How to Play Texas Hold'em
Practice it against the bots, freeQuick start
- You get 2 private cards; 5 shared cards come out in the middle.
- Make the best 5-card hand from any of those 7 cards (even all 5 from the board).
- No-limit: bet anything up to all your chips.
- 4 betting rounds: preflop, flop, turn, river.
Hold'em is the world's most popular poker game and the best place to start your training. Two cards are yours, five are shared, and you build the best five-card hand you can.
Every game here uses Dojo Coin: play money with no real-world value. You can buy it with Buy Coin (not sold in Washington state), but you can't cash it out. It's just for practice.
How a hand plays
- Button and blinds. The dealer button moves one seat left each hand. The two players to its left post the small and big blind. No antes. In tournaments everyone starts with 5,000 chips at blinds of 10/20, and the blinds go up every set number of hands.
- Deal. Everyone gets 2 cards face down.
- Preflop. The player left of the big blind acts first. The big blind acts last and may raise even if everyone just called.
- Flop, turn, river. Three shared cards, then a fourth, then a fifth. A betting round follows each, starting with the first player still in to the left of the button.
- Showdown. Hands still in are turned up. Each player uses any five of their seven cards, and the best hand wins.
If everyone else folds, the last player wins the pot without showing. Heads-up: the button posts the small blind and acts first preflop; after the flop the big blind acts first.
Betting rules
On your turn you can check (if nobody has bet), bet, call, raise or fold. If you could check for free, the site checks for you instead of folding.
- Smallest bet: one big blind.
- Smallest raise: at least as big as the last full bet or raise. Blind 100, someone raises to 300 (a raise of 200), so the next raise goes to at least 500.
- Biggest bet: everything in front of you (all-in).
- Short all-ins don't reopen the betting for players who already acted, unless they add up to a full raise.
All-in and side pots
All-in, you stay in to showdown but can only win what you matched from each player. Extra chips go to a side pot the others play for. Unmatched bets go back to the bettor.
Hand rankings (best to worst)
| Hand | Example | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ | Ace-high straight, all one suit |
| Straight flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ | Five in a row, all one suit |
| Four of a kind | 7♣ 7♦ 7♥ 7♠ K♦ | Four cards of one rank |
| Full house | Q♠ Q♦ Q♣ 4♥ 4♠ | Three of a kind plus a pair |
| Flush | A♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 2♦ | Five cards of one suit |
| Straight | 10♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ | Five in a row, mixed suits |
| Three of a kind | 5♥ 5♣ 5♠ K♦ 9♣ | Three cards of one rank |
| Two pair | J♥ J♣ 3♦ 3♠ A♣ | Two different pairs |
| One pair | 10♠ 10♥ K♣ 6♦ 2♥ | Two cards of one rank |
| High card | A♣ Q♦ 9♥ 5♠ 3♣ | None of the above |
- Aces play high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A). Straights don't wrap around.
- Suits never outrank each other.
- Kickers break ties. Exactly equal hands split the pot; an odd chip goes to the first tied player left of the button.
Tricky spots
Kickers decide it. Board K♦ 9♠ 7♣ 4♥ 2♦. K♣ Q♥ beats K♠ J♦: same pair of kings, but the queen outkicks the jack.
Playing the board. Board A♠ K♦ Q♣ J♥ 10♠ is a straight. If nobody beats it, everyone left splits, even a player holding two aces.
FAQ
Can I use all five board cards in Hold'em?
Yes. In Texas Hold'em your best five cards can come from any mix of your two hole cards and the five board cards, including all five from the board (playing the board).
What does no-limit mean?
You can bet or raise any amount up to all the chips in front of you whenever it's your turn. The smallest bet is one big blind.
Who acts first in Hold'em?
Before the flop, the player to the left of the big blind acts first. After the flop, the first player still in the hand to the left of the button acts first.
What happens when two hands tie?
Kickers break the tie. If the best five cards are exactly equal, the pot is split evenly.