How to play Texas Holdem

Texas hold ‘em is the most popular of all poker games – by far and away the most popular of all poker variants, with millions of people playing all over the world. If you've ever watched poker on TV, chances are it was Texas hold ‘em.

It’s also a very easy game to pick up – a few quick pointers and you should be able to follow the course of play, including betting and understanding what makes up a winning hand. But remember, like all great games, Texas hold ‘em is easy to play but difficult to master. Just knowing the rules won’t make you a winner – only patience, experience and, most important of all, knowledge can do that. Lucky for you there is a lot of good information right here. So remember: keep playing, keep learning and good luck!

Beginners Tips for NL Holdem

In Texas hold ‘em poker you want to make the best five-card hand, with seven cards available to use. To start, you’ll be dealt two cards – which you’ll keep to yourself. The remaining five cards are community cards which are dealt face-up in the middle to be used by every player to make hands.

Betting after the deal

After the hole cards are dealt, you have the chance to fold, call, or bet – depending on how good a hand you think you can build. The action starts with the player to the immediate left of the big blind.

After the deal you have to at least call this bet to stay in the hand or you can fold if you don’t fancy your luck. Checking isn't an option here because the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting.

The action moves around the table in a clockwise direction until each player has called, folded, or raised. If nobody has raised by the time the betting gets to the big blind, they can either check their own blind or raise.

In limit games betting is limited to three raises – in other words betting is capped once three raises have been made at the table. In no-limit Texas hold ‘em betting continues until all players have either called the maximum bet or gone ‘all-in’ (bet all of their chips). If bets continue to go up after a player is all-in, a side pot is created to cover that bet.

The flop

OK, now that the first round of betting is out of the way, it's time to see the flop.

The flop is made up of three cards, dealt face-up in the middle of the table (‘on the board’). Each player can use these community cards to build their hand.

Now it's time for another round of betting. This time the betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is still active in the hand or not. The player to the left of the dealer will keep the initial action for the rest of the hand. Other than that, betting is the same as it was before the flop.

The turn card

Again this is used by all players to construct their hands and is followed by a round of betting just like after the flop.

The river

Four down, one to go. Now it’s time for the fifth and final community card to be dealt – the river. Now that all the cards have been dealt, each player remaining in the hand can see what their best five-card hand is.

This is also the final round of betting.

The showdown

Here comes the crunch, time to see who takes the pot. Each player who has remained in the hand can now show their cards, starting with the last person to bet, and then moving round the table clockwise. Players who know they’re beaten have the option of ‘mucking’ (throwing their cards away without showing). But the last player to bet (and first to show) always has to show their cards.

Seeing what cards other players have, even if they lose, is critical in developing a good strategy (more on that in the guide) so it’s always a good idea to take note when you have the chance.

Hand rankings

From first to worst, hands in Texas hold 'em are ranked as follows...

If this all seems a bit complicated, it really isn’t. The best way to get familiar with the mechanics of Texas hold ‘em is to play the game. Luckily you can do that for free simply by going into one of our play money rooms.

Deciding Your Best Game

The first big decision you’ll have to make when starting out in poker isn’t which hand to play first, it’s which table to play it on. Choosing the right table is critical for reasons that will continue to apply throughout your poker career.

Cash tables

First off, you’ll want to find a game that matches your style. Limit hold ‘em tables, where betting is capped, are popular with beginners because there is less chance you’ll lose your stack on one hand.

The next factor to consider is the table stakes. Most sites offer cash poker tables with blinds starting in the pennies and going all the way up to $2,000 / $4,000. It’s important that you always select a game that suits your budget. Most poker rooms require you to sit down with a minimum buy-in of 10-times the lower stake level (so, to sit in a $2/$4 game you’ll need to bring at least $20 to the table). Just showing up with the bare minimum will leave you short stacked though and open to attack from aggressive players. Best to choose a blind level where you can afford a healthy buy-in.

Once you’ve determined your stakes you could just dive into the first game that matches your criteria. But you’ll be giving yourself a big edge if you look before you leap. Check out the average pot size on the tables in your range. Tables with bigger average pot sizes tell you that the play has been very aggressive on that table. Smaller averages indicate a more calculating (or just cautious) table. The latter might reward aggressive play, while the former is more suited to a conservative style.

