The smart Trick of Texas Holdem Rules - How to Play Texas Hold'em Poker That Nobody is Discussing IndiaIf a miscalled hand occurs in a multihanded pot, the m. As mentioned, if playing Texas Hold'em in No-Limit format any player can push all of their chips into the middle at any point in a hand. As most players tend to have an unequal amount of chips in their stacks, once a player goes all in it is considered the 'effective' stack for the hand.
- How Many Chips To Play Texas Holdem
- How To Play Poker With Chips And Dice
- Texas Holdem Starting Chip Count
- Texas Holdem Chips Worth
- Play Texas Holdem On Facebook
- How To Play Poker With Chips At Home
It’s a weekend and you and a friend or family member are wondering if you can play a game of poker with just the 2 of you. I have been playing for over 10 years and can give you a definitive answer.
Can you play poker with 2 players? Poker can be played with only two players. It is called heads-up. Here are the two player rules:
- The dealer is the small blind and the other player posts the big blind. Players take turns being the dealer.
- The first card is dealt
to the player in the big blind. - The Dealer goes first before the flop and the Big Blind goes first after the flop.
Let’s cover a few more common questions that players typically have about 2 player poker in greater detail.
What Are the 2 Player Poker Rules?
Now that you are set up to play, let’s cover how to play 2 player poker. Here are the basic rules that you will need to know in order to play your game.
You may want to keep this page open in your browser in case questions come up during play.
1. How do the blinds work in 2 player poker?
How the blinds work is probably the most confusing thing in heads-up poker. However, once you get the hang of it it’s not that difficult to remember since there are only a couple of differences between 6-max or full-ring rules.
Who Is the Big Blind Who Is the Small Blind in Heads-Up Poker?
This is the most common question I get about 2 player poker
How Do We Determine Who Gets the Button First at the Start of the Game?
The easiest and most fair way to determine who gets to be dealer first is for each player to draw a card from the deck. The high card gets to deal first.
2. How Are the Cards Dealt in 2 Player Poker?
Which Blind Gets Dealt to First Before the Flop?
The big blind gets the first card and the dealer gets the second card in heads-up play. The easy way to remember this is that the dealer never deals to his or her self first.
Can the Same Person Deal Every Hand?
It’s true that sometimes one person is better at dealing. In this case, it’s okay for the same person to
Just make sure that you move the dealer button each hand. It would be highly unfair if the same person had to play the big blind every single hand!
3. Who Goes First When Only Two Players Are Playing?
I remember walking up to observe the heads-up match between two friends in pub poker. I quickly realized that they were following the opposite order of play that they were supposed to.
I did not want to embarrass them so I kept quiet. It was apparent everyone else didn’t want to as well since none of the 10-15 observers said anything!
Who Goes First Before the Flop?
Pre-flop, the dealer always acts first in 2 player poker.
This rule is exactly the same as pre-flop however, it is easy to get wrong for inexperienced players. The easy way to remember it is that the big blind player acts last before the flop in 6 or 9-handed games, and it makes
Who Goes First After the Flop in Heads-Up?
This rule is also exactly the same for normal poker games. The dealer gets to always go last on the flop.
The biggest perk of playing on the dealer button is that you get to act last and have more information than your opponents. This is especially powerful in heads-up since the big blind can never act last.
What If the Dealer Open Folds in 2 Player Games?
When the Dealer decides to not play his or her hand before the flop, the small blind is relinquished to the player in the big blind. The dealer button then moves and the next hand begins.
Is it better to play Heads-Up, Cash Games or Tournaments?
Deciding what format to play in 2 player poker all comes down to personal preference. Each type of game has its perks.
Why Play Heads-up Cash Games?
There are a couple of reasons people might choose cash games over tournaments:
- Blinds Do Not Rise – Perhaps the biggest benefit of 2 person cash games is that you don’t have to worry about the blinds going up like they do in tournaments. You don’t need a special tournament clock, you can just choose your stake level and play indefinitely without having to adjust your style to the rising blinds.
- You Don’t Need Poker Chips – In tournaments, you really need to use poker chips that you can “color up” as the game goes on. That means to add higher value chips to compensate for the bigger stakes. Instead, you can use real coins or even paper money to play cash games.
