What is Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold'em is the most popular format of poker games both online and offline. Texas Hold'em originated in the United States, specifically in the southern state of Texas.

The game has been captured in so many movies over the years that most people will recognise it but when it comes to playing it, not everyone knows the rules or how the game plays out, even though it is often the format most poker players play first. It's a game that requires strategy, skill, and a bit of luck, like any good gambling experience.

In Texas Hold’em, you start with two private cards, and then five community cards are dealt face-up on the table. The goal is to make the best possible five-card hand using any combination of your own cards and the community cards. It's like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, but instead of finding pieces that fit, you're making calculated decisions with your bets, combining mathematics with nerve.

Of course, good starting hands in Texas Hold’em can give you a real boost, but it's not just about a good starting hand or even about the cards you're dealt later, it's how you play them. You need to read your opponents, bluff with finesse, and calculate the odds like a pro. It's a battle of wits, a game of nerves, and a test of your poker face. You can win with pocket kings or pocket aces, you can win with cards of the same suit, or you might just win with the highest card, like ace high.

In the end, the player with the best hand or the one who can bluff their way to victory wins the pot. You do not always need a strong hand to beat your opponents and that makes every round a chance to win.

Texas Hold'em Rules

As with other forms of poker, Texas Hold'em’s gameplay is split into segmented rounds of betting that occur in between each new card or cards being dealt. One player is required to place a “small blind” bet and another to place a “big blind” bet before the cards are dealt, in order to add value to the pot.

Then, every player is dealt two hole cards before a round of betting happens again. If players wish to stay in the round, they must at least match the top bet, and players have the option to match or raise the stake, or fold, meaning they are out of the round. Once the action comes back to the original player who bet last, three community cards are dealt face up on the table. This is called the Flop.

The Flop

The Flop is the name given to the first three communal cards that are dealt by the dealer. Once the flop is dealt the player to the left of the dealer begins the round of betting. The betting round concludes once the players remaining in the round ie the players with hole cards. Once this round is concluded the dealer turns over a fourth communal card face up which is called the Turn

The Turn

The Turn is the name given to the fourth communal card that is dealt by the dealer. Once the turn is dealt the player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. Just as we saw on the flop the action finishes once players have matched the top bet. Once this round is concluded the dealer turns over a fifth and final communal card communal card face up which is called the River.

The River

The River is the name given to the final fifth communal card that is dealt face up by the dealer. A final round of betting ensues and once the remaining players have matched the top bet of that round, all hole cards are exposed. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot. You could have a suited hand or beaten by the fact that a straight flush four of a kind beats a full house. The margins can be huge or slender, settled by just having a high card, so be sure to check out hand rankings here where you’ll see all of the hands in poker and what the best hands to play are.

Ready to play Texas Hold'em

Now you have learned the basic Texas Hold'em rules, check the Poker Hand Rankings FAQ and you will be more than ready to Play Poker!