All In Texas Holdem Rules
Texas Holdem (aka Texas Hold 'Em) is the poker game played most often at casinos and home poker games. Becoming a great Holdem player generally takes years of practice and studying, but learning how to play doesn’t take long at all. In this article, I’ll walk you through the Texas Holdem rules. Texas Hold’em Rules Texas Hold’em is played using a standard 52 card deck, and between two to ten players. Big tournaments may include many hundreds of players but during any one hand, the player is only competing against others on his or her table. For tournaments, the ruling is as described by Radu Murzea In Cashgames, there is usually no showdown until the river is dealt. The player who has gone all in has to show his cards first. The player who called can then still muck his cards if he cannot beat his opponents cards. Basic Rules Key Takeaways: A game of Texas hold'em feature several betting rounds; Players get two private and up to five community cards; Unless all players abandon the game before the showdown.
The Basic Rules of Poker (Texas Hold’em) By Tim Ryerson. Tim is from London, England and has been playing poker since the late 1990’s. He is the ‘Editor-in.
Texas Hold’em is arguably the most famous of all poker games. If you are new to the game of poker, Texas Hold’em Poker is a great place to start. Hold ’em consists of two cards (“hole cards”) being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer — a series of three (“the flop”) then an additional single card (“the turn”) and another additional card (“the river”) – with players having the option to check, bet, raise or fold after each deal; i.e., betting may occur prior to the flop, “on the flop”, “on the turn”, and “on the river”.
Texas Hold’em Rules:
Texas Hold’em Poker is a community card game that can be played anywhere from 2-10 players.
- One player acts as dealer. This position is called the button and it rotates clockwise after every hand.
- The two players to the left of the dealer are called the small blind and the big blind, respectively.
- These two positions require forced bets of a pre-determined amount and are the only players to put money in the pot before the cards are dealt (if no ante in place).
- Every player then receives two cards face down. These are called “hole” cards.
- Once all hole cards have been dealt, the first betting round begins with the player sitting immediately to the left of the big blind. This player can fold, call (match the amount of the big blind) or raise.
- Betting then continues clockwise, with each player having the option to fold, call the amount of the highest bet before them, bet or raise.
- When the first betting round is completed, three community cards are flipped face up on the table. This is called the flop.
- The betting resumes, clockwise, with each player having the option to check (if no bet is in front of them), bet (or raise if a bet is before them), call or fold.
- When the second round of betting is finished, a fourth community card is flipped face up on the table. This is called the turn.
- The third round of betting commences with the first remaining player sitting to the left of the button.
- When the third round of betting is over, a fifth community card is flipped face up on the table. This is called the river.
- The fourth round of betting starts with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button. The betting continues to move clockwise.
The Details
Now here are some more detailed looks at aspects of Texas Hold’em.
A standard hold ’em game showing the position of the blinds relative to the dealer button.
Hold ’em is normally played using small and big blinds – forced bets by two players. Antes (forced contributions by all players) may be used in addition to blinds, particularly in later stages of tournaments. A dealer “button” is used to represent the player in the dealer position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the position of the dealer and blinds. The small blind is posted by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player to the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses. After one round of betting is done, the next betting round will start by the person after the big blind and small blind.
When only two players remain, special ‘head-to-head’ or ‘heads up’ rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind. The dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last and continues to do so for the remainder of the hand.
Play of the Hold’em hand
Each player is dealt two private cards in hold ’em, which are dealt first. Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down, with the player in the small blind receiving the first card and the player in the button seat receiving the last card dealt. (As in most poker games, the deck is a standard 52-card deck containing no jokers.) These cards are the players’ hole or pocket cards. These are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown.
The poker hand begins with a “pre-flop” betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. A round of betting continues until every player has folded, put in all of their chips, or matched the amount put in by all other active players. Note that the blinds in the pre-flop betting round are counted toward the amount that the blind player must contribute. If all players call around to the player in the big blind position, that player may either check or raise.
After the pre-flop betting round, assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a flop, three face-up community cards. The flop is followed by a second betting round. All betting rounds begin with the player to the button’s left and continue clockwise. After the flop betting round ends, a single community card (called the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final single community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.
In all casinos, the dealer will “burn” a card before the flop, turn, and river. The burn occurs so players who are betting cannot see the back of the next community card to come. This is done for historical/traditional reasons, to avoid any possibility of a player knowing in advance the next card to be dealt.
The Showdown
If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the best poker hand they can make from the seven cards comprising his two hole cards and the five community cards. A player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community cards form the player’s best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board and can only hope to split the pot, because each other player can also use the same five cards to construct the same hand.
If the best hand is shared by more than one player, then the pot is split equally among them, with any extra chips going to the first players after the button in clockwise order. It is common for players to have closely valued, but not identically ranked hands. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand; if the hand involves fewer than five cards, (such as two-pair or three-of-a-kind), then “kickers” (the highest other card) are used to settle ties. Note that the card’s numerical rank is of sole importance; suit values are irrelevant in Hold’em. The last player to bet is the first player to show his hand.
