Texas Holdem Tournament Rules

admin
Texas Holdem Tournament Rules Average ratng: 4,0/5 4899 reviews

These rules apply to tournaments on our platform.

The Tournament Rules as listed here are intended to complement the Terms of Service, not replace them. In the event of a discrepancy between the Tournament Rules and Terms of Service, the Terms of Service shall take precedence.

Note: Rules 1.5, 2.4 and 2.5 are relevant only to tournaments which use blinds and/or a dealer button.

  1. This rules has to be set prior to starting the tournament. Players can only add enough chips to make their stack the original amount. In the above example if a player loses his chips down to 400, he can do a rebuy, but only receive 2100 in chips from the tournament manager.
  2. Dec 10, 2020 A Texas Hold’em tournament is the same as any other game of Hold’em with a few added rules and twists. Learn more about the unique rules of Texas Holdem poker tournaments. Meanwhile, a Texas Holdem cash game is played on a single table with 2 to 10 players. The goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time.
  3. Scoring rules Ranking scores result from the size of tournament prize pool and the occupied position. For every 10,000 GameChips in the pool there is 1 point to be divided among players taking part in the tournament (for example if the pool is 1,000,000 GameChips, then 100 tournament points will be divided among competitors).

Texas Holdem Tournament Rules Pdf

1. General

  1. We will, at all times, consider the best interests of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that decisions in the interest of fairness take priority over the technical rules.

  2. All tournaments will begin promptly at the scheduled time stated in the Tournament Lobby. We reserve the right to delay or cancel a tournament without prior notice.

  3. Important information about each tournament, including the blind structure, length of rounds, rebuy and break information, can be found by selecting the tournament in the lobby and double-clicking on it (desktop), and by clicking the tournament itself via the Lobby (mobile). We reserve the right to change the parameters of any tournament at any time without notice.

  4. Seats are assigned at random. Seat changes are not permitted.

  5. The button will be positioned at Seat 1 to start play.

  6. A bet and three raises are permitted in Fixed Limit tournaments. There is no limit to the number of raises permitted in Pot Limit and No Limit tournaments.

  7. Prizes will be awarded as stated in the Tournament Lobby, except when a deal is made (see Rule 8.1 or the tournament is cancelled (see our tournament cancellation policy below). The prize structure is not finalized until registration has closed and the rebuy and/or add-on period is over.

  8. In order to be eligible to rebuy in a rebuy tournament, you must have the funds available in your account. Funds currently in play in other games, or held in a currency not matching the tournament currency are not considered to be available.

  9. Late Registration: Late Registration is available in most tournaments. The length of the late registration period varies, but will always be shown in the tournament ticket in the Quick Seat lobby, in the details panel of the Tournaments tab, and in the header of the Tournament lobby for that tournament. Late registration time is measured in clock time (as opposed to tournament play time). For example, if a tournament starts at 09:00 and has 90 minutes of late registration, registration will close at 10:30. Late registration will close early if enough players are eliminated to begin payouts.

    Please note that players are only allowed to participate in a tournament once, unless re-entry is permitted, as specified in the tournament lobby. One player using multiple accounts to enter multiple times into a single tournament is not permitted, and may result in penalties including a warning, disqualification from the tournament (with partial or full forfeiture of winnings), and barring from our platform.

  10. Unregistration: Most tournaments allow unregistration until a time specified in the tournament lobby of each tournament, which may vary from event to event. Players who have won their seats through a satellite may unregister if the event allows it; however, they will receive tournament money (T-Money) or an entry ticket in exchange for their seat. T-Money can be used to buy in to our other tournaments. See here for more information.

    Note that some satellites will end after the start of the target tournament but during Late Registration. In such cases, the satellite winners will be seated directly into the target event at the conclusion of the satellite.

    Note: Registration and unregistration times may vary, and not all tournaments allow unregistration. Check the Tournament Lobby for the exact registration details for each tournament. We reserve the right to alter registration and unregistration times without prior notice.

    Players who self-exclude themselves during a tournament will nevertheless still be able to complete any tournament already in progress in which they are playing. This also means that players who request to be self-excluded from playing on our platform after qualifying for Day 2 of a Multi-Day Tournament or Phased tournament will still be able to play in that tournament on any subsequent day of that tournament, even after their period of self-exclusion begins. Players who choose not to play on subsequent days will receive no compensation.

Based on the limit of the poker game the player to the left of the dealer’s button (small blind) and the player two to the left of the dealer (big blind) are required to place mandatory bets in the pot before cards are dealt (Small blind has to put half of the big blinds amount). These bets count toward the first round of betting.