Choosing a tournament

Tournaments are less complicated to budget for because your losses are capped from the outset – you can only lose as much money as you’ve paid to buy-in (unless it’s a re-buy tournament). The upside is pretty good too. Take down a multi-table tournament with 100 entrants and you should expect to see a 50-fold return on your investment.

When choosing a multi-table tournament, keep in mind that it will take upwards of two to three hours to complete (depending on how far along you make it). Make sure you’ve got enough time to see it through.

If you’re struggling for time but still like the idea of a tournament a sit and go single-table tournament or a sit and go might be the answer. A ten-seat sit and go will usually take about an hour to play, while a six-player table should be wrapped-up in about 45 minutes.

Hold’em or fold’em? A quick guide to starting hands in Texas hold ’em Now that you’ve sat down at a table it’s time to start looking at some cards. The first decision you’re going to have to make at the table is whether or not to play the cards you’re dealt (your hole or pocket cards). To begin with, your decision to play or fold the hand should be based on two things: The quality of your cards. Your position on the table. Over time you’ll start to recognise other clues that will tell you whether you should play a hand or not, but if you start with a good understanding of quality and position you’ll be well on your way.

Hold’em or fold’em?

A quick guide to starting hands in Texas hold ’em

Now that you’ve sat down at a table it’s time to start looking at some cards. The first decision you’re going to have to make at the table is whether or not to play the cards you’re dealt (your hole or pocket cards). To begin with, your decision to play or fold the hand should be based on two things:

• The quality of your cards.

• Your position on the table.

Over time you’ll start to recognise other clues that will tell you whether you should play a hand or not, but if you start with a good understanding of quality and position you’ll be well on your way.

Are they good cards?

There are no hard and fast rules for what hands should be played and what hands should be folded in a game of hold ‘em. Some of the most successful players in the world will play almost any two cards given the right circumstances. But until you’ve reached those dizzy heights it’s important to understand that some cards win a lot more than others.

There is a lot of information out there about the probability of various hole cards winning a pot. The more you learn, the better you’ll get. Use the list below to get yourself started.

Early Position

Middle Position

Late Position

Remember, suited hands (where both your cards are of the same suit) are slightly more valuable because there is a better chance you will make a flush with them.

Betting pre-flop

Calling and folding pre-flop are pretty straightforward, but what does it mean when a player raises the stakes on the first round of betting? When should you think about doing the same thing? There are many possible answers to the first question – the more you play the more you’ll learn about how unpredictable poker players can be. The most likely answer though is that the player has a premium pair: A-A, K-K, Q-Q or J-J, or ace-big: A-K, A-Q, A-J.

Why raise before the flop with these cards? Well, let’s say you’re in a no-limit game and you’ve been dealt the ‘bullets’ (A-A). This is the best hand in poker and right now you know you’re winning the hand (unless someone else has A-A, in which case it’s a draw). You also know that there are five other cards to come that could potentially make any other hand on the table strong enough to beat you. After all, A-A is very strong, but it’s still only a pair.

Knowing the law of averages then, you’d be smart to limit the number of other hands up against yours when the flop comes – reducing the chance of a player with a weaker hand drawing cards to beat your A’s. Your hand could get better too, but it’s far less likely as you know for a fact that there are only two more A’s out there. A pre-flop raise will force players with weaker hands to fold before the flop – hopefully leaving you ahead and against a dominated hand.

One caller is generally considered ideal when playing premium pairs. Every other caller significantly increases the chances of being beaten.

What's this position stuff?

Your position on the table in relation to the dealer determines which order you’ll be playing in. The earlier your position, the weaker your cards. The earliest position in hold 'em sits directly to the right of the big blind – the player sat here is ‘under the gun’ and, as the name suggests, it’s not a comfortable place to be. The problem with early position is that you lack information because you have to act before everyone else, so everyone else on the table knows what you’re going to do before you know what they’re going to do.

