How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker Online
Dive head-first into the most popular poker game in the world and learn the rules of Texas Hold’em Poker. Within no time, you’ll be raising and betting with the best of them and will have an intricate knowledge of Texas Hold’em Poker rules.
We’ll give you an in-depth look into how to play Texas Hold’em Poker, as well as layout simple instructions to get your very own Texas Hold’em Poker game up and running! You’ll find detailed graphics explaining the poker hand rankings, and helpful tips for playing the game. Tag along with us as we explore the fascinating rules of Texas Hold’em poker online.
Where to Play Texas Hold’em Online
Texas Hold’em Rules
If you want to start playing Texas Hold’em for the first time, you’re in the right place. We’ll break down what equipment you need, how to set up the game, and how to play.
Before you start playing, it’s important to have the right equipment in place. Below, we’ve listed the key things you need to start a game of Texas Hold’em.
- A standard deck of 52 cards – make sure the jokers are removed.
- Betting chips – ideally different colored to represent different denominations.
- A small item to represent the player on the button (most poker sets come with a dedicated dealer button)
That’s it! As long as you have these three things, you’re ready to start playing Texas Hold’em.
Setting Up The Game
Texas Hold’em is traditionally played with between 2-10 players; while you can play with more, it’ll likely get crowded around the table! Before you start, determine whether you want to play a cash game or a tournament. A tournament has a definitive end-point, but players who lose all their chips cannot keep playing, whereas cash games can go on indefinitely as people can buy back in when they lose.
After deciding what type of poker you’d like to play, you must distribute the betting chips among your players. If you are playing a tournament, everyone should start with the same amount; if you are playing a cash game, players should be given chips that equate to their buy-in.
Once all the players have taken their seats, you must determine who will start with the button. This is usually done by drawing cards; the player with the highest card starts with the button. The two players to the right of the button must post the small and big blind before the hand can begin.
The deal starts with the player to the left of the button and moves clockwise around the table until everyone has two cards. Once the player on the button has received their second card, the deal is complete and the hand can begin.
Playing The Game
Action begins with the player to the left of the big blind. This player has three options; they can fold their hand, they can call the big blind, or they can make a raise. If the player decides to raise, the raise size must be at least equal to the size of the big blind to be a valid raise. For example, if the big blind is $1, the minimum raise is $2, as the raise size is $1. The only time a smaller raise can be valid is if a player does not have enough chips to make the minimum raise.
Once the player to the left of the big blind has made their decision, the action moves clockwise around the table. Each player has the same three preflop betting options. Once the last bet has been called by all remaining players, the preflop betting round is over. The round is also over if there is only one player remaining in the hand.
After the preflop betting round is complete, the dealer discards the top card and the first three community cards, called the flop, are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. There is another round of betting, this time starting with the player to the left of the button. Players can make three actions during the preflop betting round.
- Fold – The player puts their hand in the muck and they are no longer participating in the hand.
- Check – The player declines to bet but keeps their hand. The action moves to the player to the left.
- Bet – The player makes a betting action. A preflop bet must equal to at least one big blind.
If a bet has been made during the betting round, players gain the option to raise the bet. The size of the raise must be at least equal to the size of the bet. For example, if a player bets $3, the minimum raise is $6, as the raise size is $3. If a bet has been made, players lose the option to check and must either call, fold, or raise.
The action moves clockwise around the table and ends when the last bet is called or if there is one player remaining in the hand. Once the flop betting round is complete, the dealer discards the top card and deals the fourth community card, called the turn, face-up in the middle of the table.
After the turn is dealt, there is another round of betting identical to the flop betting round. At the end of the turn betting round, the dealer discards the top card and deals the final community card, called the river, face-up in the middle of the table. After the river card is dealt, there is a final round of betting.
Side Pots
You may come across instances where a player is all-in with a short stack and two other players are still in the pot with money behind. In these instances, you must create a side pot. This splits the pot into two parts; the main pot, which can be won by all remaining players, and the side pot, which can only be won by players with money behind.
To create the main pot, you must collect the all-in bet from the shortest stack from the bets of the remaining players, along with any money that was in the pot to that point. For example, if Player A bets $30 on the flop, Player B calls all-in for their last $20, and Player C calls the $30 bet, you must take $20 from both Player A and Player C’s bets to create the main pot. The remaining chips are placed into a side pot which can only be won by Player A and Player C. Any further betting action from these two players must go into the side pot, not the main pot.
Showdown
If two or more players remain after the river betting round, the players must turn their hands face up. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of a tie, all players with winning hands split the pot equally. If you’re unsure what hand beats what, make sure to check out our hand ranking chart, which you can find below.