2. Eliminations

  1. The tournament ends when one player accumulates all the chips in play, or when all remaining players will receive the same prize (for example, if the tournament awards 5 identical prizes, the tournament may end when there are 5 players left).

  2. If two or more players are eliminated on the same hand, a player with more chips at the start of the hand finishes higher than a player with fewer chips. If all players started the hand with an identical number of chips, all players tie for that rank, and any prizes due to those players will be equally distributed between them. During hand-for-hand play (as described in rule 2.3), two or more players eliminated during a single 'synchronized' hand are treated as having been eliminated simultaneously, even if they are at different tables. Finishing order is then based on comparing stack sizes.

  3. At certain stages of the tournament (for example, where the prize money jumps significantly with the next few players eliminated) and when there is more than one table remaining, the tournament may be played ‘hand for hand’. This means that if one table finishes its hand before the other table(s), that table waits for the other table(s) to finish before the next hand is dealt.

  4. We use a ‘forward-moving button’ rule in tournaments. According to this rule, no player ever receives the button twice in a row; at the completion of every hand, the button is moved clockwise. The implication of this rule is that when players are eliminated, there may be players who get a reprieve from one or both blinds. Since these are basically random occurrences, no player will receive any long-term advantage.

  5. When two players remain at the final table, the button will post the small blind, and act first on the opening round.

  6. As players are eliminated from the tournament, the software will “break” tables to fill available empty seats or balance tables to ensure all tables have an equal (or as close to equal as possible) number of active players. The re-seating of players at broken tables is performed randomly and, although rare, may result in a player having to post multiple big blinds in a row. Players moved individually to balance tables will, when possible, be moved to similar positions relative to the blinds. When enough players have been eliminated, all players are brought together at the ‘final table’.

3. Breaks

  1. The break schedule for a tournament can be found in the ‘Tournament Information’ section of the ‘Structure’ tab in the Tournament lobby. Break length and timing may vary from one event to the next. We offer two varieties of breaks:

    1. Tournaments with synchronized breaks will go on break at 55 minutes past the hour. For example, a tournament which begins at 07:25 will go on break at 07:55, 08:55, 09:55 and every hour thereafter until the tournament ends. There can also be tournaments where the synchronized break only takes place every two hours. For example, a tournament like this, starting at 08:35, could go on break 08:55, 10:55, and every other hour thereafter.
      In rebuy tournaments of this type where add-ons are permitted, there will be an additional short break (usually 3 minutes) at the conclusion of the rebuy period, to allow for add-ons to be made.
    2. Other tournaments will go on break at regular intervals throughout play. For example, a tournament beginning at 07:25 may go on break after every hour’s play, in which case the first break would begin at 08:25.

    In all cases, the tournament will wait for hands at all tables to complete before the break period begins. This means that at some tables, the break will last slightly longer than at other tables.

    Note that not all tournaments offer breaks (for example, Hyper-Turbo and some Heads-Up or Shootout-style events).

4. Disconnects and Sitting Out

  1. By participating in a tournament, a player accepts the risk of Internet disconnection, due to problems with the connection between their computer and the servers, lag or freeze or some other problem in the player's computer or the Internet.

    1. We do not accept any responsibility for a player disconnect except in the case of a server crash.
    2. While each user is responsible for their own Internet connection, we make an effort to protect players who are disconnected during the final stages of a real money tournament, by allowing extra time to reconnect.
    3. If a player times out during a hand, whether connected or disconnected, his or her hand will be folded if facing action, or may be checked if facing no action.
    4. If a player is not connected before a hand starts, he or she will be dealt cards, and a blind and/or antes will be posted. There is no rule against a single player choosing to sit out; the player doing so will continue to have blinds and antes posted and cards dealt. Two or more players may not make any agreement to sit out simultaneously, whether at the same table or different tables.
    5. In Shootout and Heads-Up events, if all players at a table are disconnected and / or sitting out for a large number of hands (typically 250 hands or more in real money tournaments), the match will end and the player with the most chips will advance to the next round.

    While each user is responsible for his or her own Internet connection, we make an effort to help a player if he is disconnected during the final stages of a tournament that has a buy-in. We give the player disconnect extra time (DET) to act before his hand is folded.

    For regular multi-table tournaments, the DET is available only at the final table. The DET is as follows:

    • First action: 240 seconds
    • Second action: 120 seconds
    • Third action: 60 seconds
    • Fourth (and subsequent) actions: No extra time added, but as the player is 'sitting-in', he/she will get the regular time to act before being folded.

