half bet (small blind) and a full bet (big blind) before ever seeing their cards, the bets are called the blinds.
The Deal
After the dealer button has been placed and the small and big blind bets have been posted, each player is dealt two face down cards, which are often referred to as the hole cards. The best two hole cards a player can be dealt in hold’em are two Aces’, but we’ll look into the starting hands of hold’em in module 2 of the beginner course. For now, let’s talk about how the betting works, starting with the first betting round.
Pre-Flop
After the blinds have been posted and the hole cards have been dealt, the action (betting) begins. This first betting round is called the pre-flop betting round. The first player to act is the player directly to the left of the big blind (in figure 1 this would be player 4) and they have three options; to call the amount of the big blind, which in our example would be $2, to raise, or to fold. If a player decides to fold then they muck (discard/throw away) their cards face down and sit out until the next hand is dealt. The action then follows around the table in a clockwise direction until each player has been afforded the opportunity to call, raise or fold.
The whole betting procedure of poker can be a little confusing for beginners, so we’re now going to explain exactly how it works. In figure 1 (above) you can see that players 2 and 3 have posted the small and big blinds. If all the players to the left of player 3 decide to call the $2 bet then the action is on the small blind, player 2, who has so far only posted a small blind of $1. He now has the option to call $1 more to make up the bet, or he can raise. If he calls the extra $1, then the big blind is left with the final option. Since the blind bets are made before the cards are dealt, they are considered “live” which means that even if all the other players just call the big blind he then still has the option to raise, if he wishes. If the big blind doesn’t want to raise then the betting round is over and we can move onto the flop, which we’ll explain in a moment.
What if a player decides to raise the betting? If a player decides to raise the big blind bet of $2, then all the remaining players must either call the higher bet, re-raise, or fold. For example, let’s suppose players 4 and 5 call the $2 big blind bet, but player 6 decides to raise to $4. All the players to the left of player 6 must now either match the $4 bet, re-raise, or fold. Since player 2 is already in the small blind for $1, he only has to call and extra $3. Players 3, 4, and 5, have already invested $2 so they are only required to call another $2 more. They would of course also have the option to re-raise or fold. Figure 2 demonstrates what might happen:
Figure 2
After player 6 raised the betting to $4, player 7 decided to fold and is now out of the hand. Player 8 made the decision to call the $4. Players 9, 10, and 1 all folded and are also out of this hand. Players 2, 3, 4, and 5, all called player 6’s raise. Once all bets have been matched (i.e. there are no further raises) and each player has invested the same amount into the pot, then the betting round is over. In our example, six players are now left in and the pot contains $24 ($4 x 6). This brings us onto the next betting round, called the flop.
The Flop
After the first round of betting is complete three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. All the active players can use these three cards, along with their two hole cards, to make their best possible hand. These three cards are known as “the flop”. Figure 3 shows an example flop, before any further betting has taken place:
Figure 3
You will notice in figure 3 that all the previous round (pre-flop) bets are now in the pot. After the flop has been dealt, another betting round begins. The first active player to the left of the dealer button starts the action. In our example this is the small blind from the opening round, player 2. The forced action created by the blind bets no longer exists and that player has two options; to check or bet. A check means to neither open the betting nor fold. When a player checks the action moves onto the next active player, who may also check. If a player wants to check they either verbally announce “check”, or they tap the table with their finger or hand (or click the mouse if playing online poker). However, if a player decides to open the betting, the option to check is over, and a player must either call, raise, or fold – this includes any players who have previously checked. Once all bets for this betting round have been matched or every player has opted to check, then we move onto the next betting round. For our example hand, let’s suppose that after the flop was dealt, players 2, 3, 4, and 5, all checked. But player 6 then bet $4, which was called by player 8. Players 2, 3, and 4 all fold, but player 5 calls the $4. These three players get to see “the turn”.
The Turn
After the second round of betting (the flop) is complete a fourth card is dealt and that card is called “the turn” – it’s also sometimes referred to as 4th street. As you will see in figure 4, there are now only three players left in our example hand, due to the betting that occurred after the flop:
Figure 4
You will also notice that the pot now contains $36, which is made up of $24 from the first betting round, and $12 from the betting after the flop. After the forth community card (the turn) has been dealt, another round of betting takes place, exactly the same format as the previous betting round, starting with the first active player to the left of the dealer button. In our example, this would be player 5. He may check or bet. Let’s suppose that player 5 checks, as do players 6 and 8. Remember if all the players check, the round is over, and we move onto “the river”.
The River
After the third round of betting is complete the fifth and final board card is dealt and that card is called “the river” – it’s also sometimes referred to as 5th street. Figure 5 shows the situation after the river card has been dealt:
Figure 5
As you can see in our example hand, there is still $36 in the pot. This is because all three players opted to check after the turn card. Once the fifth and final card has been dealt, another betting round takes place. Let’s imagine that in our example hand, player 5 bets $4, player 6 raises another $4 ($8 total), player 8 folds, and player 5 decides to call the extra $4. When the final betting round ends with two or more active players (as our example has done), then we get to what is called a “showdown”.
The Showdown
After the final betting round is completed, it’s time to see who has won the hand, and the money in the pot. Now that all of the cards have been dealt, each player can combine his two hole cards with any of the five cards on the board to create his best five card poker hand. The winning hand must been seen, which means players can now reveal their two hole cards. The player that was called (player 6) is required to show first. Figure 6 shows an example showdown after both players have shown their hole cards:
Figure 6
Which hand wins? Well as you can see player 5 has a straight (10, J, Q, K, A), and player 6 has a flush (Ace, 10, 5, 3, 2 of hearts). If you studied the poker hand rankings in the previous lesson then you will be aware that a flush always beats a straight. Therefore player 6 wins this hand, and as you can see in figure 6, after the final betting on the river, the pot now contains $52. Player 6 wins the pot of $52, and a new hand can begin.
In our above example it was mentioned on more than once occasion that not all hands will reach the point of a showdown. It’s important that you realize that a hand of poker can be over even before the players get to see the flop. Our example hand made it to a showdown, but if a player had made a bet which wasn’t called during any of the betting rounds, then this player would’ve won, uncontested. Think of it like a boxing fight, where a fighter could land a knockout blow in the first round, or both boxers could still be standing after 12 rounds, in which case it’d be decided on points.
It’s also worth noting that if you do get to a showdown scenario then you are not obligated to even use your two hole cards. If the best five card hand you can make is comprised of the five community cards, you are said to be playing the board. For example, if the five community cards (flop, turn, and river) made up a royal flush, the best possible hand in poker, then all the remaining active players would share the pot, regardless of their hole cards. Even though each player has seven cards in total, only five of them count – your best five.
Of course there are many other rules and important concepts you need to understand, but hopefully you’ve learnt a lot from this lesson. The game of Texas hold’em is a deceptively simple game, but as you move through the myriad of lessons on Pokerlogy.com you will experience an astounding wealth of information and strategy. Before we move onto the next lesson, let’s revisit Mike Sexton’s thought on the game; while hold’em can be learned in five minutes, it may take a lifetime to master – enjoy the journey.
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