Texas Hold'em poker rules
How to play Texas Hold'em poker: the blinds, the betting rounds, the flop, the turn and the river, which hand beats which, and how a tournament works. On Naipera you play with chips that are worth nothing.
Texas Hold'em poker in tournament format, for 2 to 6 players. You play with chips that are worth nothing: they can't be bought, exchanged or carried over from one game to the next. If you've never played before, start with “Learn to play”.
How a hand works
- Each player gets two cards that only they can see.
- The two players to the left of the button (the “D” chip) post the blinds: the small blind and the big blind. That way there's always something at stake.
- First betting round, starting with the player to the left of the big blind.
- Three community cards are shown (the flop) and there's another round; then a fourth (the turn) and another round; and a fifth (the river) and the last round.
- If two or more players remain, they show their cards. Each makes the best five-card from their two cards and the five community cards. The best hand takes the pot.
If everyone but one folds, that player wins the pot without showing their cards.
What you can do on your turn
- Check: if nobody has bet in this round, you put in nothing and stay in.
- Bet: you're the first to put chips in during the round (at least the big blind).
- Call: you put in the same as the highest bet.
- Raise: you put in more. The raise must be at least as big as the previous raise.
- Fold: you give up the hand and lose what you'd already put in.
- All-in: you put in all your chips. If the others put in more, a side pot that you can't win.
Hands, from best to worst
The ace counts as the highest card and also as 1 in the lowest straight (A-2-3-4-5). Suits have no ranking. Between two hands of the same kind, the one with higher cards wins; if they're identical, the pot is split.
The tournament
- Everyone starts with 1,000 chips. The blinds start at 10 and 20 and go up every 8 hands, so that the game comes to an end.
- Whoever runs out of chips is knocked out. The last player with chips wins; the rest are ranked in order of elimination.
- The button moves to the next player each hand. With two players, the player on the button posts the small blind and speaks first before the flop.
Sources
Game and betting rules follow the Poker TDA tournament rules, simplified: the button always moves on to the next player (no “dead button”), and to call you have to put in the full big blind.
Frequently asked questions
Which wins, a flush or a straight?
A flush (five cards of the same suit) beats a straight (five in sequence). Above the flush are the full house, four of a kind and the straight flush.
Is the ace the highest card or the lowest?
Both: it's the highest and also counts as 1 in the A-2-3-4-5 straight, which is the lowest straight.
What happens if I go all-in and someone else has more chips?
You can only win what you covered: whatever the others put in beyond that forms a side pot that they play for among themselves.
Is it played for money?
No. On Naipera the chips are worth nothing: they can't be bought, exchanged or carried over from one game to the next. Every tournament starts with 1,000 chips for everyone.