Welcome to the world of poker! Texas Hold'em is the most popular form of poker played around the globe. At ClubWPT Gold, we offer the No Limit variety of this game. This guide will walk you through the fundamental rules, betting rounds, and hand rankings you need to know to get started.
The primary goal of Texas Hold'em is to win the "pot," which is the collection of all chips bet by players during a single hand. You can win the pot in two ways:
By holding the best five-card poker hand at the "showdown."
By being the last player remaining in the hand after all other players have "folded."
The Dealer Button: A rotating button, or marker, indicates the nominal dealer for the hand. The button moves clockwise to the next player after each hand is completed.
The Blinds: To initiate action, two forced bets, known as the "blinds," are posted by the two players to the left of the dealer button.
The player to the immediate left of the button posts the Small Blind.
The next player posts the Big Blind, which is typically twice the size of the small blind.
In Ring Games, the blinds will remain the same throughout the game. In Tournaments, they will gradually increase throughout the event.
The game is played over a series of four betting rounds.
1. Pre-Flop
Hole Cards: Each player is dealt two private cards, known as "hole cards." Only you can see your hole cards.
First Action: The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind (a position known as "Under the Gun" or UTG).
2. The Flop
Community Cards: The dealer "burns" (discards) one card and then deals three community cards face-up in the center of the table.
Second Action: A new betting round begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer button.
3. The Turn
Fourth Community Card: The dealer burns another card and deals a fourth community card face-up.
Third Action: A new betting round begins.
4. The River
Fifth Community Card: The dealer burns a third card and deals the final community card face-up.
Final Action: A final betting round begins.
During a betting round, players have several options:
Fold: Discarding your hand and forfeiting any chips you have already committed to the pot.
Check: Passing the action to the next player without betting. A check is only possible if no bet has been made in the current round.
Bet: Placing the first chips into the pot for the current round. In No-Limit Hold'em, a bet must be at least the size of the big blind.
Call: Matching the current bet to stay in the hand.
Raise: Increasing the size of the current bet.
Minimum Raise: A raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise in that betting round. For example, if the big blind is 2 chips and a player bets 4 chips (a raise of 2), the next player to raise must raise by at least another 2 chips, for a total of 6 chips.
No-Limit: In No-Limit Hold'em, there is no maximum bet. A player can bet all of their chips ("go all-in") at any time when it is their turn to act.
If two or more players remain in the hand after the final betting round, the hand goes to showdown to determine the winner.
Showing Cards: The last player to bet or raise is the first to show their cards. If there was no betting on the river, the player to the left of the dealer button shows their cards first.
Winning Hand: The player with the highest-ranking five-card hand, using any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards, wins the pot. If two or more players have an identical winning hand, the pot is split evenly.