Texas Hold’em is arguably the most popular form of poker. It is widely considered to have the most strategy of all poker games, yet the rules are quite simple.

It’s a very easy game to pick up – a few quick pointers and you should be able to follow the course of play, including betting and understanding what makes up a winning hand.

Here is how a hand of Texas Hold’em is played.

Hole Cards: Each player is dealt two cards face down.
The Flop: Three cards are dealt face up on the table.
The Turn: A fourth card is dealt to the table.
The River: Finally, a fifth card is dealt to the table.

The five cards on the table are community cards. Your hand is formed by taking the best poker hand you can by using any five out of the seven cards (5 community + 2 hole cards). But remember, all the players have access to the community cards. When played for money, there is a round of betting after a round of cards is dealt (so four rounds of betting in total).

These are the basic rules for Texas Hold 'Em Poker:

Texas Hold'em can be played by between 2 and 11 players. The game is won by the player that has assembled the best possible 5-card hand

The Blinds

A blind is a bet that is made before the pocket cards are dealt to each poker player. The first two poker players to the left of the dealer pay the blinds. The Small Blind is posted by the first player and the Big Blind by the second. The size of the big and small blinds are predetermined, as well as the regular bets. The size of the small blind is half the size of the big blind. Blinds and regular bets are displayed in this format: $2/$4 or $50/$100

The Deal

When the dealer is not playing, such as in Casinos and some online poker tournaments, a round disc -- known as a "dealer button" -- moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer so the blinds to move around the table and players are aware of position.
To start, you’ll be dealt two cards ‘pocket cards’ – which you’ll keep to yourself. The remaining five cards are community cards which are dealt in stages and are placed face-up in the middle to be used by every player to make hands.

Pre-Flop

After the pocket cards are dealt a round of betting takes place, beginning with the poker player to the immediate left of the big blind. Players can then fold, call, or bet – depending on how good a hand they have. At this stage you have to at least call this bet to stay in the hand or fold if you don’t fancy your luck. Checking isn't an option here because the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting.
The action moves around the table in a clockwise direction until each player has called, folded, or raised. If nobody has raised by the time the betting gets to the big blind, they can either check their own blind or raise. If everyone bets both blinds still have the option of raising if they want or folding if someone previously has raised. These are universal Texas Hold'em poker rules.

The Flop

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop." This time the betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is still active in the hand or not. The player to the left of the dealer will keep the initial action for the rest of the hand. During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

The Turn Card

In this phase the dealer burns a card and then deals a 4th community card face up, otherwise referred to as the turn card. Again this is used by all players to construct their hands and is followed by a round of betting starting with the first remaining player left of the dealer just like after the flop.

The River

In the final phase the dealer burns the final card and then deals the River – the 5th community card face up. Now that all the cards have been dealt, each player remaining in the hand can see what their best five-card hand is using any combination of seven cards -- the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them. This is also the final round of betting. Like the previous two, this round of betting begins with the first player to the left of the dealer who is still in the hand.

The Showdown

Here comes the crunch, time to see who takes the pot……..

Each poker player can use any, both or neither of their pocket cards in their five card hand. The first to reveal his cards is the last player to bet and then moving round the table clockwise. Players who know they’re beaten have the option of ‘mucking’ (throwing their cards away without showing). But the last player to bet (and first to show) always has to show their cards.

 

The winner collects the pot which is the total amount of chips which were bet on that hand. In the event of a tie the pot will be split accordingly
The great thing about online poker is that it automatically works out for you who has the best hand and thus who should be declared the winner. All the chips instantly go into your stack without you having to place them there!

A Final Note...

Most poker players enter the game of poker via Hold'em, which is why we suggest you learn these basic rules first before progressing to all the other variations on offer.

And that's pretty much all there is to texas hold'em poker rules.