How to play Texas hold'em: rules, hands and betting
Updated · 4 min read
Texas hold'em is the most widely played form of poker: every player gets two private cards, five shared cards come out in the middle, and the best five-card hand takes the pot. The rules fit on a page, and the rest is reading people and doing quick sums. This guide covers the standard no-limit game, a few common variations, and how our free table plays. Our version uses play chips only: nothing here is real money, and chips cannot be bought, sold or cashed out.
What you need and the goal
- Two to ten players, though six or fewer is the friendliest table. A standard 52-card deck, aces high (and low in the A-2-3-4-5 straight).
- Chips for everyone, and a dealer button that moves one seat left after each hand.
Each hand, the goal is to win the pot, either by holding the best hand at the showdown or by betting so that everyone else folds. Over a game, the goal is to end up with the chips: in a tournament-style game, the last player with chips wins.
Setup: the button and the blinds
Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the button post forced bets called blinds. The first posts the small blind, the next posts the big blind, usually twice as much. The blinds make sure there is always something to play for. In a two-player game, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop.
The dealer then gives everyone two cards face down, called hole cards. Only you see yours.
How a hand works
There are up to four betting rounds. The first comes right after the hole cards are dealt, starting with the player left of the big blind. On your turn you may fold (give up the hand), call (match the current bet), or raise (increase it). If nobody has bet in a round yet, you may check, which passes without betting, or bet.
- The flop: three shared cards are dealt face up in the middle, followed by a betting round starting left of the button.
- The turn: a fourth shared card, and another betting round.
- The river: a fifth and final shared card, and the last betting round.
- The showdown: if two or more players are still in, they show their cards. Each makes the best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five shared cards, using any combination.
In no-limit hold'em you may bet any amount up to all your chips at any time, which is called going all-in. A raise must be at least as big as the previous bet or raise in that round.
Hand rankings, best to worst
- Straight flush: five cards in a row, all one suit. The ace-high one is the royal flush.
- Four of a kind, then a full house (three of a kind plus a pair).
- Flush: any five cards of one suit. Straight: five cards in a row of mixed suits.
- Three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and finally high card.
Ties between the same kind of hand go to the higher cards, and identical hands split the pot.
Side pots and the end of the game
If a player goes all-in and others keep betting, the all-in player can only win what they matched from each opponent. Any extra goes into a side pot that only the players who put chips into it can win. Run out of chips and you are out of the game.
Common house rules
- Rising blinds: blinds go up every set number of hands or minutes, which keeps a game from lasting forever.
- Antes: a small forced bet from every player on top of the blinds, common later in tournaments.
- Limit hold'em: bets and raises come in fixed sizes instead of any amount.
- Rebuys: some home games let a busted player buy back in once.
How hold'em plays on Knockout
Our Hold'em is no-limit Texas hold'em for two to six players, with play chips only. From the game's settings:
- Starting chips of 1,000, 2,000 (the default) or 5,000, and blinds of 10/20 (the default) or 25/50.
- Blinds go up every 10 hands by default; the host can turn that off. There are no antes and no rebuys.
- The game runs until one player holds every chip, or, with the 30-hand setting, until whoever has the most chips after 30 hands. A game with no hand limit closes after 500 hands.
- An all-in for less than a full raise does not reopen the betting for players who already acted. An odd chip in a split pot goes to the first winner left of the button.
- An optional 30-second shot clock checks for you if it can, or folds.
Beginner tips
- Play fewer hands. Big pairs, ace-king and other high cards are worth playing; most other starting hands are worth folding before the flop.
- Position matters. Acting last, after you see what everyone else does, is a big advantage, so play more hands near the button.
- Bet your strong hands. Checking a good hand lets weaker hands see free cards.
- Do not chase every draw. If the bet is large and only a couple of cards help you, folding saves chips for a better spot.
Where to play hold'em free
You can play Hold'em free in a browser with play chips. Against the computer you need no account: open the game and computer players fill the seats at Easy, Normal or Hard. To play friends, make a free player (a username and a PIN or password), create a game and send the invite link or code; empty seats can still go to computer players. Knockout is for people 13 and older.
For a faster table game against the dealer, see How to play blackjack: rules, payouts and basic strategy. If you like poker hands but want to play alone, High Hand builds a solo challenge around them. Every card game we host is listed in Free card games online: classics, partners and party decks.