Texas Holdem Button Rules
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Texas Hold’em Rules Texas Hold’em is played using a standard 52 card deck, and between two to ten players. Big tournaments may include many hundreds of players but during any one hand, the player is only competing against others on his or her table. When playing Texas hold ‘em a round flat chip or “disk” is used to represent the position of the dealer. This disk is placed in front of the dealer to indicate their status. The person sitting to dealer left is known as the small blind and the person sitting to the left of the small blind is known as the big blind. In Texas Hold’em, the person who starts or goes first is dependent on what stage of the hand being played. Before the flop, the first person to act is the player seated directly to the left of the Big Blind. This seat is often referred to as Under The Gun (UTG).
The PDF rules of poker are provided below for Texas Hold'em, the most popular poker variant.
To get the PDF printable version of this post click on of the unlock buttons below:
Other popular game variants include Pot Limit Omaha and 5card draw.
Table Of Contents
- Texas Hold'em Rules
- Poker hand Ranking System
Texas Hold'em Rules
In Texas hold’em each player is dealt two cards called their ‘hole’ cards. Hole cards can only be seen and used by one person. The dealer button (denoted by a circular disc) is allocated before hands are dealt to allow for the positioning of the forced bets: small blind and big blind, and also to determine who will act first and last in the hand.
There are a total of four betting rounds: preflop, the flop, the turn and the river. The betting rounds will be detailed further on.
If you have a dedicated dealer (such as at a casino), the button will still move around the table so everybody will eventually have to pay the blinds. The button doesn't show who is dealing in a casino; the button shows who is seated the best position at the table and where the blinds are located.
If you just sat down (out of turn) you will have to pay the blinds in order get dealt a hand; otherwise, you can wait until the blinds come around to your seat. You should wait for the blinds as paying twice is unprofitable.
The size of the blinds depends on the limit; for example, a 1/2 No Limit Hold'em game would have a big blind of $2 and a small blind of 1$. The small blind and big blind are located to the left of the button.
This is shown in the case of a 6 handed game below:
The blinds are an important part of the rules of poker. These forced bets which give players an incentive to play; in other words ‘spice up' the game. Without the blinds, there would be no penalty for waiting and only playing strong hands. The only hand worth playing would be two aces!
Antes are another form of forced bets which are often used the increase the action in some game types such as tournaments and deep stacked cash games.
Pre-flop – The First Betting Round of Hold'em
The first round of betting takes places starting at the position to the left of the big blind (early position or EP). Each player has the following options:
Raise: you can raise the current bet to increase the stakes of the game. If someone has raised before you, you can still raise again – this is call a reraise. The minimum size you can raise is typically chosen to be twice that of the last bet or raise.
Call: When you do not want to raise the stakes but want to continue with your hand you can match the current bet.
Fold: If you feel your hand is not worth playing any further you can fold your hand and not commit any more bets.
Check: If there is no bet placed you can check in order to see the next card. This isn't applicable to preflop. The blinds are the first bet preflop which must be matched with a call or raised, if a player wishes to continue.
Players must act in sequence until all bets are settled. The button must always act last in the first sequence. This first round of betting called ‘pre-flop’ occurs before the flop is dealt.
The Flop – The Second Betting Round
The second round of betting takes places after the three community (shared) cards called the flop are dealt. The action will be to the first player to the left of the dealer. This is opposed to the action starting to the left of the big blind during the preflop betting round.
The first player to act has the option to check bet or fold; although you should not fold when you can check for free. The betting rounds after the flop is dealt is collectively known as ‘post-flop’.
The Turn – The Third Betting Round
The third round of betting occurs after the second community card has been dealt. This card is called the turn. Again, the action starts with the active player to the left of the dealer.
The River and Showdown – The Fourth Betting Round
The fourth and final round of betting occurs when the dealer turns over the river card. The hand ends with the showdown of hands or if there is only one live hand remaining (the other player(s) have folded).
At showdown, the player with the best five card combination from their hole cards and the community cards wins the final pot. Split pots occur when both players have the same best five cards.
After each hand, the button moves to the left of the dealer. This means everyone will have to play the blinds at some point.
Texas hold'em rules are quite simple; however the strategies involved in winning are ever evolving.
The rules of Texas Hold'em are just the beginning so head to our home page if you want to improve your poker game!
Other notes:home page if you want to improve your poker game!
home page if you want to improve your poker game!
Keep this printable PDF hand ranking sheet beside you when you play to make sure you don't make a mistake!
