Ultimate Guide to Texas Hold’em | How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker?

Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular variation of poker today. Why is that so? Well, because it’s the most interesting one and it requires a lot of skill to play.

If you want to learn how to play Texas Hold’em and find out everything about Texas Hold’em rules, you are on the right page.

In this article, I am going to go over everything a beginner player like yourself needs to be informed about. Here is a list of things this article will cover:

Apart from all the rules, I am also going to provide you with a list of the best online poker sites on the web. These websites will allow you to enjoy real-money Texas Hold’em poker and give you a chance to win some awesome prizes.

But first, let’s get down to the basics, shall we?

Where to Play Texas Hold’em In 2024 Online

My list of the best poker sites which I consider to be the best rooms to play in 2024:

When you’re ready to take down the competition after reading our handy guide, you might try one of many great Texas Hold’em poker websites. These sites specialize in online poker games and offer the best gameplay on the Internet.

I’ve personally tested these poker operators, so you can be sure that you’re playing on official sites with great bonuses.

Starting to play Texas Hold’em poker online is really easy. Just register on one of the sites from my list above, use one of the available banking methods to deposit some money in your account and start playing.

Texas Hold’em Rules – The Basics

Texas Hold’em is a community card game, meaning that the result depends on five community cards shown face-up on the table in combination with two cards each of the players is holding in their hands.

Texas Hold’em poker can feature a minimum of two and a maximum of ten players at one table. It is played with a regular 52-card deck.

You can win the game in two ways – by having the best five-card combination at the showdown or by getting everybody to fold before you.

When a player runs out of chips, they are out of the game. The last player standing wins all the chips and the main prize. However, if you’re playing in a tournament format, a certain number of players who finish below the first place can make a profit as well.

Texas Hold’em poker rules might seem a bit confusing at first, but you will realize that they are not that complicated if you continue to read my guide and checkout our starting hands cheat sheet.

How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker – The Setup

Texas Hold’em can have up to ten players positioned at the table. There is a Dealer button placed in front of one of the players that moves clockwise after each round.

The Dealer button doesn’t necessarily indicate who is dealing the cards. It is just used to indicate where the betting round begins.

If you’re playing online or in a land-based casino, there will always be a professional dealer (or a virtual RNG version of the dealer) shuffling and dealing the cards. If you’re playing in a home setting, you can decide who is going to deal after each round and switch.

A poker round can consist of four betting rounds, although the round can finish earlier if everybody but one player folds their hands.

The Blinds

The two players sitting left of the dealer are called the small and big blind, respectively. The action starts from the third player positioned left of the dealer called Under the Gun.

Before the cards are dealt, each play must put a nominal amount of chips on the table. These nominal amounts are called antes. The small blind usually puts twice as much in the pot, while the big blind goes in for double of what the small blind put.

So, for example, if the blinds are $1/$2, the ante will usually be 50¢.

Antes and blinds are forced bets that create the initial pot. If it weren’t for these nominal bets, some players would have no incentive to risk and they would just fold.

Once the antes and the blinds have been collected, the dealer starts dealing the cards. Each player gets two face-down cards before the first betting round begins.

Texas Hold’em Card Rankings

As I mentioned before, the player with the best five-card hand wins the round of Texas Hold’em. But how do we decide which hand is better?

Here is a table that contains all card ranks in Texas Hold’em from least to most powerful.

High Card	If no one has at least a pair, the player with the highest-ranking card wins. The highest card in the game is an Ace.
Pair	Any two cards with the same value, like AA, KK, 22…
Two-Pair	Two sets of pairs. If two or more players have a two-pair, then the player with the highest-valued pair wins.
Three of a Kind	Three cards with the same value.
Straight	,a Five cards with a consecutive value. For example 7, 8, 9, 10, J.
Flush	Five cards with the same suit. For example ♥2, ♥4, ♥7, ♥J, ♥Q.
Full House	A combination of three of a kind and a pair. For example: Q, Q, Q, 7, 7. If two or more players have a full house, then the player with the best three of a kind wins.
Four of a Kind	Four cards with the same value.
Straight Flush	Five consecutive cards with the same value. For example ♣3, ♣4, ♣5, ♣6, ♣7.
Royal Flush	The highest possible straight flush. For example ♦10, ♦J, ♦Q, ♦K, ♦A.

Texas Hold’em Betting Rules Example

I know that even with these explanations, Texas Hold’em rules might seem a bit confusing and hard to follow, but I hope that the following example will make things easier to understand.

In this example, I am going to show what a typical round of Texas Hold’em looks like using three fictional players.

No Limit, Pot Limit, and Limit Texas Hold’em Rules

The table limit of Texas Hold’em poker depends on the house/game rules and relates to how much each player is allowed to bet.

• No-limit – The players can bet and/or raise from big blind upwards as much as they want and in all betting rounds.
• Pot-limit – The players in pot-limit Texas Hold’em are only allowed to bet and/or raise between the big blind and the current size of the pot.
• Limit – Limit poker is the most restricted version of the three. The bets for each betting round are limited according to a predetermined amount.

Cash Games, Sit ‘n’ Go’s, Tournaments, Free-Rolls

There are multiple ways to play Texas Hold’em poker online. You can choose to just try out a few hands with a quick cash game or you can spend several hours at a multi-table tournament chasing that big jackpot.

• Cash Game – If you’re not patient, you can try a few hands in a cash game at any time. You just secure a seat at the table with a buy-in and join as the next round begins. The players can come and go as they please and the table doesn’t have to be full in order for the game to begin. If you lose all your chips, you can just buy more and continue.
• Sit ‘n’ Go – The game of sit ‘n’ go begins once all the seats have been filled. The players are eliminated one by one until there’s a winner. You cannot buy yourself in after you’ve been eliminated; once you lose – you’re out.
• Multi-Table Tournament – Online poker sites often organize big tournaments with massive prizes. Unlike cash games and sit ‘n’ go’s that start as soon as enough players enter the table, multi-table tournaments are pre-scheduled. There could be hundreds of players joining.
• Free-Rolls – Free-roll tournaments allow you to enter for free, but you still have a chance to win actual money. Except for monetary prizes, free-rolls can also win you a ticket to one of the real-money multi-table tournaments.

Play Texas Hold’em Poker for Free

Reading about Texas Hold’em poker rules and watching a game or two on YouTube is one thing, but playing the actual game is something else. Sitting down at the table and facing more experienced players usually results in a quick loss of your entire chip stack.

The best way to go about this game is to practice, and you can do so completely without risk by playing some free Texas Hold’em poker.

Of course, you can always gather a couple of friends around and play at home, but it’s better to have 24/7 access and practice on some great free poker websites.

Final Thoughts

Once you figure out all the Texas Hold’em poker rules, you will realize how interesting this game really is. I hope that this guide was helpful and that you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

Before you start your Texas Hold’em poker campaign, I would like to hear what you have to say. What did you think of my article? Was there something I failed to mention? Do you have any additional questions about Texas Hold’em rules?

Feel free to express your thoughts in the Comment section below and I will make sure to reply ASAP.

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