Poker Rules
Follow Texas Hold’em poker rules through one hand from the blinds to showdown. Jump to Omaha differences.
1. Post the blinds
Pot 3 chips
Two players start with 100 chips each. Alex has the button and posts the small blind of 1. Blair posts the big blind of 2. These forced bets start the pot before any cards are dealt.
2. Deal two hole cards
Pot 3 chips
Alex receives A♠ K♥; Blair receives Q♣ Q♦. Hole cards are private during play. Both are shown here so you can follow the changing best hand. Heads-up, the button acts first before the flop.
3. Preflop betting
Pot 12 chips
Alex raises to 6 total, adding 5 to the posted small blind. Blair calls by adding 4 to the big blind. Both have contributed 6, so the pot is 12. The betting round ends with equal contributions and both players still in.
4. Flop: three community cards
Pot 28 chips
Blair acts first after the flop and bets 8. Alex calls 8. Blair has three queens; Alex has a pair of kings. Both use the same three community cards. The bet and call add 16 to the pot, making 28.
5. Turn: the fourth community card
Pot 28 chips
The turn is K♦. Blair now has queens full of kings; Alex has three kings. Blair checks and Alex checks. A check passes the action when no bet is owed, so the pot stays 28.
6. River: the fifth community card
Pot 56 chips
The river is A♣. Blair bets 14 and Alex calls 14, bringing the pot to 56. All five board cards are now visible and the final betting round is complete.
7. Showdown: best five wins
Awarded 56 chips
Alex makes K♠ K♥ K♦ A♠ A♣: kings full of aces. Blair makes Q♣ Q♦ Q♠ K♠ K♦: queens full of kings. Alex’s three kings beat Blair’s three queens, so Alex receives the 56-chip pot. Each player invested 28; Alex finishes with 128 and Blair with 72.
8. A separate split-pot example
Split 20 chips
In a new hand, Alex holds 9♥ 9♦ and Blair holds 8♣ 8♦. The board itself makes an ace-high straight for both. Each receives 10 from a 20-chip pot. All five board cards play, and the pocket pairs add no higher card to that straight.
Poker Rules for Betting Actions
- Check
- Pass the action when you owe zero chips. If everyone checks, the next street begins or the hand reaches showdown after the river.
- Bet
- Put in the first voluntary chips of a betting round. Players after you can fold, call or raise.
- Call
- Match the current bet. If you already contributed chips this round, add only the difference. A player who has fewer chips can call all-in for their remaining stack.
- Raise
- Increase the current bet. In no-limit Hold’em, a full raise increases it by at least the last full bet or raise size. Raising from 2 to 6 adds a raise increment of 4; the next full raise reaches at least 10.
- Fold
- Release your cards and your claim to the pot. Chips already contributed stay in the pot. When only one player remains, that player wins immediately.
- All-in
- Commit your remaining stack. An all-in smaller than a full raise can change the amount owed without reopening raising for someone who already acted. A side pot holds additional chips contributed by players with deeper stacks.
When does a betting round finish?
A betting round ends when every remaining player has acted and matched the current bet, or is all-in. The big blind retains the option to raise preflop even if everyone has only called. When everyone but one player folds, the hand ends immediately.
Texas Hold’em Poker Rules: Deal and Showdown
A standard deck has 52 cards. The dealer button moves clockwise after each hand. The small blind and big blind post first, and each player receives two hole cards. After preflop betting, the flop brings three community cards, the turn one and the river one.
In a physical game, the dealer sets aside a burn card before dealing each street. It stays face down. Players then share the five board cards to make their strongest five-card hand.
Use any combination of your hole cards and the board in Hold’em. You can play two hole cards, one hole card, or the board’s five cards. Compare hand types first, then the ranks within the type. Suits are equal. The hand comparison tool explains the deciding kicker or tie.
Split pots and side pots
When the best five ranks are equal, the tied players share the eligible pot. In the separate split-pot step above, both players use the board’s ace-high straight, so the 20-chip pot divides into two 10-chip shares.
With unequal all-in stacks, form a main pot from matching contributions by all eligible players. Put extra matched chips into a side pot for the players who contributed them. Compare the eligible hands separately for each pot. Return any unmatched excess to the player who put it in. An indivisible odd chip follows the game’s house rule.
Betting limits
No-limit
You can bet up to your entire remaining stack. The minimum opening bet is the big blind; a full raise is at least the previous full bet or raise increment. A shorter stack can still go all-in.
Pot-limit
The largest raise is the size of the pot after your call. Facing a bet, first count the chips needed to call, then add a pot-sized raise. The amount you put in includes both the call and the raise.
Fixed-limit
Bets and raises use set increments. A game can use a smaller bet on preflop and flop, then a larger bet on turn and river. The table’s rules set the number of allowed raises.
The pot odds calculator converts the price of a call into break-even equity. The position diagram shows action order for two through ten players.
Omaha differences
Four-card Omaha gives each player four hole cards. At showdown, choose exactly two hole cards and exactly three community cards. The board’s five cards stay shared, and the hand-ranking order stays the same.
To make a flush, you need two hole cards in the flush suit and three board cards in that suit. With four hearts on the board, two hearts in your hole cards let you choose the required two from your hand and three from the board.
For a full house or straight, apply the same two-plus-three requirement. Consider every eligible selection, then keep the strongest five. The Omaha calculator evaluates those selections automatically.
Pot-limit Omaha uses pot-limit betting; the four-card hand rule is separate from the betting structure. The calculator’s Omaha option evaluates high hands in PLO4.
Keep the ranking order beside you with the printable poker cheat sheet.