Texas Hold’em Hand Rankings
For those of you who need a refresher on the poker hand rankings, take a look at our graphic below.
Betting Rules
When playing Texas Hold’em Poker, there are three types of betting rules that can be in place; Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit. Nowadays, the game is almost exclusively played with the No Limit betting rules, but there are instances where the Pot Limit and Limit betting rules are used.
Let’s take a closer look at what each of these betting rules entails.
Limit
In Limit Hold’em, the amount that players can bet is fixed to specific amounts called small bets and big bets. The big blind is usually the size of the small bet, and big bets are often twice the size of small bets.
In the first two rounds of betting, players can only bet or raise the size of the small bet. For example, in a $1/$2 cash game, players can only bet or raise in increments of $2. In the last two betting rounds, the limit doubles, and players can only bet or raise the size of the big bet. In the above example, players would only be able to bet or raise in increments of $4.
Many casinos implement a betting cap in Limit games; once that cap is reached, players can no longer raise, and can only call the last bet. The most common cap in Limit Hold’em games is four bets per street.
Pot Limit
In Pot Limit Hold’em, the amount that players can bet is limited to the size of the pot. Betting or raising the size of the pot means making a wager that’s equal to the current pot size before the last bet, plus any outstanding bets, plus the amount you’d need to call that bet.
Players cannot bet or raise an amount that exceeds the size of the pot, but they are free to bet or raise any amount under the size of the pot, as long as it meets the minimum bet requirements. The minimum bet requirement is 1 big blind, and the minimum raise must be equal to the size of the previous bet.
This applies to all betting rounds, including preflop. Using the preflop betting round as an example, in a $1/$2 cash game the maximum amount a player can put in preflop is $7. This is because the current size of the pot before the last bet is $1, the last bet amount is $2, and the amount you’d need to call the bet is $2; this makes a total raise size of $5. We add this raise size to the amount we’d have to call (in this case $2), giving us a total of $7.
An easy way to remember this is to calculate the amount already in the pot, multiply the last bet by 3, and add the two together. In the above example, it would be $1 + ($2 x 3) = $7.
No Limit
The No Limit betting rules are the easiest to remember; there’s no limit on the amount you can bet! Players can bet as much as they’d like at any point in the hand, including all-in! The only rules in place are minimum bet limits which state that a bet must be equal to at least 1 big blind and any raise must be at least equal to the size of the last bet or raise.
No Limit Hold’em is by far the most popular format of Texas Hold’em; not only is it the easiest to remember, but it also creates the most action.
Basic Strategy
Like chess, Texas Hold’em is an easy game to learn, but one that takes a lifetime to master. However, we’re here to set you off on the right foot by providing some insights into basic Texas Hold’em Strategy. While there are many ways to play the game, there are certain aspects that are a part of any winning poker strategy.
Here are three important things to consider as part of your Texas Hold’em poker strategy.
Position
Arguably the most important fundamental of Texas Hold’em is position. Poker is a game of incomplete information and the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. In poker, position refers to when you act; if you’re the last player to act you’re “in position” and can see what every other player does before you.
The button player acts last after the flop, allowing them to play a wider hand range by observing others’ actions. This is a huge advantage and you should be more willing to play when you’re in position.
Pot Odds
Another important building block of poker strategy is pot odds, which is a subsection of poker odds as a whole. Pot odds help you calculate whether it’s worth calling your opponent’s bet given the odds of hitting your hand.
For example, if you’re on the flop with a flush draw (four cards to a flush), you have a roughly 1 in 5 chance of making your flush on the next card, and a roughly 1 in 2.5 chance of making your hand by the river. If there’s $20 in the pot and you have to call a bet of $2, you have pot odds of 10:1. You’re risking $2 to win $20. Calling is profitable every time since potential winnings exceed the probability of hitting your hand mathematically.
On the other hand, if you have to call a bet of $15 to win $20, your odds are 1.3:1. In this case you’re only winning one out of every five times to win 1.3 times your bet. Mathematically this is a losing proposition and you should not make the call.
Of course, there are plenty of other things to consider during the hand to determine the profitability of a call, but pot odds should be a foundational part of your poker strategy.
Observation
The other main building block of poker strategy is observation. You should always be watching your opponents to evaluate how they play, how they bet, and what kinds of moves they make. In David Sklansky’s “The Theory of Poker” he states that you make money when your opponents make mistakes. So, be on the lookout for what mistakes your opponents make and exploit them.
