Everything You Need to Know About Texas Hold’em Poker in 2025

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Texas Hold’em poker has gained immense popularity worldwide. Although it’s a simple game, the dynamics are anything but. This skill-based card game is perfect for strategists and those with a thirst for competition.

Below, we’ll explore the rise of Texas Hold’em poker, the players and events that established it as the most popular version of poker, and the basic rules and strategies to help beginners understand the game.

What is Texas Hold’em Poker?

Texas Hold’em poker is a card game which requires you to make the best five-card poker hand. This can be achieved using any combination of up to seven cards – the two cards you’re dealt and up to five community cards dealt in the middle of the table.

The player with the best five-card poker Texas Hold’em hand at the showdown wins the pot. Alternatively, the last active player in the hand can also take down the pot by betting enough to force others to fold their hand. In this instance, it means you can win pots without having the strongest hand at the table, so long as you can convince your opponents you have a stronger hand than them.

This blend of drama, strategy, and skill makes Texas Hold’em poker the most spectacular variant of them all. Although the game has relatively simple rules, it is genuinely complex, thanks to the use of private cards (hole) and community cards.

History of Texas Hold’em Poker

The Texas Hold’em game is said to have stemmed from the modest region of Robstown in Texas, U.S., hence its nickname. In the early 20th century, it was only popular in the Lone Star State before eventually achieving prominence in Las Vegas in the 1960s.

A cluster of Texan gamblers took the game to “Sin City”, including Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim. The former is known today as “The Godfather of Poker”. Since then, there’s been many key milestones for poker, which has become a truly global industry in the 21st century:

  • 1970:  Benny Binion launched the inaugural World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe Casino. Texas Holdem poker featured as the main game.
  • 1978:  Texas Hold’em “godfather” Doyle Brunson published his first formal book on the game titled “Super/System”. It was here when the volume of literature on poker strategy began to gather pace.
  • 1998:  The Hollywood movie Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, was released. It quickly developed a cult following among poker players and glamorized the game for poker newbies.
  • 2003: The 2003 WSOP Main Event saw poker amateur Chris Moneymaker take down the tournament after qualifying in a cheap online ‘satellite’ event. This event brought about the online poker boom known as “The Moneymaker Effect.”
  • 2024: Today, the game remains the most popular form of poker on and offline. In addition to the WSOP, there’s the World Poker Tour (WPT), the European Poker Tour (EPT), and even the Triton High-Roller Series, which attracts huge prize pools and exclusive player fields.

Basic Rules of Texas Hold’em Poker

The game can be played between two and nine players at a table. On the table, a dealer button rotates clockwise after every hand to denote the dealer for each hand.

There are two “blinds” to the immediate left of the dealer button – the small blind and the big blind. These are mandatory contributions to the pot before the cards have been dealt. The small blind is worth half a minimum bet, and the big blind is worth the minimum bet.

Betting Rounds

Once the blinds are added to the initial pot, each player receives two cards, known as hole cards. There are up to four betting rounds in play at this stage:

  •       Pre-Flop: After the hole cards are dealt, play proceeds with the player to the left of the big blind.
  •       The Flop: The dealer deals three community cards face-up on the board. A second round of betting occurs.
  •       The Turn: The dealer deals a fourth community card. Another round of betting follows.
  •       The River: The dealer deals a fifth and final community card. The final betting round takes place.

Provided there are two remaining players after the last round of betting in a poker game, each player reveals their hole cards, and the best five-card hand is the winning hand and takes the pot.

The best five-card hands are based on the poker hand rankings, which we’ll list from best to worst below:

  1.     Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J, 10, all of the same suit.
  2.     Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
  3.     Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank.
  4.     Full House: Three of a kind plus a pair.
  5.     Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
  6.     Straight: Five consecutive cards of different suits.
  7.     Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank.
  8.     Two Pair: Two pairs of different ranks.
  9.     One Pair: Two cards of the same rank.
  10. High Card: None of the above, the highest card wins.

Variations of Texas Hold’em Poker

Several versions of Texas Hold’em poker are played on and offline today. Each has its own unique rules. Below, we’ll explain the most popular variants in greater detail to help you decide which ones suit you best.

Limit Texas Hold’em

Limit Hold’em, also known as Fixed Limit Hold’em, is one of the most popular versions of poker behind No-Limit Texas Hold’em. The Limit Hold’em has a capped betting structure for every round of betting. This means the pots are often smaller, allowing players more time to recover from any unexpected losses since they’re unlikely to lose a huge percentage of their chip stack in one hand.

As the amount you can raise an opponent is capped at each betting round, Limit Hold’em games tend to be less ‘swingy’ than No-Limit Hold’em games where players can bet however much they see fit. Consider Limit Hold’em as a more regimented version of No-Limit Hold’em. It can be frustrating for those who play No-Limit Hold’em first, but a safer option for those who are complete novices.

