Texas Hold’em Poker
Texas Hold’em is the most widely played poker variant in the world and the standard format for professional tournaments. Players combine two private hole cards with five shared community cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand.
Texas Hold'em Poker — table layout
https://engine.moddable.games/play/?game=standard-52&variant=poker
Setup
- 2–10 players.
- One standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
- Designate a dealer button (rotates clockwise each hand).
- Blinds: The player immediately left of the dealer posts the small blind; the next player posts the big blind (typically double the small blind). Blinds create forced starting action.
Deal
Each player is dealt 2 private cards face down (hole cards). Dealing begins with the player to the left of the dealer.
Betting Rounds
There are four betting rounds. In each round, players may fold, check (if no bet yet made), call (match the current bet), raise (increase the bet), or re-raise.
- Preflop: After hole cards are dealt. The player left of the big blind acts first. The big blind acts last and may raise even if no one else has.
- Flop: Three community cards are dealt face-up to the center. Betting begins with the first active player left of the dealer button.
- Turn: A fourth community card is dealt face-up. Betting proceeds.
- River: A fifth and final community card is dealt face-up. Final betting round.
Showdown
If two or more players remain after the final betting round, all remaining players reveal their hole cards. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.
Players may use any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards to form the best five-card hand (both hole cards, one hole card, or no hole cards — “playing the board”).
Hand Rankings (high to low)
| Hand | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | A, K, Q, J, 10 of one suit | A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♥ |
| Straight Flush | Five consecutive cards, same suit | 7♠ 8♠ 9♠ 10♠ J♠ |
| Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same rank | K K K K 7 |
| Full House | Three of a kind + a pair | Q Q Q 4 4 |
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit | A 9 7 4 2 (all hearts) |
| Straight | Five consecutive ranks, any suits | 5 6 7 8 9 |
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank | J J J 9 3 |
| Two Pair | Two separate pairs | K K 7 7 A |
| Pair | One pair | 10 10 A K 3 |
| High Card | No combination | A J 8 5 2 |
Ties are broken by the highest card in the hand. If still tied, the pot is split.
Betting Formats
- No-Limit: Players may bet any amount up to all their chips at any time. Standard for tournaments.
- Pot-Limit: Maximum bet equals the current pot size.
- Fixed-Limit: Bets and raises are fixed at a set amount per street (smaller bet preflop/flop, larger on turn/river).
All-In
A player who cannot match a bet may go all-in, wagering all remaining chips. Side pots are created for any additional bets among players who still have chips.
Tournament vs. Cash Game
- Cash game (ring game): Players buy in for real money or chips with cash value. Blinds are fixed. Players may leave or rebuy freely.
- Tournament: Players start with equal chip stacks. Blinds increase on a schedule. Last player with chips wins.
Attribution
Texas Hold’em. Origin attributed to Texas (early 20th century), popularized in Las Vegas from the 1960s onward. Public domain rules. World Series of Poker standard ruleset.