How to play
Texas Hold’em is the poker game you see on TV. Here you sit at a cash table with one to five computer opponents and play No-Limit Hold’em: you can bet any amount up to everything in front of you. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips, the blinds are 5 and 10, and a fresh 52-card deck is shuffled for every hand.
- Blinds. The dealer button (the white D) moves one seat each hand. The player to its left posts the small blind (5), the next player the big blind (10). With only two players, the button posts the small blind.
- Hole cards. Everyone gets two cards face down. You see yours; you never see an opponent’s until the showdown.
- Betting rounds. The first round starts with the player left of the big blind. On your turn you can:
- Fold: give up the hand and any chips you’ve put in.
- Check: pass, when nobody has bet in this round.
- Call: match the current bet.
- Bet / Raise: put in more. Use the slider or the ½ pot, Pot and All-in buttons, then press the Bet / Raise button.
- Community cards. Three cards are dealt face up in the middle (the flop), then a fourth (the turn), then a fifth (the river), with a betting round after each. From the flop on, the first player left of the button speaks first.
- Showdown. If two or more players are still in after the river, every remaining hand is turned face up. Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two cards plus the five on the table, and the best hand wins the pot. If everyone else folds, the last player wins without showing.
Raising rules. A raise must be at least as big as the last raise in the round, and never less than the big blind. If a player goes all-in for less than a full raise, the players who have already acted can only call or fold; they can’t raise again.
All-ins and side pots. You can never lose more than you put in, and you can only win as much from each opponent as you put in yourself. When a short stack goes all-in, the extra chips from the bigger stacks go into a side pot that only they can win. If nobody can call your whole bet, the uncalled part comes straight back to you. If two hands tie, they split the pot; an odd chip goes to the first winner left of the button.
The table. When an opponent runs out of chips, a new player takes the seat with 1,000 chips on the next hand. If you run out, the table closes. Between hands you can leave the table, choose a table size from 2 to 6 players, and open a new one. Your table is saved, so you can close the page and come back to the same hand.
Strategy
Read the labels under the names. Every computer player shows two words: Tight or Loose, and aggressive or passive. They describe how that player really plays:
- Tight players enter few hands. When one of them raises before the flop, give them credit for a strong hand.
- Loose players play many hands and call more. Bluff them less and bet your good hands for value: they’ll pay you off.
- Aggressive players bet and raise more often, and some of those bets are bluffs, mostly when only one or two players are left in the hand.
- Passive players mostly check and call. When a passive player suddenly raises, believe it.
A new player who sits down in an empty seat gets a new style, so check the label again.
Position matters. The button acts last after the flop, so it sees what everyone else does before deciding. Play more hands on the button and the seat to its right, and fewer from the blinds and the first seats after the big blind.
Start with strong hands. Pairs, an ace with a high card (A-K, A-Q, A-J), and two high cards of the same suit are good starting hands. Small unsuited cards like 9-3 or 7-2 lose chips over time, even when they occasionally hit.
Count the pot before you call. If the pot is 300 and you have to call 100, you’re putting in 100 to win 400, so you need to win the hand more than one time in four. A draw to a flush after the flop (nine cards that help you, two cards to come) gets there about one time in three. After the turn, with only one card to come, it’s about one in five.
Size your bets with the buttons. ½ pot and Pot are the most common bet sizes. Bigger bets protect a strong hand against draws; smaller bets are cheaper bluffs. Your current best hand is shown under the table once the flop is out.
More poker. If you’d rather play against a dealer, Hold’em Duel and Flop Hold’em need just one decision per hand. Video Poker pays by a fixed table.
If you enjoy Texas Hold’em, try Thirteen Card Poker or Thirty-Two Cards next.
