About Texas Hold 'Em

Texas Hold 'Em is a highly popular variation of Poker that is used in almost every major Poker tournament in the world. While the televised tournaments feature high stakes betting, several local casinos host low stakes tournaments and events so that almost anybody can participate.

In most Poker games, everybody pays the same amount of money (an ante) to participate in a hand. However, Texas Hold 'Em features "blinds" (a small blind and a big blind), which rotates around the table. In the version on this website, you do not have to pay any money to participate in the hand if you're not one of the blinds. However, if you are one of the blinds, you will need to pay to participate in the hand. Note that most tournaments require the big blind to be paid by all players for each hand (except for those who are designated the small blind and the big blind). In this situation, the player with the big blind is not required to pay anything, and the player with the small blind must pay half the big blind.

Each player is dealt two cards face down that only the respective player can see. The player to the left of the big blind usually bets first (if there are only two players, the small blind bets first).

Once the betting is complete, the dealer discards (burns) the topmost card in the deck and then places 3 cards face up on the table. These cards are "community cards", meaning that each player can combine their 2 cards with the community cards to form a poker hand. This first deal of community cards is called "the flop". Another round of betting ensues.

After another round of betting, the dealer burns the topmost card again and then places 1 more community card face up on the table. This deal is called "the turn". Note that each player can only pick 5 of the 6 (soon to be 7) available cards to make a poker hand. Another round of betting ensues.

After another round of betting, the dealer burns the topmost card again and places 1 last community card face up on the table. This final deal is called "the river". Another round of betting ensues, which concludes with each player revealing their hand. The strongest hand takes the "pot" where all the bets collect. If there is a tie, the pot is split between the strongest hands.

A player may fold at any point, meaning they cease their participation in the round and do not have to wager any additional bets. Any bets (or blinds) that were put into the pot cannot be withdrawn from the pot. If only one player remains, that player wins and the hand ends.

Hand hierarchy (from weakest to strongest):

High Card: No matching cards, not all cards in sequence, some cards are of different suits. Example: 2♣︎ 5♥︎ 9♦︎ 10♠︎ Q♣︎ would be "queen high", which would beat anything that is "jack high" or weaker.

Pair: Two matching cards. Example: 5♦︎ 5♠︎ 3♣︎ 10♥︎ K♠︎ would be "pair of 5's, king high". A higher pair (e.g. a pair of 9's) beats a lower pair. If two of the same pair occur, the hand with the highest high card wins.

Two Pair: Two sets of two matching cards. Example: 8♦︎ 8♣︎ 10♣︎ 10♥︎ J♠︎ would be "pair of 8's, pairs of 10's, jack high". If two hands both contain two pair, the highest of the pair is the stronger hand. If both hands contain the same highest pair, the next highest pair determines the strength. If both hands contain the same two pairs, the highest high card wins.

Three of a Kind: Three matching cards. Example: 7♦︎ 7♠︎ 7♣︎ 9♥︎ A♠︎ would be "three 7's, ace high". A higher three of a kind beats a lower three of a kind. If two hands have the same three of a kind, the highest high card wins. You may also hear this hand referred to as "trips".

Straight: Five cards in sequential order, but of different suits. Example: 8♠︎ 9♥︎ 10♦︎ J♥︎ Q♣︎ would be a "queen high straight". A straight with a higher high card beats a straight with a lower high card. Note that a straight can also be made by treating the ace as a low card (A, 2, 3, 4, 5), but an ace cannot act as a bridge between high and low cards (i.e. Q, K, A, 2, 3 is not a straight).

Flush: Five cards of the same suit, but not in sequential order. Example: 2♥︎ 5♥︎ 7♥︎ J♥︎ K♥︎ would be a "king high flush". A flush with a higher high card beats a flush with a lower high card.

Full House: Three matching cards and two matching cards in the same hand. Example: 7♥︎ 7♠︎ 7♣︎ 9♥︎ 9♣︎ would be a "full house with 7's full of 9's" or a "full house with 7's over 9's". If two hands are full houses, the highest three of a kind is the stronger hand.

Four of a Kind: Four matching cards. Example: 7♦︎ 7♠︎ 7♣︎ 7♥︎ 10♠︎ would be "four 7's, ten high". A higher four of a kind beats a lower four of a kind. For one deck, it is not possible for two hands to have the same four of a kind. You may also hear this hand referred to as "quads".

Straight Flush: Five cards of the same suit and in sequential order. Example: 4♠︎ 5♠︎ 6♠︎ 7♠︎ 8♠︎ would be an "eight high straight flush". A straight flush with a higher high card beats a straight flush with a lower high card. Note that a royal flush is the highest possible straight flush (10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit).

Five of a Kind: Five matching cards. Example: 7♦︎ 7♠︎ 7♣︎ 7♥︎ 7♦︎. Note that this hand is not possible unless there are wild cards or multiple decks.

If a player runs out of money, they must leave the table. In some tournaments, the player can "buy in", meaning they convert some additional money into poker chips and rejoin the table. In some tournaments, buy ins are not allowed at certain stages or are not allowed at all. On this website, buy ins are always permitted.