    For sit and go tournaments with fewer than forty-five players, the DET is available when you are down to the number of players that will be paid plus one. The DET is as follows:

    • First action: 120 seconds
    • Second action: 60 seconds
    • Third (and subsequent) actions: No extra time added, but as the player is 'sitting-in', he/she will get the regular time to act before being folded.

    For heads-up tournaments, the DET is available throughout the tournament. The DET is as follows:

    • First action: 120 seconds
    • Second action: 60 seconds
    • Third (and subsequent) actions: No extra time added, but as the player is 'sitting-in', he/she will get the regular time to act before being folded.

    For all actions above, the player will remain in 'sitting-in' state after being folded, and will therefore be given the indicated amount of time when action returns to them.

    Note that for all tournaments, the DET is reset each time the user reconnects. So suppose a player is at the final table of a multi-table event, disconnects, and is down to 30 seconds per action, then reconnects. If they disconnect again, they'll start with 240 seconds for their next action.

    During any time that the system is waiting on a disconnected player, the tournament clock (that raises blind levels) is stopped.

    Note: The rules described above may vary between tournaments. DET may not be provided for each tournament; we reserve the right to change these rules without prior notification.

5. Chat

  1. Players, whether in the hand or not, may not discuss the hand or their cards until the action is complete. Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities is not allowed. A penalty may be given for discussion of hands during play.

6. Unethical Play

  1. Poker is an individual (not a team) game. Any action or chat intended to help another player is unethical and is prohibited. Unethical play, such as soft-play (playing less aggressively against a partner) and chip dumping (intentionally losing chips to a partner), may result in penalties, including seizure of funds from the offender's account and/or termination of the account. We routinely review game play to look for violations of our rules and to ensure the integrity of our games. It may be necessary to withhold player winnings until the completion of game play reviews.

  2. With some exceptions (described below), a player may play on only one account during a tournament and may not ‘hand off’ his seat in mid-event to a different player. Violation of this rule may result in penalties including a warning, disqualification from the tournament (with partial or full forfeiture of winnings), and barring from our platform.

    Examples of permissible exceptions that we give below are intended to describe examples of unplanned but serious events which are beyond your control.

    Examples of things which are not beyond your control and therefore prohibited include:

    1. Going to bed and letting someone else finish the tournament.
    2. Entering a tournament then getting on an airplane, or embarking on any other pre-planned trip, while asking a friend to play your account while you change location.
    3. Deciding that it would be fun to finish the Sunday Million at Joe's house then asking Joe to take over your account, while you make the 30-minute trip to his house.
    4. You and a friend are playing in the same tournament. You agree that if he busts out before you do, he will take over playing your account.
    5. Your husband is out of town for the weekend, but gives you his password. You log into both his account and yours and play both accounts in the same tournament.
    6. You have progressed to the final few tables of a tournament and somebody offers you cash equity for your seat. You allow the other player to sign into your account, or you continue to finish the tournament following the explicit instructions given by him.

    Examples of things which are beyond your control and therefore allowed, subject to us being able to corroborate with evidence, include:

    1. A thunderstorm strikes your location and takes the power down for the surrounding area, so you call a friend to take over your account while you make alternative arrangements.
    2. Your child is taken ill and you have to attend hospital, so you call a friend to take over your account.
    3. You are playing in a tournament and lose internet access in your home due to a failure of your ISP. You call a friend and he takes over while you make alternative arrangements.

7. Server Issues

  1. In the event of a server crash, the hands in progress at every table will be restored by rolling back those hands. Each player's chip count will be reset to the amount at the beginning of the hand. In special circumstances, when a tournament needs to be cancelled because of a crash or some other reason, players will be compensated according to the tournament cancellation policy (see below).