Now that you know how to play Texas Hold’em poker, you are ready to hit the tables! Sign up today to get started and win real money!
Below find all the rules for all-in situations in poker, how to handle exposed cards in cash games and tournaments plus try our free side pot calculator to help sort everything out.Poker Side Pot Calculator - Free Poker Tool
This tool lets you check who wins what when several players are all in. Your home game or private tourney won't have any more fist fights now. Enjoy!
Type in the stacks of the participating players and click on calculate. Click 'instructions' for, um, more instructions.
Rules for All-In Situations in Poker
The 'all in' rules we abide by in poker today were invented to prevent über-rich mobsters from running over small, honest guys at the poker table.
Before the all-in rule was invented if you had $500 at the table and $10,000 in the bank, if an opponent bet $20,000 into the pot you could not call him -- even if you ran across the street and withdrew all your money from the bank. Even if you had the absolute nuts!
To avoid people betting their cars and farms and wives (or husbands), some humanist genius introduced a rule called 'table stakes.'
It states that in a poker hand you can only bet whatever money and chips you had on the table when the hand started. You cannot reach for your wallet and get more money. You cannot go to the bank and mortgage your condo.
To handle the case where one player bets all his money and the opponent has less money at the table, the all-in rules were introduced. We'll walk you through them.
Betting in All-In Situations
Typically, if a player goes all-in for less than half the amount of a full raise, his bet is considered to have no effect on the betting options. That is to say, if a player bets $100, another player goes all-in for $125 and a third player calls, the original player could not now re-raise as this would be in effect raising himself.
The third player, on the other hand, could still raise instead of call as he has not yet had the option to raise.
Calling an All In is Always Allowed!
No matter how little you have in your stack you can always call with the rest of your chips. When you call with all your remaining chips, you call 'all in.'
All-In Example with 2 Players:
There's $200 in the pot. You have $50 left and your opponent bets $200. If you want to call, you call all in by placing your last $50 in the pot.
In this case the opponent first gets $150 back - the amount you couldn't match. Then there is a showdown and the player who shows down the best hand picks up $300 - the $200 originally in the pot plus $50 from each of you.
So you can always call -- but you can only win as much from your opponent as your stack dictates.
How to Calculate Poker Side Pots
All-in rules for two players are pretty straightforward, as we saw above. When three or more players are involved, things can get pretty messy with one main pot and several side pots -- especially if you're in a home game and have to balance a beer jug while doing the math.
RULE: The ruling principle is that each player matches as much of the opponents' bets as she has left in her stack.
METHOD: This is how you do it. First, the smallest stack matches all opponents' bets. These chips are put in the 'main pot.'
Then the second smallest stack matches the remaining opponents' bets with whatever is left in his stack and creates a side pot. And so on.
Side Pot Example
There are three players with stacks as follows:
- Player A: $10
- Player B: $50
- Player C: $200
All players move all in. Let's start with the smallest stack and create the main pot. Player A has $10 and matches $10 each of the other player's bets. A main pot of $30 is created. This is the money that Player A can win.
The remaining chips of Player B are then matched to the bet of Player C. Player B has $40 left so we take $40 from Player C and make a side pot of $80.
When all matching is done Player C still has $150 left in his bet. This money is returned to Player C immediately. Then the remaining cards are dealt and the showdown is performed. The following pots are contested:
- Main pot: $30, contested by Players A, B and C
- Side pot: $80, contested by Players B and C
Tip: Go ahead and check this out in the side pot calculator above!
Now if Player A has the best hand (s)he wins the $30 main pot. Then Players B and C compare their hands to see who wins the $80 side pot. If Player B or C has the best hand this player wins both the main pot and the side pot.
All In Rules when a Player's Stack is Less Than the Small Blind
If a player's stack is smaller than the amount of the small blind that player is automatically all-in in for the next hand they play, regardless of their position.
If the stack is bigger than the small blind but smaller than the big blind the player is all-in in any position other than the small blind (and can only survive if they fold their option).
The all-in player can then only win the amount of their stack and that same amount from any callers or blinds. If the player has less than the big blind they can only win chips equal to their stack, not the whole big blind.
Rebuying After an All In
In a rebuy tournament, if you go all-in and lose all your chips you can buy more chips if you are still within the prescribed rebuy period. If you do this you must do so immediately. You cannot leave the table and come back!
If you do not have the money on hand to rebuy you're out of luck unless you can borrow from someone else at the table, buy the chips, then go get money to repay him or her.
Rules for Exposed Cards in Poker
In most card rooms exposing cards to reduce or encourage action, especially in a tournament, is not allowed. Most card rooms and tournament directors agree that unrestricted showing of cards is unacceptable and that if a player exposes his cards to one person, he must expose them to everybody.
After that though, things get a bit hazy.
The 'Show One, Show All' Rule
A common refrain among poker players who have seen someone show his hand to another player (who presumably has folded) is 'show one, show all.'
