Driven by the popularity of televised poker, particularly major events such as the
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the
European Poker Tour,
Texas Hold'em (more commonly, ‘Hold'em’) has become the world’s most popular poker game, both in live casinos and online at PokerStars.
Before you begin playing Hold'em, you'll want to learn the rules. In
Hold'em, each player is dealt two private cards (known as ‘hole cards’)
that belong to them alone. Five community cards are dealt face-up, to
form the ‘board’. All players in the game use these shared community
cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to each make their best
possible five-card poker hand. In Hold'em, a player may use any
combination of the seven cards available to make the best possible
five-card poker hand, using zero, one or two of their private hole
cards. To view the rankings of poker hands, visit the
poker hand ranks page.
The four major variations of Hold'em at PokerStars are distinguished from each other by their betting limits:
Each of these Hold'em variations are available to play on PokerStars for free (play money) or for real money.
How to Play Texas Hold'em
If you would like to learn to play
Hold'em using a more hands-on method, PokerStars offers free poker games
in the poker room. To start practicing your poker skills, just visit
the
free poker download page, install the award-winning poker software, and you'll be learning Hold'em in no time.
However, if you'd rather familiarize yourself with the rules of Hold'em first, then these instructions should help.
The Blinds
In Hold'em, a marker called ‘the button’ or ‘the
dealer button’ indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the
current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise
from the button posts the "small blind", the first forced bet. The
player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the "big blind",
which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds
can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played.
In Limit games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the
small blind is typically half the size of the big blind but may be
larger depending on the stakes. For example, in a $2/$4 Limit game the
small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. In a $15/$30 Limit game, the
small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15.
In Pot Limit and No Limit games, the games are referred to by the
size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Hold’em game has a small
blind of $1 and a big blind of $2).
Depending on the exact structure of the game, each player may also be
required to post an ‘ante’ (another type of forced bet, usually smaller
than either blind, posted by all players at the table) into the pot.
Now, each player receives his or her two hole cards. Betting action
proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the
gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind).
Player Betting Options
In Hold'em, as with other forms of
poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or
‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken
by the previous players. Each poker player always has the option to
fold, to discard their cards and give up any interest in the pot. If
nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to
bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent
players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the
previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet,
but to also increase it.
Pre-Flop
After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now
has the option to play his or her hand by calling or raising the big
blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is
considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to
fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost
$2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise
around the table.
Note: The betting structure varies with different
variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit
Hold'em, No Limit Hold'em, and Pot Limit Hold'em can be found below.
Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
The Flop
Now, three cards are dealt face-up on the board.
This is known as ‘the flop’. In Hold'em, the three cards on the flop are
community cards, available to all players still in the hand. Betting on
the flop begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the
button. The betting options are similar to pre-flop, however if nobody
has previously bet, players may opt to check, passing the action to the
next active player clockwise.
The Turn
When the betting action is completed for the flop
round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth
community card in Hold'em (and is sometimes also called ‘Fourth
Street’). Another round of betting ensues, beginning with the active
player immediately clockwise from the button.
The River
When betting action is completed for the turn
round, the ‘river’ or ‘Fifth Street’ is dealt face-up on the board. The
river is the fifth and final community card in a Hold'em game. Betting
again begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the
button, and the same betting rules apply as they do for the flop and
turn, as explained above.
The Showdown
If there is more than one remaining player when
the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise
shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which
case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards
first. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In
the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between
the players with the best hands. Hold'em rules state that all suits are
equal.
After the pot is awarded, a new hand of Hold'em is ready to be
played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player, blinds and
antes are once again posted, and new hands are dealt to each player.
Limit, No Limit, Pot Limit and Mixed Texas Hold'em
Hold'em rules remain the same for Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit poker games, with a few exceptions:
- Limit Texas Hold'emBetting
in Limit Hold'em is in pre-determined, structured amounts. Pre-flop and
on the flop, all bets and raises are of the same amount as the big
blind. On the turn and the river, the size of all bets and raises
doubles. In Limit Hold'em, up to four bets are allowed per player during
each betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise,
and (4) cap (final raise).
- No Limit Texas Hold'emThe
minimum bet in No Limit Hold'em is the same as the size of the big
blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all
of their chips.
Minimum raise: In No Limit Hold'em, the raise
amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same
round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the
second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).
Maximum raise: The size of your stack (your chips on the table).
In No Limit Hold'em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
- Pot Limit Texas Hold'emThe
minimum bet in Pot Limit Hold'em is the same as the size of the big
blind, but players can always bet up to the size of the pot.
Minimum
raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or
raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets
$5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of
$10).
Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the
total of the active pot plus all bets on the table plus the amount the
active player must first call before raising.
Example: If the
size of the pot is $100, and there is no previous action on a particular
betting round, a player may bet a maximum of $100. After that bet, the
action moves to the next player clockwise. That player can either fold,
call $100, or raise any amount between the minimum ($100 more) and the
maximum. The maximum bet in this case is $400 - the raiser would first
call $100, bringing the pot size to $300, and then raise $300 more,
making a total bet of $400.
In Pot Limit Hold'em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
- Mixed Texas Hold'emIn
Mixed Hold'em, the game switches between rounds of Limit Hold'em and No
Limit Hold'em. The blinds are typically increased when the game
switches from No Limit to Limit, to ensure some consistency in the
average pot size in each game. The betting rules on each round follow
the rules for that game, as described above.
In the PokerStars software, it’s not possible to bet less than
the minimum or more than the maximum. The bet slider and bet window will
only allow you to bet amounts within the allowed thresholds.