If you’re up against a player who is always bluffing and pushing players around with big bets, wait until you have a good hand and then call them until they go broke. If you’re up against a player who only plays when they have great hands, push them around, but be sure to fold when they fight back.
Cash Games vs Tournaments
The three big elements that differentiate cash games and tournaments are the buy-ins, blinds, and player pool.
In a cash game, the chips at your table are equal to cash. So, if you’re running low on chips you can just put in more cash to get more chips. You can also cash out at any time; you’re free to play for as long or as little as you’d like. If you’ve been winning a ton, you can call it a day and leave with your huge stack. But, if you lose everything, you’ll have to put in more cash to keep playing.
In tournaments, on the other hand, you pay a fixed buy-in to compete. In a $100 tournament, the most you can lose is your initial $100, as many tournaments don’t allow players to buy back in once they have lost all of their chips. At the start of the game, all players are given the same number of chips.
You have to keep playing until you bust out or win. There’s no cashing out in the middle of a tournament and the amount of chips you have doesn’t have any monetary value. Payouts are based on how deep you finish in the tournament. Typically, the last 10 to 15 percent of players get paid with the winner taking home the largest chunk of cash.
To ensure that tournaments won’t last forever, the blinds are always rising. The speed at which this happens depends on the tournament, but they always go up until there’s one player standing. In cash games, the blinds are static. if you sit down at a $1/$2 game, those will be the blinds until you decide to leave.
The same is often true for players you play against. When you sit down at a cash game, you’ll be playing against those players until someone decides to leave and they’re replaced. When you’re in a big tournament, tables are constantly broken up and reshuffled, so you’ll play against a wider variety of players in a shorter amount of time.
Your strategy also changes depending on whether you’re playing cash games or tournaments and most players specialize in one form or another. There’s really no form that’s better than the other, it just depends on your personal preference.
Practice and Resources
The best way to get started playing Texas Hold’em Poker is to play with friends, or to play online poker games. Doing this helps you get to grips with the mechanics of the game in a low-stakes, low-pressure environment. Many of the best real money poker sites have free play options that allow players to familiarize themselves with the platform while becoming comfortable with the pace of online play.
Once you’re ready to start learning the strategies of Texas Hold’em, you’ll find there are plenty of resources available to improve your knowledge, from free YouTube videos to paid training sites. There is also a great deal of free written content available online, including right here at LUSPS!
Another way to learn the game is to join poker communities and online forums dedicated to poker strategy. Here you will find like-minded people who are all looking to improve at the game, so no matter your skill level, you’ll find someone to help you get better.
Summary
Texas Hold’em is a prime example of a game that’s easy to learn but hard to master. We’ve gone through the basics of how to set up your game, how to play Texas Hold’em, and what betting limits to use. We’ve even given you a head start on Texas Hold’em strategy, so you should have everything you need to start playing Texas Hold’em!
FAQs
Ties are rare but they do happen. If players have the same pair, then the highest card after the pair plays. For example, if both players have a pair of 10s and one player also has an Ace while the other player’s highest card is a king, then the pair of 10s with the Ace wins.
If they both have an Ace, then the second-highest card plays. If players truly have the same exact hand, then it’s a split pot. The same applies for flushes. No suit is stronger than another in flushes and if the face values match, then it’s a split pot too.
Lucky for you, we have a full-time team of poker experts that have decades of combined experience playing online poker. We’ve also asked them to rank all of them on a number of factors including security, banking options, game selection and more.
If you’re looking for a site to play online at, then head on over to our reviews page to see which site is best for you.
That’s a question that’ll spark a lot of debate. Every poker player will give you a different answer. Some claim old school greats like Doyle Brunson or Chip Reese are the best poker players of all time. Some will say that WSOP bracelets are the marker of a good poker player and claim that Phil Hellmuth is the best since he has 15 bracelets. Others will point to Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu and some will say Bryn Kenney is because he tops the all-time tournament earnings list with $56,403,505.
There’s no one right answer and it depends on what you think makes a poker player great.
There are tons of great resources out there for poker players looking to learn more about strategy. There are tons of free online poker calculators and pot odds calculators. There are also plenty of calculators to help you learn all the math you’d want to know for poker.
There are also plenty of YouTube and Twitch channels that offer poker lessons and advice for players. If you’re more of a reader, there are forums and books that will help you hone your game. We recommend checking out TwoPlusTwo forums for poker strategy. Best of all, these resources are free!
Right here! Our experts have compiled a comprehensive list of how-to guides for learning how to play nearly every poker variant out there. If you want to learn 3 card poker, Omaha, Mississippi Stud or others, we have you covered.