8. Deal Making

  1. Deal making is allowed in tournaments, unless otherwise specified in the tournament lobby.

    1. If all remaining players in a tournament agree to split the prize money according to a formula of their choosing, we will accept this agreement, and alter the originally published tourney payouts to reflect the numbers agreed to in the deal.
    2. If all players remaining wish to make a deal, they should check the ‘Discuss A Deal’ box in the ‘Info’ tab of the Chat Box on the table. When all remaining players have checked this box, the table will automatically pause at the end of the current hand, and our customer support team will be notified. A staff member will come to the table to ensure a smoothly arranged deal. We cannot guarantee that a staff member will arrive in a timely fashion although every effort will be made to avoid delays.
    3. Deal making is not available in all tournaments, but when deal making is available the ‘Discuss A Deal’ checkbox will be available in the ‘Info’ tab at the final table.
    4. We will not participate in the deal making process, but will serve as a facilitator to ensure that everyone is in complete agreement before executing the transfers per the above conditions.
    5. We reserve the right to require that any deal leave some money ‘on the table’ as the first place prize. This money required to be left in play will usually not be more than 5% of the total tournament prize pool, and ensures the integrity of the tournament's finish. The amount of money required to be left in play, if any, will usually be specified in the tournament lobby message.
    6. Players may agree to leave more money ‘on the table’ for first or for other finishes.
    7. It is the players' responsibility to determine total agreement. In the absence of oversight at the table by our support personnel, chat records alone will not necessarily validate an agreement. However, we may enforce a deal if it was clearly agreed to by all parties.
    8. Only players at the final table may deal for the money, and all deals must include all remaining players.
    9. Deals will only be enforced for real money tournaments.
    10. Players may discuss any deal they wish. If the players request it, our staff will provide ICM, Chip Count or Even Split numbers to the players as possible deals.
      • ICM is the ‘Independent Chip Model’, a method of calculating each player’s equity in the remaining prize pool, based on the chip counts, the remaining payouts (less any money ‘on the table’), and the likelihood of each player winning each remaining prize in the tournament. This is the default method which will be offered to players.
      • Chip Count is a distribution of remaining prizes (less any money ‘on the table’) based solely on chip counts.
      • An Even Split divides the remaining prizes (less any money ‘on the table’) to all players.
      All deal numbers provided by our staff are not final until clearly agreed to by all players in Chat. Players may discuss variations on those numbers if they want; our staff will then repeat the agreed deal in Chat and ask the remaining players to all confirm their agreement.
    11. Players are obligated to play out their heads-up matches in a normal way, regardless of the identity of their opponent. Any 'flipping', chip dumping, or other activity classified as ‘abnormal’ game play is prohibited. Violation of this rule may result in penalties up to and including barring from our platform with forfeiture of funds. This rule does not apply to the final match of a scheduled heads-up tournament.

    Dealing for Tournament Leader Board or Sit & Go Leader Board points is not allowed. Doing so may result in the revocation of all awarded Leader Board points for the deal-making players in the tournament.

9. Bounties

  1. In some specially designated tournaments, a cash ‘bounty’ will be placed on some or all of the tournament participants. A player who eliminates such an opponent wins the cash bounty.

    There are three types of Bounty Tournament:

    Knockout:

    A bounty is placed on every entrant. You win a cash prize for each opponent you eliminate. There are also Progressive Knockouts, where your bonus increases as you eliminate players.

    Team Pro Bounty: A bounty is placed on every member of Team PokerStars Pro who enters the tournament.

    Fixed Bounty: A bounty is placed on a specific player in the tournament.

    The bounty is awarded to the player who wins the ‘relevant pot’ for the hand in question, which may be the main pot or one of several side pots. ‘Relevant pot’ means the pot in which the bounty player was all-in for their final chips.

    • For example:
      Daniel (100 chips), Barry (200 chips), Vanessa (400 chips), and Jake (1000 chips), are playing a hand in a No-Limit tournament.
      Daniel moves all-in, and Barry, Vanessa and Jake call. The pot which Daniel is eligible for is known as the ‘main pot’. Betting continues ‘on the side’, in side pot 1.
      Barry moves all-in, and Vanessa and Jake call. Betting continues between Vanessa and Jake in side pot 2.
      Vanessa moves all-in, and Jake calls.
      Barry shows the best hand. He wins side pot 1 and the main pot, eliminating Daniel. He receives the bounty for Daniel.
      Jake shows the next best hand, and wins side pot 2, eliminating Vanessa. Jake wins the bounty for Vanessa.
      Note that although Barry had the best hand overall, he didn’t have as many chips as Vanessa and therefore could not eliminate her. Jake however did have enough chips, and therefore wins Vanessa’s bounty.

  2. In a split pot poker variant, such as Omaha Hi/Lo or Stud Hi/Lo, the bounty will always be awarded to the high hand. This is because a player cannot be eliminated by a low hand only.

  3. In the event that two players show identical winning hands and therefore split the ‘relevant pot’ (or, in the case of a split pot poker variant as described in rule 9.2, split the high half of the ‘relevant pot’), any bounty awarded will be divided equally between the winners. Odd cents will be awarded in turn to the players in the earliest positions.

  4. If a bounty player wins the tournament:

    1. In a Knockout tournament, the player is awarded their own bounty.
    2. In a Team Pro or Fixed Bounty tournament in which the Team Pro or Fixed Bounty player wins, the bounty is not awarded.