Limit Hold’em games can be quite rare to find. Fixed-Limit games are more common for other forms of poker, such as Stud, Omaha Hi/Lo and Draw games.

No-Limit Texas Hold’em

No-Limit Texas Hold’em is considered by many to be the most glamorous version of poker worldwide today. That’s because it attracts the biggest prize pools and the biggest names in the world of poker.

It is also the most enjoyable spectator version of poker, given that players can bet big or even go all-in to bluff opponents off their hands. In fact, players can also use techniques such as “slow rolling” (pretending to have a weak hand when they have a monster hand) to good advantage too. Slow rolling has strategic value in No-Limit Hold’em since you can go all-in with your chips later in the hand, unlike Limit Hold’em where you’re restricted to how much you can commit to the pot.

Pot-Limit Texas Hold’em

Pot-Limit Hold’em is a slightly souped-up version of Limit Hold’em, but not quite the roller-coaster of No-Limit Hold’em. In a Pot-Limit Hold’em game, the maximum raise you can bet in each round of betting is the current size of the pot. However, there’s no limit on how many bets and raises can be made in any betting round. This means it’s possible for a player to go all-in in a hand of Pot-Limit Hold’em.

In Pot-Limit Hold’em, it’s not possible to ‘overbet’ a pot, i.e. bet more than the current size of the pot or go all-in. That’s why it’s important for those with strong starting hands to build the pot as soon as possible.

Mixed Texas Hold’em

Mixed Texas Hold’em is quite self-explanatory – it’s a mix of No-Limit and Limit Hold’em. This means the game is played on a rotation of No-Limit and Limit rounds. One hand is played as No-Limit, and the following hand is played as Limit. All of this helps to create a fresh table dynamic, requiring you to be adept at changing strategy depending on the betting formats.

Strategy Tips for Texas Hold’em Poker

Beginners

  •       Play tight and aggressive – stick to premium starting hands and bet them strongly.
  •       Avoid slow-playing strong hands as a novice.

Intermediate

  •       Pay close attention to your table position – widen your range in late position and tighten up in early position.
  •       Keep an eye on your opponents’ body language – you can find opportunities to bluff when they appear weak.

Advanced

  •       Learn how to put your opponents on a hand range to make more informed betting decisions.
  •       Master mixing up your play to make it harder for seasoned opponents to exploit your own tendencies.

texas holdem poker

Online vs. Live Texas Hold’em Poker

Playing live and online poker are two very different experiences, each with its own set of pros and cons.

You can view your opponents face-to-face in a live poker room, picking up on physical tells and reads. In live poker rooms, the play tends to be slower than at an online poker site. Playing in a land-based poker room can also be restrictive at times since the choice of games on offer are usually inferior to an online poker platform.

You’ll get a greater range of stakes to play at an online poker room, including micro-stakes for novices. You can also play 24/7 at an online poker site with a reliable internet connection. At EVO, you can get your hands on our poker games day or night with no restrictions on start times.

Conclusion

  •       Texas Hold’em poker is a highly skilful card game, fusing strategy, skill and bravery in one exciting package.
  •       This game requires playing your opponents and their cards since you can win pots without holding the strongest hand.
  •       You can play many formats of Texas Hold’em poker online at all stake levels.
  •       Give it a try today with EVO!

FAQs

What is the difference between Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold’em?

As the name suggests, in No-Limit Texas Hold’em games, there’s no cap on the amount you can bet at any stage of a hand. In No-Limit, it’s possible to go “all-in” and commit your entire chip stack to the pot. As for Limit Hold’em, there is a ceiling as to how much you can bet and raise per round.

How many players can participate in a Texas Hold’em game?

The maximum number of players around one table is nine in one-table Texas Hold ’em cash games, plus the dealer. Some cash poker games and tournaments may be played “six-handed” with only six active players. In multi-table tournaments, there’s no set limit on player participation.

What is the importance of position in Texas Hold’em?

Playing in a late position allows you to see the decision-making of your opponents before making your first move. Playing in an early position is a riskier business since you’ll bet without knowing the hand strengths of most of your opponents. You should only play the strongest starting hands in an early position when starting out.

What are community cards in Texas Hold’em?

In a hand of Texas Hold’em poker, up to five community cards can be dealt in the middle of the table. The first three cards are dealt on the “flop”. The fourth card is dealt as the “turn” card. The fifth card is dealt as the “river” card. You can use some or all of these community cards to help complete your poker hand.

Can Texas Hold’em be played online?

Sure, it can! There are many online poker rooms where you can play most poker games like Texas Hold’em, and other poker games, like Omaha. The leading online poker rooms will offer stakes at all levels, from micro stakes for novices to high stakes for the ultimate professionals.