Texas Hold’em Rules — Complete Beginner Guide

What is Texas Hold'em?

Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker variant in the world, and certainly the most common one on GGPoker and ClubGG. Each player receives 2 private cards (Hole Cards) and 5 community cards are dealt in the middle of the table. The goal: build the best possible five-card hand using any combination of your 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards.

The structure of a hand — 4 stages

Every hand of Texas Hold'em is divided into 4 clear stages, with a betting round between each one.

• Pre-Flop: each player gets 2 face-down cards. First betting round.
• The Flop: 3 community cards revealed. Second betting round.
• The Turn: a fourth community card is revealed. Third betting round.
• The River: the fifth and final community card is revealed. Final betting round.
• Showdown: remaining players reveal their cards — the highest hand wins.

Blinds and position

There is no fixed "ante" in every hand of Texas Hold'em. Instead, the two players to the left of the dealer are required to post a "blind" — a Small Blind and a Big Blind. This guarantees there is always a pot worth playing for. Your position at the table is critical — the later you act in a round, the more information you have on your opponents.

Types of betting actions

In every betting round, you have exactly 5 possible actions on your turn. Understanding when to choose each one is the foundation of the game.

• Fold — give up your hand and forfeit the pot
• Check — pass the action without adding money (only if there is no bet facing you)
• Call — match the current bet
• Bet — open a new bet
• Raise — increase an existing bet

Hand ranking — from strongest to weakest

This is the part you must know by heart. A higher-ranked hand always beats a lower one. In case of a tie within the same hand category, the kicker (the next highest card) decides.

• Royal Flush — A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit
• Straight Flush — 5 consecutive cards of the same suit
• Four of a Kind — 4 cards of the same rank
• Full House — three of a kind plus a pair
• Flush — 5 cards of the same suit
• Straight — 5 consecutive cards
• Three of a Kind — 3 cards of the same rank
• Two Pair — two different pairs
• One Pair — a single pair
• High Card — the highest card wins