  5. If a tournament advertises a bounty on a particular player, but that player does not register for the tournament, no bounty will be paid for that player.

  6. Players may not make any agreement amongst themselves to eliminate a particular player in order to claim their bounty award. Such agreements are considered collusion, and are grounds for disqualification from the tournament or other penalties. For more information, see rules 6.1 and 6.2 above.

10. Cancellations

If we have to cancel a tournament for any reason, we make a concerted effort to compensate players in the fairest and most equitable way possible. There are three different possible compensation methods, depending on the exact circumstances and timing of the cancellation. Which method is applied is the sole discretion of the tournament Management.

  1. Rollback: In this case, we are 'rolling back' the tournament as if it never happened - if you were registered for the tournament, you get your buy-in and fees (including rebuys, add-ons, and knockout entry if any) refunded. Also, the buy-in is refunded in exactly the same format with which you bought in. For instance, if you bought into a tournament using T$10 and $15 cash, then you would get back T$10 and $15 cash.

  2. Roll Forward (No Players in the Money): If a tournament is cancelled and we do a 'roll forward' before the players are in the money, we refund each remaining player his tournament fee (and knockout bounty if appropriate), and then divide up the prize pool based on the following formula: 50% of the award pool is distributed evenly among all remaining players, and 50% of the award pool is distributed proportionally according to the chip count.

  3. Roll Forward (Players are in the Money): When a tournament is cancelled, and players have already reached the money, we refund each remaining player his tournament fee (and knockout bounty if appropriate), and then divide up the prize pool based on the following formula: each player receives the minimum prize not yet awarded at the time of cancellation, and the remainder of the award pool distributed is distributed proportionally according to the chip count.

    Heads-up Sit & Go tournaments (HU S&Gs) are handled differently because of their special nature. Particularly if one player stays connected while the other player does not, the first player can effectively win the tournament while the second player is disconnected. For that reason, we reserve the right to do a chip count distribution of any HU S&G that we believe was substantially affected by our site's downtime.

  4. If a tournament with a guaranteed prize pool is cancelled, we will refund only the total buy-ins, not the guaranteed amount.

  5. If a tournament with Fixed or Team Pro bounties is cancelled, we will refund only the regular prize pool (and knockout pool if applicable), not the Fixed or Team Pro bounties.

  6. Tournaments which award tickets, satellite entries, or material prizes in addition to cash will only include the cash in the refund amount. Non-cash prizes will not be included in the roll forward or rollback equation.

  7. We reserve the right to alter cancellation payouts or to alter this policy

11. Heads-Up Tournaments

In a Heads-Up tourney players compete in a multi-round event against a series of opponents until they are eliminated, or defeat the last player standing. Exact details of tournament structure and prize pool can be found in the tournament lobby.

Texas

  1. Unless a tournament starts with exactly 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 players, some players in the heads-up tournament will have byes past the first round. Other players will play an extra first-round match, and the tournament will play down to 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 players before progressing to the second round. No players will have byes past the first round, and all byes are randomly selected from the field of entrants.

12. Early tournament payouts

Early payout tournaments work the same way as regular tournaments with one important exception:

  • Once the tournament reaches the paid positions, all eligible players willinstantly receive the minimum cash amount specified in the tournament's prize structure.
  • A pop-up message will appear on the table advising all eligible players they have received the prize.
  • The tournament will then carry on as usual. After a player is eliminated from the tournament (or wins it), a second payment for any difference between the minimum cash amount and the total prize earned will be credited to that player's account. If a higher prize hasn't been earned, there will be no second payment.

By making that initial tournament prize immediately available, players will have more options at their disposal to use their winnings.

Find out how the different hands compare in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and other games.

The poker dictionary is your reference for poker jargon and the language of poker.

Make your first real money deposit and start playing at PokerStars. Deposits are fast and secure.

Welcome to our Texas Holdem guide.

The idea behind this guide is to walk you through the basic rules and strategies to Texas Holdem. While a lot of sites have articles written on the same topics, they’re not as easy to understand as ours. They’re not packaged neatly into a handy guide like ours, either, leaving you to figure out what you should read and in what order.

Texas

So if you want to pick up the game of Texas Holdem quickly, and blend into any table you sit down at, this is the guide for you.

Our Holdem guide will be divided into 4 parts. We’ll start with rules and end with basic strategies. In the first part of our guide, I’m going to explain the rules of Texas Holdem, what (hands) beats what, betting formats and betting basics for beginners. Everything you need to know to play your first game of Texas Holdem.

