How to Play Texas Hold ’em

Objective

In a cash game you play for the money in front of you. In a tournament, which is how most home games run Texas Hold ’em, everyone buys in for the same amount, gets the same stack of chips, and plays until one player has them all. Prizes go to the last few players standing.

This page covers the no-limit tournament you can run at your own table. For a slower walk through a single hand, see our Hold ’em rules; the hand itself plays the same way.

Setup

Give every player the same starting stack. A deep, comfortable home stack is about 100 times the opening big blind, such as 10,000 chips with blinds of 50 and 100.

Set a timer for the blind levels. The blinds go up at the end of each level, which keeps the game moving and forces action as stacks get short.

Put a dealer button in front of the first dealer. The player to its left posts the small blind and the next player posts the big blind. The button moves one seat to the left after every hand.

This is a sample schedule. Levels of 15 to 20 minutes suit an evening game with eight to ten players; shorten them if you want to finish sooner.

How to play

Each player gets two cards face down, called hole cards. Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, everyone calls the big blind, raises or folds. The big blind acts last in this first round and may check if nobody raised.

The dealer burns a card and turns three community cards face up. This is the flop, and another betting round follows, starting with the first player still in to the left of the button. Next comes the turn, a fourth card, with a round of betting, then the river, a fifth card, with the final round.

In no-limit, you may bet any amount up to everything in front of you, which is called going all in. The smallest bet is the big blind, and a raise must be at least as large as the last bet or raise in that round.

If two or more players are left after the river betting, they show their cards. Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five on the board, using both, one or neither of their own cards.

1. 1Post the blinds and deal two hole cards each
2. 2Bet before the flop, starting left of the big blind
3. 3Flop, bet; turn, bet; river, bet
4. 4Show down the best five of seven cards to win the pot

Scoring

The best five-card hand wins the pot. When a player is all in and others keep betting, the extra chips go into a side pot that the all-in player cannot win.

A royal flush is the highest straight flush. Ties go to the higher cards, and exactly equal hands split the pot. In a tournament, a player who loses all their chips is out, and finishing order sets the prizes. A simple home split for eight to ten players pays the top three 50%, 30% and 20%.

Variations

Limit Hold ’em: bets and raises come in fixed sizes, small for the first two rounds and double for the turn and river. It is slower and gentler on beginners.

Pot-limit Hold ’em: you may bet up to the size of the pot, but no more.

Cash game: players buy chips for money, can leave or rebuy at any time, and the blinds never rise.

Rebuys and add-ons: many home tournaments let a player who busts in the first hour buy back in once.

Tips from the table

Play fewer hands early. When the blinds are small, there is no rush, and big pairs and strong aces are worth waiting for.

Position matters. Acting last lets you see what everyone else does before you decide, so play more hands on the button and fewer from the blinds.

Watch your stack against the blinds. Once you are down to about ten big blinds, calling and hoping gets expensive; most experienced players switch to going all in or folding.

Keep the game clean: say your bet out loud, push your chips in one motion, and leave your cards on the table until the hand is over.

Frequently asked