There are various different kinds of poker game, but no-limit Texas hold’em is the most popular and widely-played. It’s also one of the most fun, and with our poker rules cheat sheet you can learn the rules - or get a quick refresher - in no time.
The four stages of a Texas hold'em hand
Each hand of Texas hold’em poker can be broken down into four stages.
Stage 1: Preflop
Every player is dealt 2 cards which only they are able to see. These are their ‘hole cards’, and only they can use them to make their best poker hand.
Stage 2: The flop
The dealer turns over 3 cards in the middle of the table. Everyone can see these cards, and each player may use them to create their best hand.
Stage 3: The turn
Another card is dealt in the middle of the table for all the players to use. Now there are 4 communal cards.
Stage 4: The river
A final communal card is dealt for all players to see and use. Now there are 5 cards in the middle which anyone may use (the 2 hole cards they alone can see and use) to create their best 5-card poker hand.
Betting rounds
There is a betting round at each stage.
During a betting round, moving clockwise around the table starting with the first player to the dealer’s left, players take turns to decide how many chips they want to bet.
If a player ahead of you has made a bet, you must either call it (by putting in the same number of chips) or raise it (increasing the amount of the bet) if you wish to continue. If not, you can fold - discarding your hole cards and waiting for the next round to begin.
If no other player ahead of you has bet, you may check (i.e. bet zero chips).
The small blind and the big blind
These are small, forced bets which players must put in before the hand is dealt.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer must put in the small blind, and the player to their left must put in the big blind. The remaining players must then call or raise this bet to stay in the hand, or fold.
The size of the blinds dictates the stakes you are playing, with the big blind often 1% of the usual buy-in amount. For example, if the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2, the game may be referred to as a $1/2 game and the standard buy-in is likely to be around $200.
The showdown - who wins?
Players may fold at any time, so not every hand of poker makes it all the way to the end (if at any point only one player remains in the hand, they win it).
If a hand does go all the way to the end and more than one player remains after the river and its betting round, all players show their hands (the 'showdown') and the strongest five-card poker hand wins.
Check out our poker hands cheat sheet to see which hands are the strongest, and which are the weakest. You can also take a look at our poker starting hands cheat sheet for a quick guide to which hands are worth raising with, and which should be folded.
Looking for more? Visit our extended poker rules, or our Texas hold’em rules, for more detailed information.