- Cash Games Take More Skill – If you really want to practice and improve at poker, then the best way is through cash games. Once the blinds rise in tournaments, the game becomes more and more about who is the luckiest person.
Why Play Heads-up Tournaments?
Even though I am a cash game specialist, when I play heads-up I actually prefer tournaments. Here is why:
- There Are Logical End Points – While cash games drag on and on, a tournament always ends up with one person having all the chips. You can then decide whether to start anew or call it a night. So, if you want to play best of 3 or best of 5, you have a better idea of when the night will end and can plan for it. For this reason, it’s also a great format for hosting a home poker tournament with multiple players.
- Tournaments Tend to Be Much More Exciting – There’s nothing more fun in poker than getting to the shove-fold phase of a tournament or sit and go. Chips change hands rapidly and anyone can win at that point. Who doesn’t love a race for all the chips?
- The Games Are Usually More Fun for Beginners – Many people that get into poker are used to watching the World Poker Tour or the World Series of Poker. Therefore, tournaments are what they are familiar with and likely to understand better.
If you don’t have poker chips, there are likely plenty of poker chip substitutes lying around the house or office.
A Fun Alternative Format: Play Short-Stacked Cash Games
Another idea is to mix both a tournament and cash game feel by playing short stacked cash games
The way it works is that each player starts with 20, 30, or 40 big blinds and then play cash games. The blinds do not rise, but there is still plenty of heavy pre-flop action with lots of reraise shoving
Post-flop also plays a lot easier as a short stack. Top pair is an easy hand to get all-in with when short whereas it can be difficult to play when deed-stacked.
What Is the Best 2 Player Poker Strategy?
The biggest adjustment when playing heads-up poker is that marginal hands go way up in value. 3rd pair or even high card Ace can often win at showdown.
So, loosen up and don’t let your opponent run you over if he or she bets a lot! Conversely, you should bet often when you have any piece of the board or a credible bluff. There is a good chance your opponent might fold a better hand or pay you off with a worse hand.
What 2 Player Games Can We Play Besides Texas Hold’Em?
If you are tired of heads-up No-Limit Hold’em and want to mix in another game occasionally, there are several good options:
- Pot Limit Omaha: In PLO, the heads-up rules are exactly the same as Hold’em except that both players get four hold cards. You also have to use both cards at showdown. Having one Diamond in your hand does not make a flush on a four Diamond board in PLO.
- 5-Card Draw: This is the traditional “old-fashioned” game that most people used to learn poker before No-Limit Hold-em became the dominant game. Both players have a designated ante that they pay before the cards are dealt. Then, you simply deal out 5 cards to each heads-up player. Instead of having a flop, turn, and
river there is instead two betting rounds. Once when you get your initial cards and then after adiscard round. You may discard up to 3 cards (4 if you have an Ace) and get those cards replaced by the dealer. There is then another betting round and then the cards are shown and a dealer determined. You can, of course, fold any time during the hand and only lose the money you have invested up to that point. - 7-Card Stud: This game is similar to draw except that you start with two cards down and one card up. There is then a betting round.
Afterward , another card is turned up one by one with a betting round happening in between. Once both heads-up players each have 7 cards, the dealing is complete and showdown can be reached.
Accessories to Make Matches Even Better
If you want to make your games more classy, then I recommend picking up quality accessories. I wrote recommendation articles for each category, just click the links to learn more:
- Playing Cards– My personal favorite is Copag, what’s yours?
- Poker Chips– I prefer a higher-end set, but there are plenty of good budget poker chip sets available as well.
- Poker Table– I like roll up poker table mats for ease of storage, but that’s just me.
Final Thoughts
Playing heads-up only happens in tournaments if you are the last two players left in the field. However, 2 player poker is something you can do for fun either as a cash game or tournament at home.
If you want to read more about heads-up poker, I wrote a detailed article on the heads-up poker rules for Texas Hold’em. Thanks for stopping by!
Related Questions
Do you have to use both cards in Hold’em? In order to make your best 5-card hand in Hold’em, you can either use both cards or just one.
Is Ace high or low in poker? In Poker, an Ace can usually either be the highest card or the lowest. It can make the highest straight of TJQKA and the lowest straight, often called the wheel, of A2345.
