Texas Hold'em Rules

How a hand of Texas Hold'em plays from the blinds to showdown: the betting rounds, the community cards, position, and the rules beginners trip over.

Updated September 2026 · how these numbers are calculated

Texas Hold’em is the poker game in almost every casino poker room and on television. Two private cards, five shared cards, four rounds of betting. The rules take ten minutes; the game takes considerably longer.

The table and the button

Each hand has a dealer button — a disc that marks who is nominally the dealer. In a casino a house dealer deals every hand, but the button still rotates one seat clockwise each hand, because it defines the betting order and who posts the blinds.

The two players immediately clockwise of the button post forced bets before any cards are dealt:

Small blind — first seat left of the button, typically half the minimum bet
Big blind — next seat, the full minimum bet

The blinds are live bets that seed the pot and guarantee there is always something to play for.

The four betting rounds

1. Pre-flop. Each player is dealt two hole cards face down. Betting starts with the player left of the big blind (“under the gun”) and moves clockwise. Each player folds, calls the big blind, or raises. The big blind acts last and may check if no one raised.

2. The flop. Three community cards are dealt face up. A new round of betting begins with the first active player left of the button. From here on, players may check if no bet is in front of them.

3. The turn. A fourth community card. Another betting round.

4. The river. The fifth and final community card. The last betting round.

Showdown. If two or more players remain after the river, cards are revealed and the best five-card hand wins. The last player to bet or raise shows first; if everyone checked, the first active player left of the button shows first.

Making your hand

Your hand is the best five cards from the seven available — your two hole cards plus the five on the board. You may use two, one, or none of your hole cards:

Two hole cards: you hold A♠ K♠, board comes Q♠ J♠ 4♥ — you have an ace-high flush draw and a straight draw using both cards.
One hole card: you hold A♦ 7♣, board is K♦ Q♦ J♦ 10♦ 2♠ — your A♦ completes a diamond flush using one card.
Zero hole cards (“playing the board”): the board is 10-J-Q-K-A of mixed suits — everyone still in has a straight and the pot splits, unless someone holds a card that makes it better.

Position is the hidden rule

Nothing in the printed rules says position matters, but it is the single largest structural edge in the game. Acting later in a betting round means you see what everyone else does before you decide. The button acts last on every round after the flop, which is why hands played from the button are worth far more than the identical hands played from the blinds.

This is why “position” appears constantly in poker strategy and why the same two cards can be a raise on the button and a fold under the gun.

Betting structures

No-Limit — you can bet any amount up to your entire stack at any time. The televised, tournament-standard form. A single bet can be for everything.
Limit — bets and raises are fixed increments. The turn and river bets are double the flop bet. Lower variance, more about incremental value.
Pot-Limit — the maximum bet is the current size of the pot. Common in Omaha, rare in Hold’em.

The hand mechanics are identical across all three; only the sizing rules differ.

The rake

The house does not play, so it takes a rake — typically 5% of the pot up to a capped maximum, or a time charge in bigger games. This is how the room makes money, and it is the figure a winning player must beat. In a small-stakes cash game the rake is often the difference between a marginally winning player and a losing one. It is the closest thing Hold’em has to a house edge, and unlike a house edge it can be overcome — you just have to beat the other players by more than the room takes.

Rules beginners trip over

A raise must be at least the size of the previous raise. You cannot min-raise on top of a big bet unless it meets the minimum increment.
Verbal declarations are binding. Say “raise” in a casino and you are committed to raising, even before your chips are in.
A single chip placed without announcement is a call, not a raise, if it exceeds the bet — so announce raises.
Cards must stay on the table and visible. Protecting your hand by removing it from view gets it killed.
Playing the board means the best you can do is tie; you never win a pot outright with a hand no better than the community cards.

Next: poker hand rankings · pot odds and equity

FAQ

How many cards do you get in Texas Hold'em?

Two private hole cards each, plus five community cards dealt face up in the middle that everyone shares. You make your best five-card hand from any combination of your two and the five community cards — including playing zero of your hole cards if the board is best.

What are the blinds?

Two forced bets posted before any cards are dealt, by the two players left of the dealer button. The small blind is usually half the big blind. They rotate each hand so everyone pays them in turn, and they exist to put money in the pot and force action.

Can I use both, one, or none of my hole cards?

Any of the three. Your hand is the best five cards available from your two hole cards plus the five on the board. If the board itself is a straight higher than anything you can make, you 'play the board' and can at best tie everyone still in.

What beats what in Hold'em?

The standard poker hand rankings apply: royal flush down to high card. The community cards do not change the rankings, only how hands are formed. See the hand rankings page for the full order and the probabilities behind it.