Two hole cards. Five community cards. Four rounds of betting. Here's exactly how Texas Hold'em — the world's most popular poker game — actually works, from blinds to showdown, plus every hand ranking from Royal Flush to High Card.
Every Texas Hold'em hand is built from your best possible 5-card combination, using any mix of your 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards. Here's the full order — the higher up this list, the stronger the hand.
Every Texas Hold'em hand follows the same structure, whether it's a cash game or a tournament: forced bets to start the pot, two private cards, five shared cards revealed in stages, and a round of betting after each reveal.
Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the dealer's left post the small blind and big blind — forced bets that guarantee there's always something worth playing for. The big blind is usually double the small blind, and both rotate one seat to the left after every hand.
Every player is dealt two private hole cards, face-down, seen by no one else. A round of betting follows immediately — this is "pre-flop" — where each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold.
The flop deals 3 community cards face-up, shared by everyone, followed by a betting round. The turn adds a 4th community card, with another betting round. The river adds the 5th and final community card, followed by the last betting round.
On your turn, you can check (pass, if no one has bet yet), bet or raise (put chips in), call (match the current bet), or fold (give up the hand). Betting continues around the table until everyone remaining has matched the highest bet.
If two or more players are still in after the river's betting round, remaining hands are revealed. Each player builds their best possible 5-card hand from any combination of their 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards — see the full ranking order above. Highest hand takes the pot.
A Royal Flush — Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, all the same suit — is the best possible hand. It's simply the highest-ranked Straight Flush.
Yes. A Flush (five cards of the same suit) always beats a Straight (five cards in sequence, mixed suits). Full order, best to worst: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.
The small blind and big blind are forced bets posted by the two players to the dealer's left before any cards are dealt, so there's always something in the pot to play for. The big blind is usually double the small blind.
Pre-flop (right after hole cards are dealt), the Flop (first 3 community cards), the Turn (4th community card), and the River (5th and final community card) — with a full round of betting after each one.
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