Do you have to match the big blind is poker? In order to qualify to see the flop, you must at least match the amount of the blind.
Introduced to the poker world at large in the late 1960s by Doyle Brunson and the famed Texas road gamblers, Texas Hold'em has literally re-shaped poker as we knew it and helped create a poker boom still reverberating around the globe today.
Why has Texas Holdem become the de facto poker game of choice for millions of poker players? And why is it still the benchmark for poker glory at the World Series of Poker?
That's easy. It's incredibly fun. And packed with multi-level strategy that draws on equal parts brains, nerves and complex psychology. It's also, importantly, not very hard to learn!
As the old saying goes, 'Texas Hold'em: it takes 2 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.' We can help you with the 'master' part over in our poker strategy section; here we'll stick to the 2-minute part and introduce you to the official Texas Hold'em rules below.
How to Play Texas Hold'em
Texas Holdem is a community card game in which each player at the table is dealt two 'hole' cards face down. Each player then uses those two hole cards in combination with five communal board cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand.
You can win a Texas Hold'em hand by:
How Many Chips To Play Texas Holdem
- Having everyone else fold before the hand is over
- Having the best 5-card poker hand at showdown
And that's essentially it. Texas Hold'em can be played in either cash game or tournament format (with dozens of variations) and with stakes from as small as 1c/2c all the way up to $500/$1,000 and above.
How To Play Poker With Chips And Dice
Tournaments offers buy ins from entirely free up to $1 million (eg. The Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker). Most poker tournaments online run with buy-ins of $1-30 with 10-15% of the tournament field making the money and getting paid a return on their buy-in.
Texas Hold'em rules can be broken up into a few essential categories:
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Button & the Blinds
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Deal
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The First Betting Round
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Flop, Turn & River
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Showdown
- Texas Hold'em Rules - Tournaments
Texas Holdem Rules - The Button & the Blinds
A Texas Hold'em cash game is played at a single poker table with anywhere from 2-10 players. In a poker home game, the role of dealer usually passes from player to player with each hand, rotating to the left.
If the game is played online or in a live casino, a designated dealer will deal all of the cards for every round.
Where the deal starts is important, however, as the position of the players in relation to the dealer determines when they act in the hand. The player with the dealer button is the player who gets to act last in every hand. That gives them very important information as to the other players' holdings.
While the dealer spot is fixed in a live game, a dealer 'button' is used to represent the dealer spot and is passed to the left with every hand.
The blinds, meanwhile, are two 'forced' bets that are put into the pot before every hand. These are usually in simple increments like 1c/2c or $1/$2. The 'small blind' is the player immediately to the left of the dealer and puts in the smaller bet before each hand starts.
The 'big blind' is the player to the left of the dealer and puts in the bigger bet before each hand starts. This ensures each pot has some money in it for every hand.
As the dealer button moves on to the next player after every hand, so too do the blinds. That means once every orbit around the table each player will at least put in one small blind and one big blind into play.
In some Texas Holdem games (and in the later rounds of tournament play) an 'ante' is put in place to further bump up the value of the pot before the hand begins. Each player pays the ante into the pot before then hand is dealt.
Texas Holdem Rules - The Deal
Texas Holdem Starting Chip Count
Once all players have been properly seated at the table and the blinds and/or antes have been paid into the pot, the deal begins. Each player will receive one card face down, in sequences starting with the player to the left of the dealer, then followed up by a second card in sequence to each player.
These are the player's 'hole' cards. A player can use both hole cards, one hole cards or none of their hole cards when comprising their final 5-card poker hand.
The hole cards can be used in any combination with the 5 communal cards on the board to make up the highest ranked poker hand possible. If the highest hand possible is made up of all 5 cards on the communal board, it is called 'playing the board.'
Texas Holdem Rules - The First Betting Round
Texas Holdem is played in three different betting formats:
- No-Limit
- Fixed-Limit
- Pot-Limit
In short, No-Limit means a player can bet the entire amount of their chips at any time. In Fixed Limit they may only bet a specified maximum amount in relation to the value of the blinds. In pot-limit the maximum bet is the current size of the pot.