Texas Holdem Guide » Part 2 » Part 3 » Part 4

Good luck and enjoy!

Texas Holdem Rules

Your first task is to learn the rules of Texas Holdem. The game appears to be complicated because there are 4 rounds, each with a new card and opportunity to bet.

But trust me, it’s not as complicated as you may think. I’m going to walk through a complete hand now. I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.

Note: All my examples will use 5/10 blinds.

Pre Flop

Pre flop is the first stage of a Texas Holdem hand. This is when the cards are dealt, players bet and decide whether or not they want to be involved in the hand.

The first thing that will happen is the blinds will be posted. The blinds are essentially antes that create dead money and encourage players to play, as opposed to sitting around waiting for good hand.

There are two blinds that need to be posted; the small blind and the big blind. The small blind is the first player to the left of the dealer button. This player will post $5. The player to his left (and two seats to the left of the dealer button) is the big blind. This player posts $10.

That’s it. The blinds will change each hand, as the dealer button moves around the table.

After the blinds have been posted, the dealer will give each player 2 cards, one at a time, starting with the small blind and moving clockwise around the table. Each players’ “hole cards” are dealt faced down.

After the cards have been dealt the first betting round will begin. The betting action starts with the player to the immediate left of the big blind, also known as the player under-the-gun or UTG. This player has the option to call the big blind, raise or fold.

Once the UTG player has acted, the action will continue clockwise around the table until each player has acted. Each player will have the option to call, raise or fold. The blinds will be the last players to act in an un-raised pot. The small blind will have the option to pay the difference between the small and big blind or “complete,” and the big blind can check his option. Both players can raise, too, if they choose.

The pre flop action will end once all the players but one have folded, or two or more players have completed the betting round and are ready to see the flop.

The Flop

The flop is the first community round.

The first thing that will happen is the dealer will place 3 community cards in the middle of the table (face up). All players can use these 3 cards to make the best 5-card poker hand.

After the flop has been dealt, another betting round will start. On the flop (and all subsequent rounds) the betting action will start with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer button and move around the table clockwise.

The betting options include check, bet, raise or fold. This depends on the action that took place before each player acts. If you’re not familiar with these betting options, I cover them in more detail below.

The betting round ends the same as pre flop. Either all but one player folds, or two or more players have ended the betting round and are ready for the next community card.

The Turn

The turn is also known as 4th street. It’s the 4th community card dealt that players can use to make their poker hand.

The betting round on the turn is the same as the flop.

The River

The river is the fifth and final community card that players can use to make their hand. It’s also known as 5th street. The betting action on the river is the same as the turn.

Showdown

After the betting round on the river, and assuming two or more players are still in the hand, there will be a showdown. Players will show their cards so that a winner can be determined.

Rules

The showdown is simple. In an un-raised pot, the first player to the left of the dealer button will show their hand first. In a raised pot, the first player to show their hand is the player who raised last on the river. Then the action continues clockwise around the table. Each player can muck their hand (not show), or if their hand is better (and they want to win the pot, they can show their hand.

Then the pot is awarded to the best hand.

That’s an entire hand of Texas Holdem. Once the pot has been awarded the cards will be collected and reshuffled. The dealer button will move one seat to the left, new blinds will be posted and a new hand of Texas Holdem will be dealt.

What Hands Beat What in Texas Holdem

One thing that trips new players up is determining what hands beat what. It’s real simple for Texas Holdem. Here are the winning hands, from best to worst:

  • Royal Flush – AKQJT suited.
  • Straight Flush – 5 cards in a row, all of the same suit. For example, 34567 suited.
  • 4 of a kind – 4 cards of the same value. For example, 4444x.
  • Full House – A 3 of a kind and a pair. For example, 3-3-3-2-2.
  • Flush – 5 cards of the same suit. For example, A-8-5-4-2 suited.
  • Straight – 5 cards in a row. For example, 5-6-7-8-9.
  • 3 of a kind – 3 cards of the same value. For example, 3-3-3-x-x.
  • 2 Pair – Example: 2-2-3-3-x.
  • 1 Pair – Example: A-A-8-4-2
  • High Card – Example: A-K-J-3-2

In Texas Holdem you can make these hands (and win) using any combination of the community cards and your hole cards.

If there is a tie the pot will be split. It will be split however many times is necessary. For example, if 3 players have 78 and they all have straights, each of them will earn 1/3 the pot.

If two or more players have the same type of hand, the better or higher hand will win. For example, an ace high flush will beat a queen high flush.

