How to play Texas Hold’em

Before the deal: the button and blinds

The dealer button marks a position that moves around the table after each hand. The next two active players post the small blind and big blind: forced bets that start the pot. At this table, those are 5 and 10 chips, and each player starts a new game with 1,000.

Each player receives two private cards face down. Before the flop, action begins with the first active player after the big blind. On later betting rounds, it begins with the first active player after the button. In heads-up play, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, but last afterward.

A hand, street by street

1. Preflop

   Look at your two cards. Call the big blind, raise, or fold. Action continues until the remaining players have matched the bet or are all in and no further decisions remain.

2. The flop

   Three community cards appear together. Everyone still in the hand can combine them with their private cards. A new betting round begins.

3. The turn

   A fourth community card is dealt. There is another betting round, with previous contributions already in the pot.

4. The river

   The fifth and final community card is dealt. Players make their last betting decisions.

5. Showdown

   Players still in reveal their cards. The best five-card hand wins each pot. If only one player remains after everyone else folds, that player wins without needing to reach showdown.

What each action means

Fold

Give up your claim to this hand. Chips already contributed remain in the pot.

Check

Pass the action without adding chips, available when you have no outstanding bet to match.

Call

Match the current bet. If you cannot cover it, you can call all in with your remaining stack.

Bet or raise

Put chips in when no one has bet on this street, or increase the current bet. A “raise to” amount is your total contribution for this betting round, including chips already paid on this street.

All in

Commit every chip you have left. You remain eligible for the portion of the pot your contribution covers.

This is no-limit poker: your stack is the maximum you can bet. A normal raise must be at least as large as the last full bet or raise increment. A smaller all-in raise can be legal without reopening raising to players who have already acted.

All-ins and side pots

A short stack cannot win chips it did not match. When players commit different amounts, the game separates their contributions into a main pot and any side pots.

Unmatched chips are returned to the player who bet them. Chips contributed by a player who later folds stay in the pot, but that player cannot win it.

What counts as a winning hand?

Use any five of the seven available cards. You do not have to use both private cards. Compare hand categories first, then their card ranks. Equal best five-card hands share the pot. See the full hand rankings with examples.

Playing at PlayForChips

Choose Casual, Classic, or Expert difficulty before starting. You play against four computer opponents, and difficulty stays fixed for that game. You can change the room, avatar, sound, and pace using the table controls. A fresh game starts new chip stacks.

All chips are free and have no cash value. There is no multiplayer, purchase, deposit, or cash prize.