How to Play Texas Hold’em: Strategies to Win as a Beginner
Learning to play Texas Hold’em is easy for those who want to play casino games other than slots. With so many possible card combinations, Texas Hold’em can be pretty complex at the highest level. But once you learn the basics, you should be able to hold your own at the table. This article discusses the basic rules and gameplay to help you acquaint yourself with basic strategies for winning the game.
What is Texas Hold’em?
Texas Hold’em is a form of poker where you make a five-card hand out of the seven dealt to you. It is one of the most popular casino games. You win a Texas Hold’em game by combining community cards and hole cards to make the best five-card hand.
After receiving two down cards as your personal hand, you participate in the ensuing round of betting. You turn three board games simultaneously in the flop, followed by another betting round. As a player, you can use any of the five board (or community) cards. You may also form a hand using all your board cards without including any personal cards.
Usually, you use two blinds. However, other poker strategies in this game may include one blind or multiple blinds. You can also use an ante or combine it with several blinds. A Texas Hold’em game culminates in a showdown with the highest hand of five cards winning the pot.
Important Terms in Texas Hold’em
Before you learn poker strategy in Texas Hold’em, first look at the important terms used while playing it. By learning the definitions of these terms, it will be easier for you to know how to play poker in a live casino. Check out the following terms and definitions:
Ante
The ante refers to an amount paid by each player at the table to become a part of the game. You typically would play Texas Hold’em with two blinds. However, in some instances, you may play with antes on their own or with blinds in high-level tournaments.
Bet/Raise
A bet refers to the first time a player adds cash to the pot in a betting round. On the other hand, a raise refers to an increase in the amount placed as a bet. A raise is a poker strategy to stay in the round.
Blinds
A blind is a forced bet imposed on up to two players. Texas Hold’em consists of a small and big blind. When played for the round, consider the big blind as the full ante. Typically, the small blind is half the big blind. If you’re the dealer, two players on your left pay the blinds before you can deal any cards. Once you deal cards, the other players at the table either raise or call the big blind to play the game.
Call/Check
In Texas Hold’em, a player makes a call by matching a bet without increasing it. A check means there is no bet, and no player makes one.
Fold
A fold is a poker strategy in which a player decides not to participate in a particular round. Texas Hold’em rules allow a player to fold at any stage of the game.
Pot
The pot is the sum total of money you and other players are wagering during a single hand or game of poker. You play Texas Hold’em to win the pot.
That is the whole point of playing Texas Hold’em. You can win the pot at the end of the first betting round if no other player has a better hand. However, at any stage of the game, you can win if you bet a higher amount than any other player. Your opponents have no option but to fold.
How to Play Texas Hold’em
In Texas Hold’em, the dealer button moves to one player at a time. If you are in the dealer’s position, two players to your left place the small and big blinds. If the small blind is one chip, the big blind is two chips.
Once they see the blinds, you and the other players on the table can commence playing the hand. When playing Texas Hold’em, having the initial chips in the pot is reason enough to join the game.
Each Texas Hold’em hand has four betting rounds: the pre-flop, flop, turn, and river.
Pre-Flop
At the pre-flop round, each player has a pair of hole cards. You take the first turn if you are to the left of the big blind. You will either call (match the big blind), raise (make twice the big blind or more), or fold (surrender the chance to win the hand).
Suppose your game has a €10 small blind and a €20 big blind. You will call the €20, raise to at least €40, or simply fold. If you raise to €60, the player to the left must call €60 or fold. If this player and the next four players fold, the action shifts (button) to the player to the right of the small blind.
If this player bets €60 and the small blind folds, the big blind must add €40 to the initial €20 to reach €60. Anytime the players raise above €60, the action returns to the first player. The first player can raise or re-raise. This will go on until everyone folds or calls the current bet.
Flop
After the pre-flop round, you put the top card face-down on the table and deal three community cards. This is the flop. The small blind acts first.