For more detail on the different rules for Texas Holdem betting structures, see out articles here:
Texas Holdem games you've seen on TV, and most Texas Holde'm games in general these days, as played as No-Limit games. That means a player can go 'all in' at any point in the hand. This makes for very exciting TV and the spectacular outbursts you've likely seen during the World Series of Poker on ESPN.
Once the betting structure has been determined for each game, Texas Holdem is played with a small and a big blind -- two forced bets that are posted before the cards are dealt.
Once the blinds are posted each player is dealt two cards face down. When each player has their hole cards, it's time for the first betting round.
Starting with the player to the left of the big blind (called 'Under the Gun'), players in sequence either fold, 'call' the amount of the big blind (ie match the size of the big blind) or bet/raise.
In order to continue in a hand each player has to match the amount of the maximum bet (or equivalent). For example if the blinds are $1/$2 and someone raises the bet in their turn to $10, each player, including any players who have already acted in the hand, can now match that $10 in total or raise the bet even further.
The minimum bet in a Texas Hold'em game is equal to either twice the amount of the big blind (if no one has yet to raise) or twice the amount of the previous bet or raise.
Texas Holdem Rules - The Flop, Turn & River
When all the remaining players have contributed an equal amount to the pot, the next rounds of cards - in this case called 'the flop' is dealt.The dealer will 'burn' one card - that is deal it face down out of play, and then deal the next three cards off the top of the deck face up in the center of the table.
These are 'community cards, which mean that all players can use them to make up their best possible five-card poker hand. If you need a reminder of how poker hands are ranked in Texas Hold'em, you'll fine the official hand rankings below under The Showdown header
Once the flop has been dealt a second round of betting occurs in the same manner as the previous round, except this time it starts with the player directly to the left of the dealer (if he or she is still in the hand).
That means if the big blind is still in the hand he or she will bet first after the flop, followed by the small blind (if still in) and then the player who bet first in the first round (if still in) and so on.
This is obviously quite important as it changes which player has the final say in the hand. For this round and each subsequent betting round, the player on the button (or player closest to the button still in the hand) will act last.
Once all bets have again been equalized a fourth communal card, known as 'the turn' is dealt. The dealer burns the first card off the top of the dec again and deals the next card onto the table as the turn card.
After the turn is dealt another round of betting follows in the same manner as the flop round with the player still in the hand closest to the left of the dealer beginning the action. The player on the button again will act last.
After all bets have been matched again a fifth and final card, called 'the river' is dealt face up on the board. The card on top of the deck is again dealt face down out of play (burned) before the next card from the top is placed on the table.
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Once the river is dealt a fifth betting round begins in the same format as the two rounds before it.
An Important Note on All Ins
As mentioned, if playing Texas Hold'em in No-Limit format any player can push all of their chips into the middle at any point in a hand. As most players tend to have an unequal amount of chips in their stacks, once a player goes all in it is considered the 'effective' stack for the hand.
That means the maximum bet that can be played vs. that player is the amount of the total stack all in. so for example if a player has $200 in chips and goes all in, if another player with a bigger stack also declares All In later they will only be risking $200 vs. that player. Other players with larger stacks can also then call the All In and a side pot for the amount over $200 between the larger stacks will be created.
Texas Holdem Rules - The Showdown
Once the final betting round takes place. If more than one player is still in the hand after the betting is finished there is a 'showdown.' The player that made the last bet or raise reveals his/her cards first; if all players check the first player after the dealer shows the cards first.
The remaining players then reveal their hands clockwise. Players that don't want to (or can't) compete for the pot can choose to fold (muck) their hands unseen.
Again, a player can choose to use none, one or both of their hole cards together with the board cards to make their best hand. He/she can also 'play the board' - use all the five community cards to create a five-card hand.