The strongest to weakest hands of them poker hand hierarchy are listed below with the poker hands probability listed in brackets. After reading there will be no debating with friends ‘who has the best poker hand'!
- Royal Flush (649,739:1)
Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all of the same suit – the strongest poker hand.
- Straight flush (72,192:1)
Five sequential cards all of the same suit. The second strongest poker hand.
- Four of a kind (4,164:1)
Four cards of the same value. Also known as ‘quads’.
- Full House (693:1)
Three cards of the same value plus two cards of the same value. Usually a winner!
- Flush (508:1)
Five cards all of the same suit.
- Straight (254:1)
Five cards in sequential order. Also referred to as a run.
- Three of a kind (46:1)
Three cards of the same value.
- Two pair (20 : 1)
Two sets of two cards with the same value. A common hand which can sometimes win at showdown!
- One pair (1.37:1)
Two cards of the same value.
- High card
The player with the highest card wins. Unlikely to be a winner so play with care.
Kickers
A kicker is much like a decider when both players have similar hand types. For example, if player A has A♠Q♣and Player B has A♣J♠ and the board is A♥K♦5♠ 7♠ 2♦ both players will have top pair with an ace but player A will win because the Q♣ is a better kicker than the J♠. The best five cards in this scenario are AAQ75 whereas the losing hand has AAJ75. A kicker is a very important concept when trying to understand the poker hand ranking system.
Split pots
Split pots occur when both players get to showdown and have the same hand rank. The pot is divided up equally between each of the players.
To take an example, if player A has K♠J♥ and player B has K♣Q♠ on a A♥K♦5♠5♣2♠ board both players will have two pair and ace kicker as their best hand (A, K, K, 5, 5). Therefore the pot will be split between the two players.
Alternatively, if the neither player can improve the hand on the board it will also be a split pot. If the board is A♥K♦5♠5♣K♠ and player A has Q♠J♣ and player B has 4♣4♠ then both players will be playing the board and thus it will be a split pot. Hence, you cannot have three pair in poker and the best two pair will play.
Beyond hand rankings
The rules of poker and poker hand rankings are just the beginning for you on your poker journey. One of the core skills in poker is being able to determine whether your hand is strong or weak on a relative scale as opposed to an absolute scale. For example, three of a kind is extremely strong on a board with no flush or straight possibilities but very weak on a board with 4 to a flush or 4 to a straight (e.g. T♥9♥8♥7♥ – any heart or J or 6 beats three of a kind).
One key point to note is that in poker all suits are of the same value. An Ace high flush of hearts is the same value as an Ace high flush of spades.
The first step to this is remembering if a flush beats a straight, or whether a straight flush beats quads; the next stage is figuring out your hand's relative strength based on how your opponent is playing, his tendencies and most importantly the board texture as noted.
Additionally, we should take into account the following factors:
- How many players are in the pot
- The amount of chips in the pot
- The size of the bets made
If you can understand the poker hand rankings and relative hand strength you will be ahead of the game; get ready to beat all your friends and opponents at your home games and casinos! Want to accelerate your poker learning? Check out or poker training sites post for the quickest ways to improve your poker game.
If you are new to poker and are unsure of what hands you need to play, check out our starting hand charts over at the poker cheat sheet webpage.
Check out this poker hand ranking video for a more visual format of everything we said:
Make sure you check out the fan favorite posts:
Poker cheat sheet for beginners & Best Poker Books
Texas Holdem Button Rules Cheat
Texas Holdem is the most popular poker played online, in casinos and around the world in people’s homes. If you’re new to poker then this is the game you want to learn first. Read these basic texas holdem rules and you’ll be playing confidently in no time.
This is where we would normally give you a table showing where you could play texas holdem, but every single site offers it so instead let us direct you to our top poker sites for the best places to play online.
The Button and Blinds
The order the players receive their cards in is determined by the clockwise rotation of a ‘dealer button’ which is usually referred to as simply ‘the button’. The two players to the left of the button place out a bet before the cards are dealt. These bets are known as ‘the blinds’, and are designed to create action. After all, if there is no money in the pot, who wants to play? The player immediately to the left of the button is called ‘the small blind’ and posts an amount typically equal to one half the minimum bet. The player to their left (two seats left of the button) posts ‘the big blind’, equal to one full bet. So, in a limit game with stakes of $2/$4, the blinds would be $1 and $2 (in a no-limit game the blinds would be $2/$4). The dealer button moves one seat to the left (clockwise) with each new hand that is dealt.
