Texas holdem, “The Cadillac of Poker, takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master", begins with, usually,
a table of ten players (however you may play with as little as 2 players, which is called "heads-up"). One player at the table acts as the dealer. This is noted by the Dealer Button,
usually a white puck with the word “Dealer” printed on it, placed in front of the dealer position.
The player on the “button” does not actually deal the cards, but he will be the last person to act for this hand.
The dealer button rotates around the table at the end of each hand, so each player takes turns being the last player to act.
The button moves to the player on the left at the beginning of each round.
Texas holdem rules uses the blind structure. The “blind” is a forced bet that a player must place prior to the dealing of the cards.
Two players must post blinds prior to each hand played. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button is referred to as the
“small blind”. This player must post half of the normal bet before the game starts. To the immediate left of the small blind sits the
big blind. The big blind must post the full bet before the game starts. So, for example, if we were sitting at a $1-2 Texas holdem
limit table, the small blind must post $.50, and the big blind must post $1.00 before the hand is dealt.
Pre-flop
The above picture is taken from
.
Here you can see that RLE is “on the button” (see the white disc?). To the left of him is the small blind, Blinkoff, who has posted $.10.
To the left of Blinkoff is the big blind, Ruffino, who has posted the full bet of $.25. (This is a $.10-.25 no-limit table).
After the blinds are posted, two cards are dealt to each player. Texas holdem rules dictate that there are
four rounds of betting: pre-flop, after the flop, after the turn, and after the river. The first round of betting starts after each player
has received his two cards.
The first player to act in this first round of betting (pre-flop) is the person to the left of the big blind. So, in the above picture, Tai913 would be the first player to act pre-flop. This is known as UTG for “Under the Gun”. Now if Tai913 would like to play his hand, he must call (or raise) that big blind bet. Otherwise, the player can fold his cards at no cost to him. The above scenario rotates around the table to the dealer, and then to the small blind. The small blind can call the big blind bet by just betting the difference – in this case his call would only cost him an additional $.15. The small blind can also fold his hand and lose the $.10 bet, or he may raise the bet.
The big blind player is the last player to act in this pre-flop round. The big blind can play for free (if no other player raised his blind) because he has already posted the minimum bet (the big blind). Yet, the big blind position also has the option to raise the bet. This choice is simply called “option”. As the action rotates around the table back to the big blind position, the dealer will ask the big blind “Option?” at which point the big blind has the option to check, raise the bet, or even fold.
After this initial round of betting comes the flop. Three cards are dealt from the deck to the community board. Another round of betting ensues. However, from this point on, the action always starts with the small blind position and ends with the dealer position. The dealer position will be the last one to act for the rest of this hand, which will be the next 3 betting rounds.
Flop
Here is an example of a flop. Three cards are dealt on the board. In the above example, the betting round would start with mrhotwerk and end with meng1. After the betting round, the turn card is dealt:
Turn
The turn card is also known as fourth street. Now there would be another round of betting starting with mrhotwerk and ending with meng1 on the button. Finally, the river card is dealt, and the final round of betting ensues:
River
The river card is also known as fifth street. After the river card is dealt, and the final round of betting ends, the winning cards are shown and the player is awarded the pot (less the house “rake” – which is the commission the house takes from the pot).
Texas Holdem All-in Rules
Now, in the game of No Limit Texas Holdem, any player, at any betting round, may bet all of his remaining chips on the table. This is called going "All-in".
Any player at the table may call this bet, whether they have less or more chips at the table. If one of the other players has less
chips than the opponent who has moved all-in, then a side-pot is created. For example, if Player A has moved all-in with $75, and
Player B then raises and goes all-in with $100, then the main pot has $150, and the side-pot has $25. Player A
may only win the main pot,
and has no right to any of the money in the side pot. You may only win what you bet.
In the above example, if Player C has more chips than Player B, then Player C can raise the bet or move
all-in himself. If Player C has
$200 in chips, and moves all in after Player B, then the main pot would have $225 ($75 * 3 Players),
the first side pot would
have $50 ($25 from Player B and $25 from Player C), and another side pot would be created,
that contains $100 (all Player C). Let's assume
that these are the only players in the pot, everyone else folds. Player C will automatically win the second side pot of
$100.
Now, if Player A wins the hand - his hand beats both Players B & C,
then Player A only wins the contents of the
main pot - $225. In this case, then we would look at who wins between Player B and Player C. If Player B wins, then Player B would win
the contents of the first side pot - $50 - and the $100 of the second side pot is simply returnd to Player C (no one else is competing for this
pot). If Player C beats Player B, then Player C would win the first side pot of $50, and again, the contents of the second side pot
is returned to Player C since it is uncontested.
In this same hand, if Player B wins the hand by beating both Player A and Player C, then Player B would take down the main pot, and the
first side pot, and the contents of the second side pot are again returned to Player C.
If Player C wins the entire hand by beating both Player A and Player B, then Player C would win the main pot of $225, the first side pot
of $50, and the second side pot which is uncontested.
In all scenarios, Player C automatically wins the second side pot since there are no opponents competing for that pot.
These are the rules of Texas holdem in a nutshell. The online casinos will play by these Texas holdem rules exactly as described above.
However, in brick and mortar casinos, there may be variations in the Texas holdem rules regarding the blinds structure, although usually minor.
For example, the Texas holdem rules at Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles dictate that the dealer button must also post the small blind,
so there are actually three players who post blinds. Yet, the Texas holdem rules at the Monte Carlo poker room in Las Vegas dictate that
there is only one blind - the big blind - who sits to the immediate left of the button.
The amount of the rake at each casino may also differ.
If you'd like to read more basic poker and Texas Holdem articles, check out our
Poker Rules article, explaining the subtle differences between different
types of poker games,
and check out our poker hands ranking page
to see what hands beat what - applicable to all forms of poker!
Now that you understand the basic rules of the game, it’s time to learn the basic strategy of the game. Check out the
Poker Strategy section to read and develop your Texas Holdem strategies and visit the FTR Poker Forum
to participate in active poker strategy discussions.
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