If the small blind opts out of the hand, the player to their left initiates action during the flop. In our example, the big blind is to the left of the small blind. So, the big blind acts first by checking, betting at least €20, or not putting any money in the pot.
If the big blind checks, the underdog player can also check or bet. By checking, the under-the-gun player moves the action to any player on the button. The button bets €100, taking action back to the big blind. If the under-the-gun player folds and the big blind player calls, the pot increases by €60.
Turn
During the turn, you bring a face-up and an additional community card. You repeat the betting process from the flop. From our game example, the big blind checks and prompts you to bet €100. The big blind then raises the bet to €120. With this, you put in €20 more to match the €120 raise. In this move, the big blind does a ‘check raise.’
Since there are at least two players, you move the game to the river. However, you win the round if there is no one else to play against.
River
After burning another card, you put the final community card face-up. The fifth community card is called the ‘fifth street’ or river. Using our example, if you check and the button also checks, the two of you must go into the showdown. If you make the last bet or raise, you are the first to turn over cards. You win the game if you have two pairs against only one pair.
What Is the Best Strategy for Playing Texas Hold’em?
In a Texas Hold’em game, you play with blinds and not antes, giving you the opportunity to push other players with a huge first-round bet. This strategy is called raising in the first round. Raising could push other players to fold and leave you to collect the entire amount in the pot.
What Are the Basic Texas Hold’em Poker Rules?
A Texas Hold’em table has two to ten players. Players use chips to place bets and keep track of the score. There are many versions of Texas Hold’em, the most popular being the No-Limit Version.
As a player in No Limit Texas Hold’em, your goal is to win all the money in the pot. You can win by having the best hand or betting a high amount to force your opponents to fold prematurely.
According to the existing Texas Hold’em Poker rules, each player gets two cards at the start of each hand. No one else can see and use these cards.
As the hand progresses, each player has access to five community cards they can use anytime.
Before the introduction of community cards, you could bet on your hands. You can also do so later on. Whenever you bet on your hand, your opponents must match or raise the bet to keep playing. Otherwise, they fold, and you win.
How to Win Texas Hold’em for Beginners
In Poker, the player with the strongest hand wins after the showdown by combining their two cards with the five community cards. This gives them the strongest five-card poker hand. To learn poker, you need to know the different hand combinations.
Which Hands Win Texas Hold’em?
You need the highest hand to win a Texas Hold’em game. Here is a ranking of the Texas Hold’em hands, starting with the highest to the lowest possible.
- Royal Flush: Five cards from the same suit, such as hearts or spades. The cards range from the ace to the ten.
- Straight Flush: Five successively ranked cards of the same suit.
- Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank but different suits.
- Full House: Three cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank.
- Flush: An arrangement of five cards of the same suit.
- Straight: Any consecutively ranked five cards from any suit.
- Three of a Kind: A combination of three cards in the same rank.
- Two Pairs: A combination of two cards in the same rank and two more cards in the same rank.
- One Pair: A combination consisting of two cards in the same rank.
- High Card: A combination of five unmatched cards. For example, the ace-high (A, J, 10, 5, and 2).
A player constructs a hand by selecting the best five cards from the available seven (two hole cards and five community cards). Take the example of a player with an Ace of hearts and 10 of hearts as hole cards and community cards: 9 of clubs, Jack of hearts, 4 of diamonds, 5 of spades, and 7 of clubs. The player will lose to another player with a combination of two Aces of hearts in a two-pair hand.
FAQs on How to Play Texas Hold’em
- Can you play Texas Hold’em with two people?
Yes, you can play Texas Hold’em with two people, which makes you three. The minimum number of players at a table is two, and the maximum is ten.
- What is the order of play in Texas Hold’em?
In a Texas Hold’em game, the order of play is clockwise. The player to the left of the dealer starts the game. It then moves around the table.
- Who bets after the flop?
The first player to the dealer’s left is the first to bet after a flop. This player can check or bet, and if no bet is made, the player can also call.
Last updated: 15.05.2025