Pre-Flop
Players receive two cards face down that are known as their hole cards, beginning with the small blind and ending with the button. When all cards are dealt out the betting action begins with the player to the left of the big blind. This position has a special name in poker – Under the Gun. This round of betting is known as Pre-Flop. Each player acts in turn in a clockwise direction and has the option to call, raise or fold. Most poker rooms will limit the number of raises that can be made in each round, usually to three or four raises. When the action reaches the small blind they have the option to fold, raise or complete their blind. The big blind is the last to act pre-flop and they can ‘check’ (take no action), raise or fold.
Beginners’ Tip: When you are in the big blind and have a less than ideal hand it is recommended that you just check. Some new players will fold their cards when they have already placed a bet! It’s best to stick around and see what happens next.
The Flop
The dealer burns one card (burn cards are in place in casinos to prevent collusion) and deals out three cards in the center of the table. These cards are ‘community cards’, meaning they are shared by all players in the hand, they are also known as ‘the board’. The first three cards are known as ‘the flop’. In this round (and the two subsequent rounds) betting begins with the player immediately to the left of the button and continues in turn in a clockwise direction. Players have the option to check if the there is no bet in front of them, call a bet that has been made, raise a previous bet or fold.
Beginners’ Tip: If the action has been ‘checked to you’, and you have a hand you think might be hopeless, don’t fold! Just check as well if you do not have to call a bet. You never know what the next two cards will bring. Look at it like a ‘free card’ and hope your hand improves.
If there is a raise, all players who have acted prior to the raise are given a chance to act again. For example, if everyone in the hand checks to the button and the button chooses to bet, the play will continue clockwise around the table again giving all players a chance to call the bet or re-raise.
The Turn and River
After betting on the flop is completed the dealer burns another card and places one card out on the board, known as the ‘turn card’. The turn card is followed by another round of betting that follows the same procedure as on the flop. When betting on the turn ends the dealer burns one last card and places a fifth card on the board, which is called ‘fifth street’ or, more commonly, ‘the river card’. This card is followed by a final round of betting in the same method as the flop and turn rounds. When all betting is complete, it’s time for the showdown! Players turn their hands face up to show their best possible five card hands using any combination of their two cards and the five cards on the board.
Beginners’ Tip: Don’t forget your ‘kicker’! A kicker is the nickname for the card that is ‘left over’ when a player has made a hand. They are used to decide the winner in the event two or more players have the same hand. Make sure you have a high ranked kicker to ensure you can beat someone with the same hand as you!
The Winner
A player can win the pot outright or a pot can be split (also called a ‘chop’) among two or more players. Because players can use both, one or none of their hole cards to make a hand, you will occasionally run into a situation where players are ‘playing the board’, meaning the best hand they can make is the five community cards. Of course, a hand does not have to go to a showdown to be over. Sometimes a player will bet or raise and everyone else in the hand will fold. This ends all action in the hand and player who bet or raised is the winner.
Let’s take a look at some examples of winning hands:-
Texas Holdem Button Rules Online
Example 1
I hold Kh Js. You hold Ac Jd. The board is 2d 5d Jh Tc 5c. My best hand is two pair: Kh Js Jh 5d 5c:- Your best hand is two pair: Ac Jd Jh 5d 5c. While we both have jacks and fives, your ace kicker is higher than my king, so you win the pot!Example 2
I hold Qh Js. You hold Kc Jd. The board is 2d 5d Jh Ac 5c. My best hand is two pair: Ac Js Jh 5d 5c:- Your best hand is two pair: Ac Jd Jh 5d 5c. In this case, the ace on the board is higher than both the king in your hand and the queen in mine, so we have identical hands and split the pot.Example 3
I hold Kh Ks. You hold 2d 7d. The board is Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. My best hand is a club flush: Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. Your best hand is a club flush: Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. I'm unlucky here! The board has five clubs and neither one of us has one that plays. We split this pot.Texas Holdem Button Rules How To Play
Example 4
I hold Kc Ks. You hold 2d 7d. The board is Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c My best hand is a club flush: Ac Kc Tc 8c 9c. Your best hand is a club flush: Ac Tc 2c 8c 9c. This hand is almost identical to the last one, but this time I have the king of clubs, which means my flush is higher. I win the whole pot.These are just a few examples of situations that you will encounter. Every hand plays out a little differently, and there are many outcomes. Keep in mind that it’s always the best five card hand possible of all seven cards.
Texas Holdem Button Rules Printable
Good luck at the tables!