How to Play Poker Texas Hold'em

How to Play HDPoker

HDPoker is a free-to-play poker game with high-quality graphics, and it’s quickly gaining popularity. When you first enter the game, you can choose to view available tables in the Lobby or be automatically seated at a game by clicking Play Now.

Once you’ve done that, buy into a game using chips we’ve given you for free (when you run out you can buy more or wait to claim more for free). Then it’s time to play Texas Hold’em.

What is Texas Hold'em?

Texas Hold'em is the world's most popular variant of poker, and it is played with anywhere between 2 and 10 players. The objective of the game is to make the best five-card poker hand using any combination of the seven cards that are available to the player by the end of each hand.

The order of actions during a hand depends on the location of the "dealer button," which rotates clockwise one player at a time each time that a hand is completed.

Pre-flop

Players each receive two "hole cards," dealt clockwise starting to the left of the dealer button. Each player's hole cards are solely his own, and no other players can see them.

The player to the immediate left of the dealer button must post the Small Blind, typically half of the minimum bet, and the player to his left must post the Big Blind, the minimum bet. The Small Blind and Big Blind are forced bets that are made at the start of each hand before cards are dealt.

Action begins to the left of the player in the Big Blind, who can choose to fold, call the amount of the Big Blind, or raise. Each subsequent player's options depends on the actions that have taken place before it became his turn. At all times players must put at least the lesser between their total chip stack and the amount that the most recent better put into the pot in order to continue in the hand (otherwise they must fold). To raise, players must raise at least the size of the most recent bet during a betting round. Once all players have called the most recent bet or folded, the round is complete.

All games on HD Poker are played with table stakes; players can only bet the amount they have at the table.

Post-flop

Once the preflop betting round has completed, three "streets" are played:

1) Three community cards are dealt face-up; this is called "the flop." A round of betting takes place.

2) An additional community card, "the turn," is dealt face up, followed by another round of betting.

3) A final community card, "the river," is dealt face up, followed by the final round of betting.

Each round of betting begins to the left of the dealer button and rotates around the table until all players have called the most recent bet or folded. If all players with cards check, the next round is dealt with no additional chips entering the pot. If all players check on the final round, the hand reaches showdown (see below).

Players may sometimes act multiple times in a single round of betting before an additional street is dealt, depending on the actions that take place.

Showdown

After all action in a hand has concluded, all players who still have cards will compare their hands, and the best hand receives the pot. This stage of the hand is called the "showdown." A player's hand is determined by taking the 5-card combination between the player's 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards that creates the best poker hand.

If two or more players hold hands of equal value, and that those hands are the best between all players who reached showdown, the pot is evenly divided between those players.

Once the pot has been awarded, the button moves one seat to the left and a new hand is dealt.