POKERLIFT GUIDE

Texas hold’em rules

Learn the cards, action order and five basic actions before your first practice hand.

The basics of Texas hold’em

Each player has two hole cards and shares five board cards. Make the strongest five-card hand from those seven cards, using zero, one or both of your hole cards.

You can win by showing the strongest hand at showdown or by making every opponent fold. Both hand strength and decisions based on opponents’ actions matter.

See the hand-ranking reference →

How one hand unfolds

  1. Preflop: two hole cards

    The SB and BB post their blinds. With three or more players, action begins with the first player to the left of the BB. Heads-up, the BTN/SB acts first.

  2. Flop: three board cards

    On each postflop street, action starts with the first active player to the left of the BTN who still has chips. Check how the board combines with your cards.

  3. Turn: a fourth board card

    Consider how the new card changes made hands, draws and the hands your opponent could hold.

  4. River: the fifth board card

    After the final betting round, remaining players compare their best five cards at showdown.

If everyone but one player folds, the hand ends immediately. When an all-in player remains, the remaining board cards may be dealt to decide the result.

Five actions to learn first

Fold
Give up your hand.
Check
Pass the action without betting when you do not owe any additional chips.
Bet
Put in the first wager of a betting round.
Call
Match an opponent’s bet. If your stack is too small, you can continue with all your remaining chips.
Raise
Increase the bet. Committing your remaining stack is an all-in.

In no-limit hold’em, the minimum opening bet is normally one big blind. A raise must be at least as large as the previous full bet or raise increment. You can commit your remaining stack as an all-in even when it falls short of that minimum; an incomplete raise does not necessarily reopen betting.

Check these in your first practice hand

Whose turn is it? How much must you call? How much is left in your stack? What hands does the board allow? Use the glossary for unfamiliar terms and the range explorer when choosing starting hands.

Rules reference

PokerStars: Texas Hold’em Rules

At a real event, also check the organizer’s adopted rules and structure.

Put the idea into practice

Use a lesson or AI hand to test the reason behind your next decision.

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