Betting Formats and Actions

Texas Holdem is played in several variations and betting formats. They’ll impact the game in a number of ways including time, variance, dead money, betting caps and more.

In this section I want to take a couple of minutes to explain the different betting formats you’ll come across. That way you can choose which type of game you prefer, and at the very least understand how they all work. I’ll also explain the different betting options you have during each betting round in Texas Holdem.

What Kind of Betting Formats Are There in Texas Holdem?

Limit Betting – Limit (or fixed limit) betting used to be the most popular format before no limit took over. With this betting format there are a couple of things to be aware of.

On the pre flop and flop rounds, only the small bet ($5) is used. On the turn and river the big bet ($10) is used. And there is (usually) a cap of 1 bet and 3 raises for any round. This does vary from one casino to the next, though. Last thing — players can only raise one increment (small or big bet) at a time. In other words, if someone bets $5, you can only raise $5, to a total of $10.

Pot Limit Betting – What distinguishes pot limit betting from other formats is that the amount of money in the pot determines how much someone can bet. In other words, if there is $10 in the pot, the next player to act can’t bet more than $10. If they put $10 in the pot, making the total $20, the next player to act can only bet $20. Every time the size of the pot increases, the amount of money the next person can bet also increases.

No Limit Betting – No limit Texas Holdem is the most popular version played today. There is no limit to how much someone can bet. And at any time a player can push their entire stack in middle, going “all in.”

Note – For the pot and no limit betting formats, raises must be the minimum of the current bet to call. For example, if the amount to call is $10, the minimum raise must be $20. If it’s $26, the minimum you can raise is to $52.

Blinds – The blinds are forced bets that the first two players to the left of the dealer must post before the cards are dealt. The first player is the small blind and posts the smaller of the two bets, and the second is the big blind, and this player posts the bigger of the two bets. In a cash game the blinds never change. However, in a tournament and sit and go the blinds will change every so often, usually every 5-20 minutes.

Antes – Antes are a forced bet that each player must post before they are dealt cards. This is in addition to the blinds. They’re usually 10-20% the size of the blinds.

Caps – In a capped game players can only lose so much per hand. The amount you can lose per hand depends on the game.

Short, Standard, Deep Stacks – This refers to the maximum number of big blinds someone can buy in for (in a cash game). In short stack games the maximum is 40 big blinds. In standard games you can buy in for 100 big blinds and 150+ in deep stack games.

Blind Levels – You only have to worry about blind levels if you’re playing a Texas Holdem tournament or sit and go. The blinds will start low, around 10/20 or 25/50, and increase every 5-20 minutes. Each tournament will have a different structures and time frames.

Betting Actions

These are the betting options you have during a betting round in Texas Holdem.

Fold – You decide not to play your hand and toss it into the muck. If you fold you cannot win the pot.

Call – You call the last bet made. In an un-raised pot, you call the amount of the big blind. If someone raises, you must call the amount they bet.

Raise – A raise must be in increments of the last bet made. For example, in an un-raised pot at 5/10, the minimum you can raise is 10, to a total of 20. However, if someone raises to 35 (total), your minimum re-raise must be 35, to a total of 70.

Check – Checking is like saying, I pass. You give up your turn to bet (unless someone bets and the action comes back to you). It is possible for every player to check and the betting round to end with no additional money put into the pot.

Betting Basics for Beginners

From experience, I can tell you that most beginners don’t know how to bet correctly. They bet for the sake of it or for the wrong reasons. And when they do bet, their sizing is off, which doesn’t accomplish their goals and/or wastes chips.

My goal for the last section of our guide is to go into detail about how betting works in Texas Holdem, and to put you on the path to making correctly sized bets.

Mistakes Beginners Make When Betting

Lets start with the biggest mistakes beginner Holdem players make when they bet. The biggest mistakes I see are:

  • Beginners bet too big. (You don’t want to bet too small, either, but instead find a balance.) The problem with betting too big is that at some point the extra chips don’t do anything. In other words, at 5/10, betting 200 chips is going to do the same thing as betting 50. So why bet 200?
  • Your bets are transparent. A mistake players make is bet small with their premium hands (to keep other players in the pot), limp with weaker hands they don’t mind folding, and then betting huge with premium, but vulnerable hands. Betting like this makes it obvious to everyone what you have.
  • Betting for no reason. Sometimes players bet just for the sake of it.

Beginners make other betting mistakes, too, but a lot of that falls under specific strategies. That’s too much (and too advanced) for me to cover here.

