We've put a few articles together for anyone new to the game of online Texas Holdem, to help you get off on the right foot. If there's anything in particular you'd like to see drop us an email and we'll see about putting something together for you.

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It’s a well known phrase and it really is true. The basic rules of Texas Holdem poker are very simple and you can learn them quickly. As you play more you will begin to understand more and more of its intricacies and the game just gets more and more exciting as you do.

So let’s get started with the basic rules with a minimum of jargon. Here are our five basic steps:

NOTE: throughout this guide we refer to the player as ‘he’, naturally they could just as well be a ‘she’ or an ‘it’ (artificial intelligence players and poker robots). It’s just easier than writing ‘he, she or it’ every time.  

Holdem (technically, it’s Hold’em, but we won’t quibble here) poker is played with a standard 52 card deck. What makes Holdem stand out from many other card games is the use of five community cards – cards dealt face up on the table that all players share. Each player also receives two face-down cards each – ‘hole’ or ‘pocket’ cards. These two cards make up your starting hand.

A round of poker starts with every player being dealt their two hole cards. The winner is the player that at the end, after several betting rounds, who can use a combination of his hole cards together with the five community cards and make the best ranked five card poker hand (see poker hand ranks) OR who forces every other player to fold their cards.

One of the players is designated the ‘dealer’ - it does not matter that he does not actually deal the cards. This is graphically represented in online poker by the ‘dealer button’. Every round the dealer button moves one place clockwise so everyone takes a turn being ‘dealer’.

In most Texas Holdem poker games we start with the two players to the left (clockwise) of the dealer putting a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there's something to play for on every hand. This is called "posting the blinds". The first blind (Small Blind or SB), the player to the left of the dealer, puts up half the minimum bet and the second blind (Big Blind or BB) puts up the full minimum bet.  

NOTE: this is why the table stakes are always given as two different amounts. For example, a table rated at $5/$10 is a table where the small blind is $5 and the big blind is $10.

Each player is now dealt two cards, face down. As we said earlier, these are known as the ‘hole cards’ or ‘pocket cards’.

A round of betting then takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the player who posted the Big Blind. Any player who wants to play must put in an amount equal to the Big Blind. Otherwise they must fold their cards (give them back to the dealer). In addition every player has the option of ‘raising’ or putting more than the amount of the Big Blind into the pot. If a player does this then every other player who wants to continue must match this new bet. In addition, if a player has raised before your turn to act you have the option of re-raising (putting EVEN MORE money in) in which case (again) every player who wants to continue must match the new amount or fold. If you raise (or re-raise) and all the other players fold then you win all the money that is already on the table (including the small and big blinds) regardless of what cards you have.

Worked Example: at a $5/$10 table with 5 players, the player to the Dealer’s left (player A) is in the Small Blind position and so puts in $5 before they see their cards. The player to player A’s left (player B) is in the Big Blind position and so puts in $10 before they see their cards. Once the cards have been dealt, the player to player B’s left (player C) is the first to act. They like their cards, so they match the Big Blind ($10) to stay in the hand. The next player to act is the one on player C’s left (player D). They don’t like their cards, so they fold, handing their cards back, face down, to the dealer. They are now out of the hand. We have now gone around the table in a clockwise motion and are back with the Dealer. They have great cards, so they raise, putting in an extra $5 (so they put in a total of $15). Player A has already put in $5 (SB) so they need to put in another $10 to stay in the hand. They have bad cards, so they fold. We are now back to player B, who has put in $10 already (BB) and so has to put in another $5 to stay in the hand. He has bad cards, so he folds and is out of the hand. We are now back to player C, who had good cards. They have also put in $10 already so they need to put in another $5 to match the Dealer’s bet of $15. He does this. Everybody still in the hand has now put in the same amount of money (the Dealer and player C) so we then move onto the Flop …

The Flop
After the first betting round, three cards are placed face up on the table. These are called ‘the Flop’. Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table. Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card poker hand.

So, now that you know three of the five community cards you can re-evaluate how good a hand you have and therefore how you will now bet. Another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the Dealer. Now, because no blinds have been paid on this round there is the additional option of ‘checking’ (to check means that you want to stay in the game but do not want - at this time - to put more money into the pot). If all players check then we move straight onto the next stage. However, if any player bets then (again) any player that wants to stay in the game must match this bet. Apart from the checking option this round of betting is conducted exactly the same way as the first.

Fourth Street / the Turn
One more card is dealt face up onto the table so that there are now four community cards. This card is known as the Turn, or Fourth Street . The player to the left of the Dealer begins the third round of betting, which is conducted just as before.

Fifth Street / the River
One more card is dealt face up onto the table so that there are now five community cards. This card is known as the River, or Fifth Street . The player to the left of the Dealer begins the fourth and final round of betting, which is conducted just as before.

The Winner
If, at any point, there is only one person left in the game then he wins all the money in the pot. If two or more players continue all the way to the end then all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first and the player with the best five card poker hand wins all the money in the pot. If two players have exactly the same poker hand then the pot is split evenly between them.

And that’s the basics of Texas Holdem.

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There are two very common mistakes made at the poker tables.

The most common is that people start to win and immediately move up to high stakes tables, where they lose everything. Remember that as more and more money is involved people’s playing tactics change. Also, really good players are on the sites making money and they play in the higher stakes rooms so they can make more of it, so if you jump from 5c/10c tables straight to $5/$10 tables you will find yourself playing against a much better class of player. Increase the level you play at very, very slowly and do not be afraid to drop back down a level, build up your bankroll and learn more at the lower tables before trying to move up again.

The second mistake is a more surprising one and it’s the opposite of the first one. It is possible to stay on the low tables, where you are familiar with the style of play: sometimes you win a little, sometimes you lose a little. It’s frustrating, but you just seem to break even or gradually lose your money. Do not give up. If this is happening to you then remember to look on poker as a hobby - hobbies cost money and if you have to deposit some cash now and then to continue with your hobby then so what? If your hobby was skiing or mountain climbing you would most likely be spending a hell of a lot more! The thing is that the more you play, the better you will get so have some patience and invest that money and your time and you will start to see it paying off. However, there is another side to this. Unfortunately, there are a lot of players who are very good but who are playing at low stakes tables and not achieving their potential. The sad fact is that if they did move up to higher stakes they would start to build their bankroll. I know that sounds like a contradiction of the previous paragraph but there is a good reason for it and it has to do with the way poker rooms work in relation to bonuses.

Let me explain …

When you join a site and deposit money you will be awarded a bonus. These can be anything from 10% to 320% depending on the site, how much you deposit and what payment method you use. In order for the player to actually be able to withdraw that free money they have to play a certain number of hands or bet a certain amount of money on the tables. There are a lot of players who we call ‘bonus players’ who join many, many sites and just play to get the bonuses. Where is the best place to play the required number of hands without losing all your money? Low stakes tables. These players are not trying to win they just want to stay afloat long enough to withdraw their bonus so their game style creates an artificial playing style at the table. If you are stuck playing against bonus players you may be a better player than your bank balance is showing. It’s hard to win money off players who refuse to take risks. So if you feel this could be your problem, then (despite what we just said about not moving up too fast) try jumping up a level or two. You can always bail out and move back down - or try playing at a different site where the bonuses are lower so there is not so much bonus play.

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