This clearly means that since the player has given information to one opponent, all opponents are entitled to the same information.
However, in recent years, this rule has been interpreted to mean 'show one, show both,' meaning if a player exposes one of his cards after the hand is over, the players are entitled to see the other card. In some card rooms the dealer is then required to turn over the other card.
Response to the 'Show One, Show Both' Rule
This rule has been met with nearly universal disdain from card players. Poker professional Daniel Negreanu is particularly outspoken about his opposition to this rule.
The rule discourages players from showing a single card to confuse their opponents and most agree that psychology and deception is very much a part of poker. Still, this may be the rule in the poker room you play in so you should find out before trying to expose one card.
Exposing a Card to Induce or Diminish Action
Another popular poker rule in card rooms is that you cannot show an opponent a card in order to induce a call or a fold. This rule is adhered to most commonly in tournaments since the actions of one player affect everyone at the table.
In the NBC Heads Up Poker Championship, though, players were permitted to expose a single card -- both because it made good television and because no one but the two players involved in the hand would be affected by the action.
Exposing Cards During All-In Situations
Providing there is not more than one player who still has more chips in his stack involved in the pot, there is no penalty for exposing cards once a player is all-in and called.
In tournaments, in fact, it is mandatory. However exposing a card while a player is considering whether to call an all-in usually merits a penalty.
Exposed Cards When Dealing
If you're dealing at home, if the first or second card you deal is exposed the hand is a misdeal. Any cards that have been dealt are collected and the deal starts over.
If any card after the 1st or 2nd is exposed then the deal continues. Once all cards have been distributed as normal the dealer takes the top card of the deck and gives it to the player who received the exposed card. The exposed card is then turned face up and shown to everyone at the table.
It's then put on the top of the deck and the dealer will use it as the first burn card when dealing the flop. If more than one card is exposed during the deal of the hand the whole hand is a misdeal and reshuffled to be dealt again.
Exposed Cards in the Shoe
If an exposed card (ie a face-up card) is in the deck while the dealer is dealing, the exposed card is simply shown to every player and taken out of play for that hand. The deal resumes as normal.
Poker Rules FAQs
Question: Once you've shown your cards, your hand is dead and you're considered folded out of the hand, correct?
Answer: This is a debated question and the rules vary depending on if you play tournaments or cash games. In cash games the general rule is that the hand is still alive even if the hole cards are exposed in the middle of a hand.
One of the most cited set of poker rules available is 'Robert's Rules of Poker' created by poker expert Bob Ciaffone. Rule 12 in the General Poker Rules chapter states that 'A card that is flashed by a player will play.' Similar rules are found in other poker rules collections.
But tournaments are a different story. Here the general rule seem to be that exposed cards are considered dead. It's important to keep in mind that there are no universal poker rules per se and rulings can vary between card rooms and tournaments.
Always check the local rules before sitting down at the table.
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Question: Do you need two decks of cards when the number of players is 7 or over?
Answer: No. In poker you use one deck of cards, end of story. After all, what would you do if a player flipped over five of a kind on the river? If the game you're playing is 7 Card Stud and you run out of cards, you deal the last card open for everyone to use.
Read more:
On the other hand, if you're playing Texas Holdem you could invite 20 players without running out of cards. This is probably one reason Holdem was invented in the first place - the railroad builders wanted all the guys to be part of the game.
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Question: If there's a flush on the board can an off-suit card in the pocket serve as a kicker?
Answer: No. According to the poker rules, players can only use five cards to build their poker hand. Since a flush is made up of five cards, there's no room for any off-suit cards to influence it.
On the contrary, if there's a flush on the board, a card of the same suit in a players hand can give him or her a higher flush.
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Question: Can you cash out some of your chips from the table and keep playing with the rest?
Answer: No. If you're playing in a cash game you're playing with all of your chips on the table. It's considered very poor etiquette to try and take any chips off the table ('go south') and it won't be allowed in any poker room.
Home games you can decide for yourselves but again it's considered poor form.
If you do want to cash out some of your chips but still get back in the game you have to cash out all of your chips and leave the table for an extended amount of time before returning.
This is called 'recycling' and while it's generally not encouraged it's not as bad. The wait time differs from poker room to poker room but expect to have to sit out an hour at least.
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Question: Can you buy more chops off another player at the table?
Answer: Another bad idea. If you buy your chips off another player you cut down on the overall amount of chips at the table. The same amount of chips the first player had is now divided into two players.
Chips should only be bought from the cashier or the dealer. If you're player at home it's also a good idea to designate one player as the sole recipient of cash and distributor of chips.
All In Texas Holdem Rules Poker
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Question: If you put one chip larger than the size of the pot in, is it a raise or a call?
Answer: Very common question. If you put one over-value chip into the pot without saying anything (at least in a standard casino poker room), it is always a call.
All In Texas Holdem Rules Against
In a home game you can always decide if you want to ask the player if it's a raise but elsewhere if there is no verbal declaration of a raise it is considered a call and the difference between the call size and the chip value is returned to the player.
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