Texas Hold’em Guide
Watched the videos and still felt lost? This is where it clicks — flow, position, starting hands, street-by-street thinking and the odds worth memorizing, all on one page.
1. Game flow
Two hole cards each, five community cards, four betting rounds — make the best five out of seven.
The full step-by-step rules live in the rulebook.
2. Position
The later you act, the more you know. Late position (button, cutoff) plays more hands and wins more — this single idea underlies most of Hold’em strategy.
3. Starting hands
Ignoring suits, there are exactly 169 starting-hand types (13 pairs, 78 suited, 78 offsuit). Group them instead of memorizing them:
| Group | Examples | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | AA, KK, QQ, AK | Play aggressively from any seat |
| Strong broadway | JJ, TT, AQ, AJs, KQs | Openable from most seats; re-evaluate under heavy pressure |
| Small–mid pairs | 99–22 | Set-mining hands — see a cheap flop, win a big pot |
| Suited connectors | T9s, 87s, 65s | Straight/flush potential; best in position with deep stacks |
| Suited aces | A5s, A4s | Nut-flush potential plus wheel straights |
| Most of the rest | K7o, Q5o, J3o… | Usually a fold — pretty-looking offsuit hands are the classic trap |
4. Thinking street by street
- Pre-flop — seat first, hand group second. Decide who is the aggressor.
- Flop — ask how the board hits your range: made hand, draw, or air. The pre-flop aggressor often continues (c-bet).
- Turn — the pot doubles here; sizing decisions matter most on this street.
- River — draws are dead: every bet is now pure value or pure bluff. Decide which yours is before chips go in.
5. Odds worth knowing
Classic pre-flop match-ups (approximate all-in equities): pair vs two overcards ≈ 55:45 (“the coin flip”), overpair vs underpair ≈ 80:20, AK vs AQ (dominated) ≈ 74:26.
6. FAQ
- Do suits have a ranking?
- No. Suits never break ties; identical hands split the pot.
- Do I have to use my hole cards?
- No — two, one or none. Using none is playing the board.
- Both have two pair — who wins?
- Higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
- Can an all-in player win the whole pot?
- Only the main pot they matched; the excess forms a side pot.