The pot is won by the player with the best 5-card poker hand. If two or more players have the same hand, the pot is split between them. Here are the official poker hand rankings for Texas Hold'em:
- Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10 all of same suit)
- Straight Flush. (5 cards in sequence all in same suit - eg 7h-8h-9h-Th-Jh)
- Four of a Kind. (All four cards of same rank)
- Full House. (3 cards of one rank alongside 2 cards of another - eg. 6h-6s-6d-8d-8c)
- Flush (All 5 cards or one suit, any rank)
- Straight (A sequence of 5 cards of rank, any suit - eg, 2h-3d-4c-5s-6c)
- Three of a kind (3 cards or any one rank, two unmatched cards)
- Two pair (Two different pairs plus one unmatched card)
- One pair (One pair of equal rank, 3 unmatched cards)
- High Card (all unmatched cards ranked by the highest single card)
Some common confusion about Texas Hold'em hand rankings:
Flush vs Flush -- The highest single card of the flush determines its overall ranking. Meaning any flush with an Ace in it is the higher flush. Even if the other flush has 'more' high-value cards in it, the single highest card of the flush determines the winner. Eg. A-6-4-3-2 beats K-Q-J-8-5
Two Pair vs Two Pair -- The highest single pair determines the winner, not the cumulative value of the two pairs together. Eg. AA-44 beats KK-QQ.
Full House vs. Full House -- The highest three-of-a-kind determines the higher full house. Eg. K-K-K-9-9 beats Q-Q-Q-J-J.
Also:
- A Flush always beats a Straight
- 3-of-a-Kind always beats Two Pair
- Suits do not determine ranks in Texas Holdem
- Straights do not 'wrap around' - meaning J-Q-K-A-2 is NOT a straight but A-2-3-4-5 is (ace can be low end of straight)
Texas Hold'em Rules - Tournaments
If you've only ever played Texas Hold'em cash games but you'd like to give Texas Hold'em tournaments a try, don't be intimidated. The Texas Holdem rules themselves don't change drastically.
But there are some alteration to play that definitely change your optimal strategy approach. Here we'll give you just a quick overview of some of the basic differences between Texas Hold'em cash games and tournaments.
MTTs vs. Sit & Gos
Texas Hold'em tournaments can come in dozens of formats but the two basic ones are:
- MTT - Multi-Table Tournaments
- Sit & Go - Single table tournaments (usually) that begin when all players are seated
A multi-table tournament, as you might expect, has multiple tables of players. All players pay a buy-in plus fees that secures entry to the tournament and a pre-determined starting stack of chips.
The final player left with chips at the end is the winner. Typically 10-15% of the prize pool is set aside to reward the top finishers on a sliding scale with the winner (and the other top 3-5 players getting the biggest share).
A Sit & Go (SnG) is usually a single-table tournament with anywhere from 3-10 players. Each player pays the same buy-in to play and is given an equal starting stack. The last player left usually wins all the money (or the Top 3 players are paid).
SnGs play at very low $ levels online and start up virtually every few minutes. SnGs can also run in Jackpot format (the prize pool is randomly multiplied before the event begins) or Turbo formats (extra fast blinds).
Beware the Rising Blinds
Another major difference between cash games and tournaments are the rising blinds. In a cash game the blinds for the table are static and remain set throughout play. There is a minimum and maximum buy in for the table and if you lose your stack you can buy in to the table again for any amount between those two figures.
In a poker tournament, the blinds will increase on set intervals to force the action. A standard level time for a poker tournament is around 30-45 minutes. The blind structure for the tournament is posted beforehand so you'll know exactly when the blinds will increase and by how much. This ensures the action and means you can't just sit and wait for big hands to play or you will 'blind out' of the tournament.
Dozens of Texas Hold'em Tournament Formats
While the game begin played at the table is always Texas Hold'em (and follows its basic rules), there are literally dozens of different types of Texas Holdem tournaments you can play from Re-Buy and Re-Entry tournaments to Freezeouts, Bounty, Heads-up, etc so be sure to check which type you're playing before you sign up.
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The tournament director will provide a list of all the unique rules to the tournament beforehand for all players to see.
Play Texas Holdem Free Online
How To Play Poker With Chips At Home
While a poker home game is a great way to be introduced to the rules of Texas Hold'em, the best way to improve your Texas Hold'em skills is to play in free Texas Holdem games online.
Virtually every poker site offers free-to-play, 'play money' poker games where you can try out the games and get used to the software before investing any money yourself. You can even win real money paying in free Texas Hold'em games to give your beginner bankroll a boost.
To see our list of the poker sites with the best free Texas Hold'em cash game and tournament options, see our page below.
Related Poker Games Rules
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