The best place to be on a poker table is ‘on the button’, with the dealer button in front of you and the big and small blinds to your left. You’re the last to act and can make decisions on your hand based on what you see other players doing.

A lot of beginners make the mistake of ignoring position, but it’s a big deal. Remember, poker is all about getting information and the smallest scraps can make the difference between winning and losing.

Betting - getting into the action

Your bets in Texas Hold ‘em are as important as your cards – and probably harder to master for the beginner. If you’re new to the game, one of the biggest frustrations can be getting knocked off hands you’re fairly sure you were winning and getting sucked into calling bets when you should have known you were losing. Good betting strategies won’t completely eliminate those situations – they are, after all, the crux of the game – but will increase your confidence and your winnings. For now, let’s look at normal playing conditions in no-limit hold ‘em and bets that suit a tight-aggressive style of play.

Betting before the flop

OK, so you’ve got a hand you want to play… now what? As you skilfully thumb your chips, waiting your turn, ask yourself this, ‘What do I want to achieve with this bet?’.

Drawing hands

In the case of cards that could develop into a strong hand – small pocket pairs, suited connectors, flush draws, straight draws and marginal hands like K-J off- suit, the answer is ‘nothing’ – you don’t want to bet (unless it’s a bluff). You want to see the flop as cheaply as possible to find out if your hand gets better, so call the blinds and possibly a small raise before the flop.

Ace-big and premium pairs

In the case of premium pairs and ace-big you’ve already got a strong hand and you don’t want others to develop theirs and beat you. This is where the pre-flop raise comes into play. The purpose of the pre-flop raise in this situation is to knock out marginal callers, leaving you facing only one or two other players after the flop. This reduces the danger of running into straights, flushes, hard-to-spot two pairs and the like being made by players limping in.

How much you should raise pre-flop depends on the playing conditions. The goal, remember, is to narrow the playing field – but you don’t want to scare all the action away (though just taking the blinds with A-A is infinitely preferable to being taken down by a limper who flops two pairs). A lot of players use a multiple of the blind to come up with their pre-flop raise – multiplying the big blind by a number between, say, two and four to determine their raise. So, if the big blind in a tournament is 30, that would mean a pre-flop bet of somewhere between 60 and 120. Multiplying the blind in this way is an effective strategy, though do remember to avoid betting the same multiple every time or you’ll get predictable.

Slow-playing

You could think of slow-playing a hand as ‘anti-betting’. Its purpose is to trick opponents into thinking you’re weak by either checking or under-betting a strong hand. The aim is to induce action – preferably a bluff, but also bets from weaker hands – then pounce with a large bet of your own.

Some players slow-play before the flop, just calling pre-flop with pocket A’s for example, then coming in with a very large bet after the flop. In normal play this is a very tricky business. You may be able to lure a player who has flopped high pair into calling your big bet, but you’re equally vulnerable to limpers who flop two pairs, sets and so on. There are few worse feelings in poker than to be taken down holding A-A.

That doesn’t mean that slow-playing shouldn’t be part of your arsenal. Flop A, A, J with pocket A-J for example and you might be wise to keep quiet hoping the A’s or J improved an opponent’s hand and letting them assume the board didn’t hit you.

Slow-play can be especially effective against loose and super aggressive players – they’ll often take the lead by betting or bluffing into you, particularly if you’ve shown weakness by checking before them. Very tight players are a good target for the slow-play too. They won’t want to get into any action until they’ve made a hand.

The key is in remembering that slow-play is as dangerous as over-betting. To be effective at it you have to have the smarts to know how likely it is that a card could come to make a hand that would beat you, and the discipline to avoid getting trapped if that happens.

Re-raising

Re-raises generate a lot of buzz. Like two tough guys in a bar eyeing each other up, a re-raise signals a fight brewing and a crowd invariably gathers around to watch. But what does it mean when someone re-raises your bet? When should you consider re-raising someone else’s bet?

It might be easier to understand re-raising by looking at it from the perspective of someone re-raising you. After all, you’re on track to becoming a tight aggressive player (right?), so you’ll probably find yourself re-raised more often than you re-raise.

