Texas Hold'em Rules

The object of the game is to win the pot, either by holding the best five-card hand at showdown or by making a bet that no other player calls.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings. Suits have no rank.

A player's hand is the best five-card combination available from their two hole cards and the five community cards. A player may use both, one or neither of their hole cards.

Between two and ten players may take part. Nine or ten is standard for a full table; six is standard for a short-handed table.

A disc called the dealer button marks the player in the dealer position. The button moves one seat clockwise after each hand.

The player directly to the left of the button posts the small blind. The next player to the left posts the big blind. The small blind is usually half the big blind.

Blinds are live bets. A player who posted a blind has the option to act again when action returns to them before the flop, even if no one has raised.

2.3(a) When the action is limped around to the big blind, the big blind may check or raise. This is called the big blind's option.

Some games also use antes, a small forced bet from every player or a single ante paid by the big blind (a big blind ante). Antes are dead money and do not count toward a player's bet.

Heads-up play. When only two players remain, the player on the button posts the small blind and the other player posts the big blind. The button acts first before the flop and last on every later round.

A player who joins a game, or returns after missing their blinds, may be required to post an amount equal to the big blind before being dealt in. The exact requirement is set by the venue.

After the blinds are posted, the dealer deals one card face down to each player, starting with the small blind and moving clockwise, then a second card in the same order. Each player receives two hole cards.

Before each round of community cards is dealt, the dealer discards the top card of the deck face down. This is the burn card. It guards against a marked or glimpsed top card.

Community cards are dealt face up in the centre of the table, in three stages:

3.3(a) The flop: three cards dealt together.

3.3(b) The turn: a fourth card.

3.3(c) The river: a fifth and final card.

When it is their turn, a player may:

4.1(a) Check: pass the action without betting, only if no bet has been made on this round.

4.1(b) Bet: put chips in when no one else has bet on this round.

4.1(c) Call: match the current bet.

4.1(d) Raise: increase the current bet.

4.1(e) Fold: give up the hand and any claim to the pot.

Before the flop, the big blind counts as the opening bet, so the first player to act must call, raise or fold. Checking is not an option until the flop, except for the big blind exercising their option (2.3(a)).

The minimum bet on any round is the size of the big blind.

A raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise in the same round. If a player bets 100 and another raises to 300, the next raise must be to at least 500.

In no-limit games, a player may bet all of their chips at any time. In pot-limit and fixed-limit games, bet sizes are capped. See betting structures for the rules of each.

An all-in wager that is less than a full raise does not reopen the betting to players who have already acted and are facing only that short amount. They may call or fold, but not raise.

Verbal declarations in turn are binding. A player who says "raise" must raise. A player who puts chips in without a declaration is bound by the chips they put in.

If all but one player folds at any point, the remaining player wins the pot immediately and does not have to show their cards.

If more than one player remains after the river betting, the hands are shown to decide the winner.

If there was a bet on the river, the last player to bet or raise on that round shows first. If there was no bet on the river, the first active player to the left of the button shows first. Other players then show in clockwise order or may concede by discarding their cards face down.

Any player who was dealt in may ask to see a called hand that was shown down, subject to the venue's rules on misuse of this right.

The cards speak. The dealer or table reads the hands based on the cards shown, whatever a player declares. A player who miscalls their own hand does not lose a pot their cards actually win, but should hold their cards until the pot is awarded.

Playing the board. If the five community cards make a player's best hand, they are said to play the board. Every player still in the hand who also plays the board splits the pot.

Ties and kickers. Hands of the same rank are compared card by card on the five cards that make up each hand. Cards outside the best five never count. If both five-card hands are identical, the pot is split equally.

When a pot cannot be split evenly, the odd chip goes to the first player in the tied hand to the left of the button.

A player cannot be forced out of a hand for lack of chips. A player who does not have enough to call may go all in for what they have.

An all-in player can only win from each other player an amount equal to their own stake. Any further bets between the remaining players go into a separate side pot that the all-in player cannot win.

At showdown, side pots are settled first, starting with the most recent. The main pot is settled last.

A misdeal is declared, and the hand redealt, if the first or second card dealt is exposed by the dealer, if two or more cards are exposed during the deal, if a player is dealt the wrong number of cards, or if the button was in the wrong place and no substantial action has occurred.

A single card exposed by the dealer during the deal, other than the first two cards, is replaced by the next card and used as the burn card for the flop.

If the flop is dealt before the pre-flop betting is complete, or contains too many cards, the flop cards are shuffled back into the stub and a new flop is dealt. Venues differ on whether the original burn card stands or a fresh card is burned.

A hand is dead if it is folded, if it has the wrong number of cards at showdown, or if the player's cards touch the discards (the muck) and cannot be clearly identified.

Players are responsible for protecting their own hand, for example by keeping a chip or a card protector on it.