How to Play Texas Hold'em: Step-by-Step for Beginners

Each player in Texas Hold'em gets two private hole cards, and five community cards are dealt face-up across the table. You combine your two cards with the five shared cards to make the strongest possible five-card hand. Betting happens in four rounds, and the last player standing, or the best hand at showdown, wins the pot. If you haven't yet, review what is poker for the broader rules before diving into Hold'em specifics.

How Do the Dealer Button and Blinds Work?

The dealer button is a small disc marking the nominal dealer; it rotates one seat clockwise after every hand to keep positions fair over time. Two players post forced bets called blinds before any cards are dealt. The player directly left of the button posts the small blind, and the next player left posts the big blind, usually double the small blind amount. In a $1/$2 game, the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. These forced bets seed the pot so there's always a reason to compete.

What Are the Four Betting Rounds?

Texas Hold'em has exactly four betting rounds: preflop, flop, turn, and river.

Cards are revealed in stages between rounds, and players can check, bet, call, raise, or fold each time the action reaches them. For the exact rules on minimum raises and betting limits, see poker betting rounds.

How Do You Play a Hand Step by Step?

1. Post the blinds — the two players left of the button place forced bets before any cards come out.
2. Deal the hole cards — two private cards each, dealt face-down clockwise.
3. Play preflop — starting left of the big blind, everyone folds, calls, or raises.
4. Deal the flop — burn one card, then reveal three community cards.
5. Play the flop round — starting with the first active player left of the button.
6. Deal the turn — burn one card, add a fourth community card.
7. Play the turn round — another cycle of checks, bets, and folds.
8. Deal the river — burn one card, reveal the fifth and final community card.
9. Play the river round — the last chance to bet, call, raise, or fold.
10. Reach showdown — remaining players reveal hands; the best five-card hand wins.

What Happens at Showdown?

Each player builds the best five-card hand from their seven available cards: two hole cards plus five community cards. The last player to bet or raise on the river shows first; if everyone checked, the player closest to the left of the button reveals first. If two hands tie exactly, the pot splits evenly. Knowing the poker hand rankings cold before you sit down is essential here.

A Quick Worked Example

At a $1/$2 table, you're dealt King of hearts and Queen of hearts under the gun and raise to $6; one opponent calls. The flop comes Jack of hearts, Ten of hearts, and Two of clubs, giving you an open-ended straight draw with four hearts. On the turn, the Five of hearts completes your flush. Bets go in on both streets. On the river, an Ace falls. Your opponent calls a value bet and shows two pair, aces and jacks. You also pick up a straight on the river (Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten), but your King-high flush ranks higher, so the flush is the hand that wins the pot. Working through a full hand like this, street by street, locks in the flow far faster than reading the steps in isolation.

Sources

• PokerNews. "Poker Rules." pokernews.com. https://www.pokernews.com/poker-rules/ (retrieved 2026-07-25).
• Wikipedia contributors. "Texas hold 'em." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hold_%27em (retrieved 2026-07-25).
• Wikipedia contributors. "Betting in poker." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betting_in_poker (retrieved 2026-07-25).