How to (Size Your) Bet Correctly

With the common mistakes out of the way, lets look at the right ways and times to bet.

Pre Flop Bet Sizing

One of the concepts I want to drill into you is that you should only bet enough to get the job done. No more, and no less.

So how much do you bet preflop?

The standard is 3x the big blind. With blinds of 5/10, the standard raise will be to $30. Depending on the game and stakes you’re playing, however, your bet sizing can vary from 2-5x. For example, in tournaments a min-raise (2x) bet is very common for the later stages. And in micro stakes games, you can usually get away with betting 4-5x with your premium hands and the other players won’t know the difference.

Note: One important thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep your bet sizes as consistent as possible, especially the higher the stakes you play.

In the scenario that a player limps in before you act, the rule of thumb (if you choose to raise) is to raise 3x the big blind plus 1 big blind for every limper. For example, if 3 players limp into the pot at 5/10, you’d bet $60. I use the same rule of thumb for my 3-bets (re-raises), too.

Post Flop Bet Sizing

When you make a bet post flop your bets should (almost always) be in relation to the size of the pot. And the amount you choose to bet will depend on a number of factors including:

  • Your opponent
  • Your hand
  • The board texture
  • Your goal

To come back to my main point, only bet as much as you have to (when bluffing) and as much as you can (when betting for value). And these should blend (balance) as much as possible, so that your opponents cannot tell the difference. That way you don’t give away any information that can be used against you.

To give you an example:

On a drier flop (like A-T-3 rainbow) with 125 chips in the pot, a continuation bet of 75 chips is reasonable. If the flop is wet (has a lot of draws possible), then betting closer to 100 chips will work.

One thing you don’t want to do is over bet the pot. For example, if the pot has 500 chips in it, your bet should be less than 500 chips. I wouldn’t bet 550, 700 or shove all in (like many beginners do), regardless of the hand you have, or how vulnerable it may be. Betting close to the size of the pot is inducing enough mistakes from players on a draw as is, so only bet as much as you have to. There are exceptions, but these are advanced topics and not something I’d worry about right now.

Official Texas Hold'em Tournament Rules

Effective Stacks

One important concept to understand is effective stacks or effective stack sizes. You want to understand this concept because it will impact when and how much you bet.

To determine the effective stack size, just find the lowest stack size of the remaining players to your left. For example, if there are 5 players to your left and the shortest stack has 15 big blinds, that means effective stack sizes are 15 big blinds.

In this particular example, with effective stack sizes of 15 big blinds you might choose to fold your hand or push all in, as opposed to raising. However, if effective stack sizes are 50 big blinds, then you can resort to your default (betting) strategy. If effective stacks are 150 big blinds, then you’ll play a wider range of hands and will bet (and re-raise) more.

That’s the basic idea. It does get more complicated than this. But I wanted to give you the basics so that you can determine for yourself when it might make more sense to fold, raise or shove all in.

Have a Reason or Goal to Bet

If you’re ever questioning when you should bet, just remember that there are only 3 reasons for betting:

  • Value – You think/know you have the best hand and you want to earn as many chips as possible.
  • Dead Money – Money that is already in the pot, either from antes, blinds, players who folded or a combination of these things.
  • Bluff – You want the other player(s) to fold the better hand.

These are the only reasons for betting. Many players make the mistake of thinking that you should bet for information or to protect your hand. However, these reasons are byproducts of the reasons I outline above. If you’re betting to protect your hand, you’re usually betting for value. You’re getting value from hands that are drawing. If you’re betting for information, that’s usually a byproduct of all 3 reasons above. You’ll get your information based on what your opponent does.

The bottom line – if you’re thinking about betting, but you can’t decide if you should bet for value, dead money or to bluff, then you probably don’t have a good enough reason to bet and should check, call or fold instead.

Conclusion — End of Part 1 of Our Texas Holdem Guide

That’s it for the first part of our guide. You just learned enough to go play for your first game of Texas Holdem, not to mention disguise the fact that you’re a beginner. And if you are confused about anything I discussed here, just re-read the guide again. You’ll also find that any question you may have will be cleared up once you play a couple of hands.

Texas Hold'em Tournament Rules

In the next section of our guide I’m going to explain why you should pay attention at the table, whether you’re in the hand or not, as well as how to classify your opponents and how different types of opponents will impact your strategy. Following that we’re going to get into some math. I’m going to show you how to count poker outs, calculate card odds and pot odds so that you can correctly determine when you’re (profitably) drawing to a better hand.

Texas Hold'em Poker Rules For Beginners