About Free Printable Poker (Texas Hold'em) Rules
No. Your best five-card hand can use both hole cards, one of them or neither. Using all five community cards is called playing the board, and anyone else who also plays the board splits the pot with you.
By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026
Texas Hold'em is the most widely played form of poker: 2 to 10 players, a standard 52-card deck with no jokers, and a set of chips. Each player gets two private cards and shares five face-up community cards, and you win the pot by making the best five-card hand at showdown or by getting everyone else to fold. A home game runs about 30 to 90 minutes. The full printable rules sheet with the hand rankings chart and card diagrams is on this page.
How to play Texas Hold'em poker
- Set up: give every player an equal stack of chips and pick a starting dealer by high card. The dealer button moves one seat clockwise after every hand.
- Post the blinds: the player to the left of the button posts the small blind and the next player posts the big blind, usually double the small blind. The big blind is also the minimum bet.
- Deal the hole cards: the dealer gives each player two cards face down, one at a time, starting with the small blind. Look at them but keep them hidden.
- Pre-flop betting: starting with the player left of the big blind, each player folds, calls the big blind or raises. Betting goes round until everyone still in has put in the same amount.
- Flop, turn and river: the dealer burns one card, then deals three community cards (the flop). After a betting round, burn and deal a fourth card (the turn), bet again, then burn and deal the fifth (the river) for a final betting round. On these rounds, betting starts with the first active player left of the button.
- Your options: on your turn you may check (only if no bet is in front of you), bet, call, raise or fold.
- Showdown: if two or more players are left after the river, they reveal their cards. Each makes the best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards, and the best hand takes the pot. Identical hands split it.
- Winning: you also win the pot without showing your cards if everyone else folds. In a tournament, the last player with chips wins.
Poker hand rankings, best to worst
| Rank | Hand | Example |
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| 1 | Royal Flush | A K Q J 10, all the same suit |
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| 2 | Straight Flush | 9-8-7-6-5 of clubs |
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| 3 | Four of a Kind | 9-9-9-9-J |
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| 4 | Full House | 3-3-3-6-6 |
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| 5 | Flush | K-10-7-6-4 of clubs |
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| 6 | Straight | 7-6-5-4-3, mixed suits |
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| 7 | Three of a Kind | 8-8-8-K-4 |
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| 8 | Two Pair | J-J-4-4-9 |
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| 9 | One Pair | 10-10-K-7-3 |
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| 10 | High Card | K-J-8-7-4, mixed suits |
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Examples
Strategy tips
- Play fewer starting hands, especially from early seats. Pairs, two high cards like A-K or K-Q, and suited Aces are worth playing; most other hands are worth folding before the flop.
- Position matters. Acting after the button lets you see what everyone else does first, so you can play more hands late than early.
- Before you call a bet, count your outs: the cards left that would give you the best hand. Four cards to a flush on the flop leaves 9 outs.
- Raise with strong hands rather than just calling. It builds the pot and makes weaker hands pay to keep drawing.
- Watch the board, not just your own cards. If four cards of one suit are showing, a single card of that suit in any opponent's hand makes a flush.
- Use the kicker. A-K beats A-Q when both players pair the Ace, so a pair with a weak kicker is often second best.
Example: reading a showdown
The board is A of hearts, 10 of hearts, 7 of clubs, K of diamonds, 2 of spades. Player 1 holds Q-J and makes a straight, A-K-Q-J-10. Player 2 holds A-K for two pair, Aces and Kings. Player 3 holds 7-7 for three of a kind, 7-7-7. The straight ranks highest, so Player 1 wins the pot.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to use both hole cards in Texas Hold'em?
No. Your best five-card hand can use both hole cards, one of them or neither. Using all five community cards is called playing the board, and anyone else who also plays the board splits the pot with you.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. A flush (five cards of one suit) ranks above a straight (five cards in sequence of mixed suits). A full house beats both.
Can an Ace be low in a straight?
Yes. A-2-3-4-5, called the wheel, is the lowest straight, and A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest. The Ace can be high or low but never both, so K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight.
Who shows their cards first at showdown?
The last player to bet or raise on the river shows first. If everyone checked on the river, the first active player clockwise from the dealer button shows first, and players who are beaten may muck their cards without showing.
What happens when two players have the same hand?
The higher cards inside the hand win, then the next highest unpaired card (the kicker). If the five cards are identical in rank, the pot is split equally; suits do not break ties.
How do the blinds work heads-up?
With only 2 players, the player on the dealer button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop. The other player posts the big blind and acts first on every later betting round.
What happens when a player goes all-in?
They put in all the chips they have left and stay in the hand. Further bets between the other players go into a side pot, and the all-in player can only win the main pot they contributed to.
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