Here’s a common scenario: You’re on the button, no one has raised before the flop. Everyone checks around to you, you’re in the last position to bet. You’ve flopped high pair on a raggy flop.

Hole Cards

 

Flop

   

Prudently you place a strong bet, secure in the knowledge that everyone else will obediently fold to your clearly articulated strength – thank you very much. Next thing you know the big blind re-raises to double your bet. What?

The re-raise could mean a lot of things at this point so it’s important to consider all the possibilities. You may also recognise some situations where you’ll want to re-raise in future…

Does he think you’re bluffing?

It’s very common for players to try to steal a pot when they’re on the dealer button after everyone else has checked. Getting re-raised in this case might be the big blind saying ‘I’m on to you!’. Players on the big blind are especially prone to getting their backs up in these situations because they don’t want to be seen as a soft touch. Remember, even solid players can appear to be bluffing if they’ve taken a lot of pots in recent hands. If you think that this is what his bet is saying, then your best course of action is to call – after all, you’ve got a strong hand. If he checks after the turn, then a similar or slightly higher bet should see him off. If not, then be on your guard.

He’s trying to trap you.

Good players are clever enough to know that a re-raise can rattle an opponent and possibly induce an over-bet in retaliation. In a case like the one illustrated above, where you’re holding a high pair, you’d be well advised to avoid the temptation to re-raise again or go in big – that might be just what he’s waiting for. Evaluate the player. If he’s the slippery sort, proceed with caution. If he checks on the turn, call the re-raise and bet again. Treat any more big bets coming out of his corner with caution.

Is he bluffing?

Every bet that comes at you in Texas no-limit hold ‘em is a potential bluff. That said, it’s never wise to assume a player is bluffing unless you’ve caught them red-handed – and even then, remember, he may have the cards this time. Still, that’s no reason to trash a perfectly good hand. Call the re-raise and bet again on the turn if he checks.

Does he think you’re on a draw?

Unlikely in the case illustrated above, but if there is a draw on the table then take this into consideration. Call the re-raise and re-evaluate after the flop.

Does he think you’re weak?

Have you folded a lot of hands in the face of big betting recently? If you think your opponent is trying to exploit a perceived weakness then now is the time to stand firm. Call the re-raise then bet again after the flop – no need for big dramatic bets (that shows weakness, too) – either the same amount as your original bet or the amount of the re-raise will do.

Over-betting

Over-betting is common in weak or inexperienced players. There’s a certain laziness to it and, if you think it’s part of your game, you’d be wise to kick the habit.

Here’s a common scenario; An inexperienced player flops the flush or trips on some other big hand. Other players in the tourney have been pushing him around all game and now it’s his turn – so he hammers the magic button and bets his entire chip-stack in an awesome display of strength. Now, one of three things is going to happen:

• Everyone folds and he takes a much smaller pot than he might have with a strong bet (say, the size of the pot).

• He gets a caller with an even better hand and gets beaten like a rented mule.

• A complete idiot with a mediocre hand calls and the inexperienced player takes all his chips (unless the idiot gets lucky and wins on the turn or river).

Assuming you’re playing against idiots is rarely a winning strategy in poker (though there are some exceptions to every rule). That’s just one of the reasons that good players rarely go all-in – they know enough to look at the stack sizes around them, the size of the pot and calculate a bet that is going to apply strong pressure without over committing or scaring away business. For a beginner, as a rule of thumb, a bet that is equivalent to more than half the pot is strong; matching the pot is very strong.

Under-betting

Under-betting is as bad a habit as over-betting. Under-bets leave you vulnerable to draws and aggressive players who smell your weakness. Most under-bets relate to the odds of certain hands appearing, so the best way to cure the practice is to familiarize yourself with basic hand and pot odds.

Knowing your opponents

Poker is a game of people. Get too focused on the cards and you’ll miss half the game. Different situations are going to call for different strategies, styles and bets. Loose tables may require bigger bets to knock off draws while tight tables may require a little slow play to induce action. The more you play and the more you watch how other players treat their chips the more you’ll learn.

And remember, all good players mix up their game so they’re harder to read and can adapt to the table they’re playing on. As your game develops, you should do the same.