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Texas Hold 'em is probably the best known and most popular form of poker today.
Each player starts with two hole cards. There are three rounds of community cards. These are dealt face up, for every player to use, with betting after each round.
The best 5-card hand using any combination of the five community cards and two hole cards wins.
Each new hand begins with a small blind, a big blind, and a round of betting. The betting rules vary depending upon whether the game is Limit, Pot Limit or No Limit.
Once the first round of betting is complete, the dealer then puts out the first three community cards, or "the flop". There is a round of betting.
The dealer then puts out the fourth community card or "the turn". There is a round of betting.
The dealer then puts out the fifth community card or "the river". There is a final round of betting.
After the last round of betting, the software will award the pot to the best hand.
All Hold 'em games include a small blind and big blind. These are forced bets, and are determined by the position of the button. These bets are considered live, and every player in the hand must either call the big blind, raise, or fold. The button moves clockwise around the table, giving each player a turn being the button, small blind, and big blind.
In Limit Hold 'em, each betting round has a fixed bet. In $5/$10, the small blind is $2.50, the big blind is $5, and the first two rounds of betting are in increments of $5. The last two rounds of betting are in increments of $10. There is a maximum of three reraises per betting round.
In Pot Limit, a player can bet any amount from the minimum bet to the size of the pot. In a $5/$10 pot-limit game, the small blind is $5 and the big blind is $10. The first player can call the big blind (in this case, $10), or raise to any amount up to the size of the pot. A raise must either equal or exceed the previous bet or raise. In this case, a pot-sized raise would be $25 ($5 small blind + $10 big blind + $10 call), meaning that, in total, player three can bet up $35. Supposing player three makes a pot-sized raise, the total pot is now $50.
If the next player wants into the hand, they must call $35, which is the size of player three's bet. If they want to raise the maximum, they would bet $120, which equals the size of the pot ($50) plus a $70 raise ($5 call + $35 raise).
In No Limit Texas Hold 'em, a player can bet any amount from the minimum bet to the maximum number of chips they have in front of them. As in pot limit, a $5/$10 No Limit game means blinds of $5 and $10.
In Tournament Hold 'em, the blinds will increase after timed intervals. And while Texas Hold 'em generally does not have antes, in tournaments, the later rounds will include antes based upon the escalating betting limits.
Poker Hands
Poker hands are always five cards. For example, even though each player in a seven-card stud game has seven cards, only the best five of those cards play. Poker has no six- or seven-card hands. Thus, the seven-card stud hand As Ad Qs Qd 6h 5d 3c beats Ks Kd 9h 9s 7s 7d 2s, even though the second hand contains three pairs while the first has two pairs. Similarly, if a Hold 'em board was 9s 9h 7d Js 7c, the pot would be split between two players holding 6s 6d and 5c 5h, even though the player with the two sixes was ahead until the river card. At the end, both players hold the two pair hand 9s 9h 7d 7c, with a jack kicker. Neither player can produce a higher kicker from his hand; neither player's pocket pair can result in a higher five-card hand than what is on the board.
These are the winning high hands in high only and high-low split games, from highest to lowest. Any hand in one category in the list beats any hand in any category below it. For example, any straight flush beats any four of a kind; any flush beats any straight.
Poker Rules: What Beats What
Royal Flush: Five cards in sequence with all five cards of the same suit. The highest straight flush, having an ace as its high card, has a special name, royal flush.
Any lesser straight flush does not have a unique name.
In a showdown among players holding straight flushes, the hand with the highest top card wins. 10d 9d 8d 7d 6d beats 9s 8s 7s 6s 5s.
Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank. Also known as quads.
In a showdown among players holding four of a kind, the hand with the highest rank wins. Kd Kc Kh Ks 5d beats Jc Jh Jd Js Ad. If multiple hands each contain the same four of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest side card wins. Kd Kc Kh Ks Ah beats Kd Kc Kh Ks Qd.
Full House: Three cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank.
In a showdown among players holding full houses, the hand with the highest three of a kind wins. 7h 7s 7d 3h 3s beats 6s 6c 6h Ad Ah. If multiple hands each contain the same full house (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest pair wins. Kd Kh Ks As Ac beats Kd Kh Ks Qh Qd.
Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
In a showdown among players holding flushes, the hand topped with the highest one or more cards wins. When the top card is tied, the next card is compared; when the top two cards are tied, the third card is compared; and so on. Ah 8h 7h 6h 5h beats Ks Qs Js 9s 8s, and Jd 10d 9d 8d 4d beats Jc 10c 9c 7c 6c.
Straight: Five consecutive cards. An ace can be high or low.
In a showdown among players holding straights, the hand with the highest top card wins. Ts 9d 8d 7c 6c beats 8s 7h 6h 5c 4c.
Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank. Also known as trips or, especially in flop games, a set.
In a showdown among players holding three of a kind, the hand with the highest rank wins. Jh Jc Js 3d 2c beats 10s 10c 10h Ah Kc. If multiple hands each contain the same three of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest side cards wins. Jh Jc Js Ah Kc beats Jh Jc Jd Ah Qd.
Two Pair: Two cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank.
In a showdown among players holding two pair, the hand with the highest pair wins. As Ac 2h 2s 3d beats Kd Kc Qh Qs Jd. In a showdown among players holding the same top pair, the hand with the highest second pair wins. 10s 10c 8s 8c 4d beats 10h 10d 7s 7h Ad. In a showdown among players holding the same two pairs, the hand with the highest side card (also known as kicker) wins. Jh Jd 9h 9d 4h beats Js Jc 9c 9s 3s.
One Pair: Two cards of the same rank.
In a showdown among players holding one pair, the hand with the highest pair wins. Ah Ad 5d 4h 3c beats Kh Kd Ac Qd Js. In a showdown among players holding the same pair, the hand with the highest one or more side cards wins. Js Jh 9d 8s 4d beats Jc Jd 9h 8c 3s.
No Pair: None of the above.
If no hand has a pair or better at the showdown, the hand topped by the highest one or more cards wins. When the top card is tied, the next card is compared; when the top two cards are tied, the third card is compared; and so on. Ac 9s 5d 4c 2h beats Kd Qs Jd 10c 8h, and Jh 10c 9h 7c 4d beats Jc 10h 9s 7s 2d.
How to Play Texas Holdem | Poker Rules