Play Texas Hold’em Poker Online

Jonn Seo | August 7, 2020 | Updated on: January 4th, 2024

Texas Hold’em is a popular online poker variation that is featured in many tournaments. It is an easy poker game to play but learning how to play the game can be daunting. Especially, when you are a beginner. Texas Hold em rules are easy to follow and understand, and the same goes for the gameplay and hand rankings.

In this guide, you will learn the rules of Texas Holdem online (including hand rankings), and how to play the game like a pro. Once you know how to play, you can sign up at any of our listed casinos to start playing.

Play Texas Hold’em Online

Texas Hold em Rules

Understanding the rules of Texas Hold’em is the best way to get started. The rules give you an idea of how the game works. In Texas Hold’em, your objective is to make the best possible hand to win the game. You use a combination of hole cards and community cards to build your hand.

You will be dealt with two-hole cards face down. Five community cards will be dealt face up where you can choose cards to build a five-card hand together with the hole cards. You can also build a five-card hand using community cards only.

What’s more, in some cases you don’t have to have the best five-card hand to win. Other players can fold, and the remaining player can win without even showing their cards. This is considered bluffing, where you make other players think you have a good hand to get them to fold.

How to Play Texas Hold em

There are stages to playing Texas hold’em. With each stage, there are decisions to make to help you build your five-card hand. For you to make the right decisions, you have to know how poker hand rankings work. You can also choose to play the game for real money or enjoy free poker games of texas hold’em.

We talk about them down below. But in the meantime, here is how you play Texas Hold em:

1.      The Blinds and Button

This determines how the game will start regardless of whether you are playing at a land-based casino, at home with friends, or an online casino. Usually, the game starts from the left side of the dealer. At poker rooms or land-based casinos, a dealer will deal the cards. When playing with friends at home, the player who has the button will deal the cards.

The player who is on the left side of the button will make a small blind as the first bet. The next player from the one who made the small blind will have to make a big blind bet.

2.      Pre-Flop

This is the first game round. All the players would have been dealt with their two-hole cards. Then players have to decide whether to call, raise, or fold.

When you call, you choose to match the big blind bet. For a raise, you increase the bet and when you fold, you throw away your hand. When you fold, you are out of the game.

3.      The Flop

Once the pre-flop is over, the first three community cards are dealt face up. This opens the second betting round. The same decisions are available to you: call, raise, and fold.

If no betting action happened before, there is the option to check. This allows you to pass the decision to the next player. The round will continue until the last bet, which closes the action.

4.      The Turn

A fourth community card will be dealt with called the turn after the action from the flop. There will get another round of betting. You have the option to check, call, raise, or fold.

5.      The River

A fifth community will be dealt with. There will be another betting round where you have all the same decisions again. You can call, check, raise, or fold. The remaining players who have a hand with hole cards will reveal them to see the winner.

6.      The Showdown

Once the remaining players reveal their hole cards, the dealer will determine who has got the winning hand. The hand with the best possible five-hand card wins the game. The hand that wins will be determined according to the hand rankings.

Texas Hold em Winning Hands

As we have mentioned, it is important to know the hand rankings. This will help you know which hand will be the best possible to win the game. Here are the different Texas Hold’em winning hands:

• Royal Flush – a hand with five-cards from the same suit.
• Straight Flush – a hand with five cards from the same suit ranked consecutively.
• Four of a Kind – a hand with four cards of the same ranking.
• Full House – a hand with three cards and two cards of the same ranking.
• Flush – a hand with any cards in the same suit.
• Straight – a hand with cards that are consecutively ranked.
• Three of a Kind – a hand with three cards with the same rank.
• Two Pair – a hand with two cards of the same rank and another with two cards from the same rank.
• One Pair – a hand with two cards from the same rank.
• High card – a hand with unmatched cards.

FAQs About Texas Hold’em