What Is Texas Hold’em?
Texas Hold’em is the most popular card game in the world — played in casinos, home games, and major tournaments. Each player gets two private cards, and five cards are laid face-up on the table for everyone to share. You use any combination of your two cards and the five shared cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand. The player with the best hand (or the last player left after everyone else folds) wins all the chips in the middle.
What You Need
- A standard 52-card deck
- Poker chips (or coins, candy, anything to bet with)
- 2 to 10 players
- A flat surface
Card Rankings (Best to Worst)
- Royal Flush: A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ — five same-suit cards, Ace to Ten
- Straight Flush: five consecutive same-suit cards (e.g. 7♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ J♥)
- Four of a Kind: four cards of the same rank (e.g. Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ Q♣)
- Full House: three of a kind + a pair (e.g. K K K 4 4)
- Flush: five cards of the same suit, any ranks
- Straight: five consecutive ranks, any suits (e.g. 5 6 7 8 9)
- Three of a Kind: three cards of the same rank
- Two Pair: two different pairs
- One Pair: two cards of the same rank
- High Card: none of the above — highest card wins
Setup
- Choose a dealer. The dealer gets the dealer button (a small chip or marker).
- The player left of the dealer puts in the small blind — a forced bet, usually the minimum.
- The player left of the small blind puts in the big blind — usually double the small blind. These forced bets seed the pot so there’s always something to win.
- Deal two cards face-down to every player, starting left of the dealer. These are your hole cards — only you can see them.
How to Play — Step by Step
Round 1: Pre-Flop
Everyone looks at their two hole cards. Starting with the player left of the big blind, each player must choose:
- Fold — throw your cards away and sit out this hand
- Call — match the big blind amount
- Raise — increase the bet (everyone else must call your raise or fold)
Betting goes clockwise around the table. The big blind acts last and can raise even if everyone just called.
Round 2: The Flop
The dealer burns one card (sets it aside face-down), then deals three cards face-up in the center of the table. These are community cards — everyone uses them. Another round of betting happens, starting left of the dealer. Players can now:
- Check — pass without betting (only if no one has bet yet)
- Bet — place chips in the pot
- Call — match someone’s bet
- Raise — increase the bet
- Fold — give up your hand
Round 3: The Turn
The dealer burns another card and deals one more community card face-up (now 4 cards showing). Another betting round happens.
Round 4: The River
The dealer burns one more card and deals the fifth and final community card face-up (5 cards showing total). The last betting round happens.
The Showdown
If two or more players are still in after the River betting, everyone shows their hole cards. The player who makes the best five-card hand using any combination of their 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards wins the pot. You can use both hole cards, one, or even none — whatever makes your best hand.
Winning the Game
In a tournament: play until one player has all the chips — that player wins. In a cash game: you can leave any time and cash out your chips. The goal is simply to win more chips than you started with.
Strategy Tips
- Be picky about starting hands. Pairs (especially high pairs like AA, KK, QQ) and strong combinations like AK or AQ are worth playing. Weak hands like 7-2 or 9-3 of different suits are almost always better folded.
- Position matters. Acting later in a round gives you an advantage — you get to see what others do before you decide.
- Watch your opponents. Pay attention to who bets big and when. Players often have patterns.
- Don’t bluff too much. Bluffing works best when used sparingly and against fewer players.