Texas Hold 'Em Rules & Strategy

Other Poker Rules & Strategy: Online Poker | Video Poker

Learn proper Texas Hold 'em poker strategy, and you will be a better player than most of the tens of thousands who play Texas Hold 'em Poker in casinos and online every day. Perhaps you will even become good enough to join the elite few hundred who actually earn a living playing poker.

This page aims to help you to improve your skills and become a winning Texas Hold 'em poker player. The idea is to learn how to win, rather than merely knowing how to play poker. If you're new to the game, but would like to learn Texas Hold 'em poker strategy, there are many books and online resources available which can help you. There are also many Texas Hold 'em events broadcast on television.

Another and perhaps more interesting way to learn Texas Hold 'em poker strategy is by first watching and then participating in the free games offered at online poker rooms. All you do is download the software and sign up. The Royal Vegas Poker Room is a great place to start. They have tables where you can play for real money and tables where you play for free (with "virtual money").

It won't cost you anything, unless you eventually decide to try your luck for real money. Pick one of the active tables and watch how poker hands are played. When you're ready to participate, click an open seat on a free-play table and join in.

Texas Hold 'em is by far the most popular of all poker games in live casinos and at online casinos. If you're going to play Texas Hold 'em, it's best to start with the basics and then learn different techniques that will make you a skillful player in a hurry.

Basic Texas Hold 'Em Rules

The objective of Texas Hold 'em is to achieve the best possible five-card hand. Texas Hold 'em is a community card game, meaning that some cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table and are shared by all the players. Additionally, each player has 2 unique cards that are available only to them.

Play begins by dealing two cards face down to each player; these are known as hole cards or pocket cards. A round of betting follows this.

Before the two hole cards are dealt, most Hold 'em games get the betting started with one or two blind bets to the left of the dealer. These are forced bets, which must be made before seeing one's cards. Play proceeds clockwise from the blinds, with each player free to fold (quit the hand), call the blind bet (match it), or raise the bet (increase the amount of the bet). Usually the blinds are live, meaning that they may raise themselves when the action gets back around to them.

After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.

Now three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table; this is called the flop. These cards are the first 3 community cards that all players share. A round of betting ensues, with action starting on the first blind, immediately to the dealers left. During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

The dealer then burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the turn card. Another round of betting takes place, again beginning to the dealer's left.

Then the dealer burns another card, and places the final community card (the river) face up on the table. Players can now use any combination of seven cards -the five community cards and the two cards known only to them - to form the best possible five-card Poker hand. The fourth and final round of betting again starts with the player to the left of the dealer.

Players usually use both their hole cards to make their best hand, but this is not required. A player may even choose to play the board and use no hole cards at all. Identical five-card hands split the pot; the sixth and seventh cards are not used to break ties.

You can easily practice and develop a Texas Hold 'em poker strategy on your kitchen table. Deal yourself a bunch of two-card hands and ask yourself which you think are the strongest hands and why. Then, find a Texas Hold 'em game in an online room and observe closely. Take note of the starting hands players favor. It won't be long before you can take a seat among them. Play the free games to start with, but after a while find the lowest (5-cent, 10-cent or 25-cent) limit game.

Low limit games are better for improving your Texas Hold 'em poker strategy than free games, because when it's for money, even very little money, most of the players are seriously playing to win. It's a low-risk way to hone your Texas Hold 'em poker strategy skills. Many of your opponents strive to increase their bankrolls or simply enjoy the challenge of winning at real money, regardless of how much money is involved.

Another great way to predict that you will have the winning hand is to analyze hand percentages. Below is a table of different possible hand combinations, and their odds:

Situation	Percentage	Probability / Odds Against
Pair preflop Suited cards preflop Suited Connectors (2/3, KQ, ...) AA or KK preflop AK preflop AKs preflop A in hand preflop AA, KK, QQ, JJ Flop being all one kind (JJJ or QQQ) AA versus KK preflop (heads up) AK dealt preflop and hitting an A or K by the river QQ versus AK heads up till river Two cards preflop that are Js or higher Beer Hand (72off) preflop (or any other nonsuited two card combo)	6 24 4 .9 1.2 .3 16 1.8 .24 .004 50 56 9 .9	1 in 17 - 16:1 1 in 4.2 - 3.2:1 1 in 25 - 24:1 1 in 111 - 110:1 1 in 83 - 82:1 1 in 332 - 331:1 1 in 6.25 - 5.25:1 1 in 56 - 55:1 1 in 425 - 424:1 1 in 22560 - 22559:1 1 in 2 - even 1 in 1.78 - 14:11 favorite 1 in 11 - 10:1 1 in 110 - 109:1
Four flush completing (JsTs Flop Qs4sAd 6h Ks) Open Ended Straight-Flush completing to flush or straight by river Open Ended Straight completing (JT Flop Q94 86) Two Pair on flop Improving to Full House Three of a kind (set) on flop improving to Full House or Quads	39 54 34 17 37	1 in 2.6 - 3:2 1 in 1.85 1 in 2.9 - ~2:1 1 in 5.8 - ~5:1 1 in 2.7- ~3:2
Pocket pair improving to three of a kind on flop No pair hand preflop improving to a pair on the flop (either card) If you have suited cards, two will flop One pair on flop improving to two pair or three of a kind by river Pocket pair improving to three of a kind after flop Two over cards improving to a pair by river Two over cards and a gutshot improving to pair or straight Gutshot straight draw hitting by river Gutshot and pair improving to two pair or better Backdoor Flush hitting (5s6s Flop 7sAh9c KsJs) Runner Runner Straight (56 Flop 3TQ 47) Backdoor Flush and One Over Card improving to that pair or flush Catching Ace on turn or river (A4 Flop Q63 KA) Backdoor Flush and Gutshot improving to one by river (Ac4c Flop 3s5cKs) Backdoor Flush And Two Over Cards improving to pair or flush 5 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 4 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 3 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 2 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 3 of one suit on board and another coming (QsTs2s) if you have one 5 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 4 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 3 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 2 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it	12 32 11 22 9 26 43 17 39 4 1.5 17 13 21 30 58 47 35 23 39 43 34 26 17	1 in 8 - 7:1 1 in 3.125 - ~2:1 1 in 9 - 8:1 1 in 4.7 - ~4:1 1 in 11 - 10:1 1 in 3.9 - ~3:1 1 in 2.3 - 4:3 1 in 6 - 5:1 1 in 2.6 - 3:2 1 in 24 - 23:1 1 in 68 - 67:1 1 in 6 - 5:1 1 in 8 - 7:1 1 in 4.8 - 3.8:1 1 in 3.3 - 2.3:1 1 in 1.7 1 in 2.1 1 in 2.9 1 in 4.3 1 in 2.6 - 3:2 1 in 2.4 1 in 3 1 in 4 1 in 5.8

GOOD LUCK!