Texas Hold'em is a popular kind of poker in which each player is dealt two hidden cards and hopes to combine this 'hold' with 3 or 4 from the community pool of five dealt cards that are shared to make each player's best five card hand.

No-Limit Texas Holdem is the most popular poker game in the world. You probably have seen it on TV and played it in your home games. If you want to learn poker, learning How to Play Texas Holdem Poker is a great place to start.

Learn How to Play Texas Holdem Poker. To learn How to Play Texas Holdem Poker you should read, play, and study. To Help you learn How to Play Texas Holdem, you can check out the Our Free Poker Game where you can practice and test what you learn for free.

Steps for How to Play Texas Holdem

How to Deal Texas Hold’em In the Texas Holdem game, every player gets two cards (hole cards) that only they can see, and then up to 5 community cards are displayed in the middle for every active player to use. Texas Holdem's goal is to make the best possible 5-card combination using hole cards and community cards available to everyone. Note: In some rare cases in Texas Hold'em, the five cards making up the board will actually be the best hand, in which case everyone left in the hand divides up the poker. The deal passes to the next player to the left (who was small blind last hand) and a new hand is dealt. And now you know all the basic rules to Texas Hold'em poker!

We can break down learning How to Play No-Limit Texas Holdem Poker in Steps. The main steps are PreFlop, Flop, Turn, and River.

PreFlop

Starting to the left of the dealer each player is dealt two private face down hole cards known as the player’s hole cards. In addition, two players are required to make forced bets which are called the Blinds. The player to the left of the dealer must bet half of the minimum bet. This is known as the small blind. The second player to the left of the dealer must bet the minimum bet which is known as the big blind. These mandatory upfront bets are designed to get the betting action going in Texas Holdem.

Once this is complete the actual hand starts with the player to the left of the big blind (known as under the gun). Going clockwise around the table, each player can call the big blind (match the big blind), raise (increase the bet), or fold (quit playing the hand).

Flop

When the preflop betting is complete, three community cards are dealt face up on the table. This is called the flop. These three cards are shared amongst all players and are known as community cards. For example, if you have a King and another King comes up as one of the three cards on the flop, then you have a pair of Kings. After the flop is dealt, there's another round of betting starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. Players can check (player chooses not to bet when no one has bet yet), bet (put an amount into the pot that the other players must at least match to stay in the hand), call (match the bet to stay in the hand), raise (increase the bet) or fold (quitting the hand).

Turn

Then, a fourth shared community card is dealt face-up along with another round of betting. This card and betting are known as the turn. After the Turn is dealt, there's another round of betting starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. Players again can check, bet, call, or fold.

River

Finally, a fifth shared community card is dealt followed by a round of betting which is referred to as the river. After the River Card is dealt, there's another round of betting starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. Players again can check, bet, call, or fold. After the round of betting, any players still in the game can then show their cards. This is called the Showdown. The player with the best 5-card hand based on the Poker Hand Rankings is the winner.

Next Hand

The Deal rotates clockwise to the next player as to the Blinds and the next hand can begin.

How to Play Texas Holdem for Beginners

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Helpful Resources for Learning How to Play Texas Holdem

Poker Hand Rankings

A key element of leaning How to Play Texas Holdem is knowing the Poker Hand Rankings.

How To Win In Texas Hold'em Poker

Read More About Hand Rankings

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Poker Glossary

How To Play Texas Hold'em Poker

When you learn How to Play Texas Holdem Poker, there may be some Poker Terms you do not understand. See our Poker Glossary to enhance your knowledge for learning How to Play Texas Holdem Poker and learn the Poker Lingo. Visit our Poker Glossary for How to Play Texas Holdem

How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker

Betting

In Ultimate Texas Hold’em, players have several betting options. To start the hand, players must make equal bets into the ante and blind circles. Players may also make the optional Trips bonus bet.

• Ante and blind circles: Prior to the hand, each player must make equal bets into each of these circles. The amount of these bets is often determined by the table’s betting minimums.
• Trips bonus: An optional bet, the trips bonus pays odds if your final five-card hand equals three-of-a-kind or better. Payouts for Trips bets are based on the odds of obtaining a hand.
• Raise: Players may raise prior to the flop or at the conclusion of each round of action. Players can make only one raise per hand. The earlier a raise is made, the higher the value of the bet. For example, players who raise prior to the “flop”, may raise 3- or 4-times their original ante bet. The raise limit decreases following the “turn”, and again after the “river.”

Please refer to the table layout for payout details.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em Payouts at Island Resort & Casino

Gameplay

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. To begin the hand, the dealer places five cards, known as the community cards, face down on the table. Each player and the dealer are dealt two cards. Players look at their cards and make a decision to check or raise the ante bet.

The dealer turns over the community cards in two rounds. In the first round of play, known as the flop, the dealer reveals the first three community cards. The remaining two community cards are revealed simultaneously to complete the five-card community cards.
After each round, players have the chance to review the strength of their hand and make a raise if desired. At the conclusion of the second round, players must either match their original ante bet or fold.

Following the completion of all rounds and player bets, the dealer reveals his or her cards. In order to qualify, the dealer must hold at least a matched pair. If the dealer does not qualify, ante bets are returned to players. The dealer then compares their hand against those of the remaining players. The best poker hand wins.