Poker Rules Cheat Sheet: Texas Hold'em at a Glance

This is a one-page quick reference for Texas Hold'em. If you are new, start with how to play poker, then keep this page open while you play your first hands.

The game in five lines

• 2 to 10 players, a standard 52-card deck.
• Each player gets 2 private cards. 5 community cards are dealt in the middle.
• Your hand is the best 5 cards from your 2 and the 5 on the board (you may use both, one or none of your own cards).
• Four betting rounds: pre-flop, flop (3 cards), turn (1 card), river (1 card).
• The best hand at showdown wins, or the last player who has not folded.

Hand rankings, strongest to weakest

1. Royal flush: A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit.
2. Straight flush: five cards in a row of the same suit (9-8-7-6-5 of hearts).
3. Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank (K-K-K-K).
4. Full house: three of a kind plus a pair (J-J-J-4-4).
5. Flush: five cards of the same suit, not in a row.
6. Straight: five cards in a row of mixed suits (the ace can be high or low: A-2-3-4-5 and 10-J-Q-K-A both count, but Q-K-A-2-3 does not).
7. Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank.
8. Two pair.
9. One pair.
10. High card: none of the above, the highest card plays.

Suits have no rank in Hold'em. If two hands are equal, the kicker (the highest unpaired card) decides; if everything is equal, the pot is split. Full details: hand rankings.

Dealer button and blinds

• The dealer button moves one seat clockwise after each hand.
• The player left of the button posts the small blind, the next player posts the big blind (usually double the small blind).
• Heads-up (2 players): the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop and last after it.
• In tournaments, an ante (a small forced bet from everyone) is added in later levels.

Who acts first

• Pre-flop: the player left of the big blind ("under the gun"), then clockwise. The big blind acts last.
• Flop, turn, river: the first active player left of the button, then clockwise. The button acts last.

Actions

• Fold: give up the hand.
• Check: pass without betting (only if there is no bet in this round).
• Bet: put in the first chips in a round.
• Call: match the current bet.
• Raise: increase the bet. In no-limit the raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise; the minimum bet is one big blind.
• All-in: bet all your chips.

A betting round ends when all players still in the hand have put in the same amount (or are all-in).

Showdown

• The player who made the last bet or raise shows first (if no one bet on the last round, the first player to act shows first).
• The best five-card hand wins the pot; equal hands split it.
• A player who is not all-in and has not been called may muck (throw away) the hand without showing.

All-in and side pots

If a player goes all-in for less than the others, the extra chips go into a side pot that the all-in player cannot win. The main pot goes to the best hand among everyone; the side pot goes to the best hand among the players who contributed to it.

Example: A has 100 chips, B and C have 500. A goes all-in for 100, B and C also put in 100 and then bet 300 more. The main pot (3 × 100 = 300) is open to A, B and C. The 600 in the side pot is open only to B and C.

Betting formats

• No-limit: any bet from the minimum up to all your chips.
• Pot-limit: the maximum bet is the size of the pot.
• Fixed-limit: bets and raises have fixed sizes.

Table etiquette

• Act in turn: acting out of turn can give information to others.
• Say your action clearly. A verbal declaration is usually binding.
• Say "raise" first when raising. Putting chips in several stages (a "string bet") is not allowed in live games.
• Do not discuss your hand while the hand is in progress.
• Do not give advice to other players about their hands.
• Keep your cards on the table and protect them (a chip on top is enough).
• Be polite when you win and when you lose.

Numbers worth remembering

• There are 169 different starting hands (by rank and suited/unsuited) and 1,326 specific two-card combinations.
• Pocket aces: about 0.45% of hands (1 in 221).
• Any pocket pair: about 5.9% (1 in 17).
• A-K of any suits: about 1.2% (1 in 83).
• Two suited cards: about 23.5% (about 1 in 4).
• A flush draw has 9 outs and an open-ended straight draw has 8: see outs and equity.

What to read next

• How to play poker: the step-by-step version.
• Starting hands: which hands to play.
• Poker glossary: the terms you hear at the table.
• Position: why the seat matters.