A Texas Hold'em hand unfolds across four streets — rounds of betting. Before each round, cards are added to the board. A betting round concludes when all active players have contributed equal chips or folded.
| Street | Cards Dealt | First to Act |
|---|---|---|
| Preflop | 2 hole cards to each player | Player to the left of Big Blind (UTG) |
| Flop | 3 community cards face-up | First active player to the left of Button |
| Turn | 4th community card face-up | Same as Flop |
| River | 5th community card face-up | Same as Flop |
Preflop turn order is unique: the blinds posted forced bets, so they act last. If no player raises, the Big Blind has the option to check or raise. From the flop onward, the player closest to the left of the button speaks first, and the button speaks last.
The Five Actions
Your legal actions depend on one fundamental question: has there been a bet on this street yet?
Check — pass the action to the next player without wagering chips.
Bet — place the first wager on the current street.
Fold — surrender cards and exit the hand.
Call — match the current wager.
Raise — increase the size of the wager.
An all-in is not a distinct action type, but an amount: betting, calling, or raising with all your remaining chips. If you do not have enough chips to match a full call, you may still go all-in for your remaining stack.
Preflop, the Big Blind counts as a mandatory bet. Therefore, the first player to act (UTG) cannot check: they must fold, call 1 bb, or raise.
Minimum Raise Rules
A raise cannot be arbitrarily small. The rule is: a raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise increment on that street.
If an opponent bets 4 bb, the minimum raise is to 8 bb (+4 bb). If a player re-raises to 20 bb (+12 bb increment), the next minimum re-raise must be at least to 32 bb (+12 bb). A smaller raise is permitted only if a player moves all-in.
All-In and Side Pots
No player can win more chips from an opponent than they put into the pot themselves. When a short-stacked player goes all-in and remaining players continue wagering, the chips are split into a main pot and one or more side pots.
Example: Anna has 20 bb, Boris and Vera each have 100 bb. Anna shoves all-in for 20 bb; Boris and Vera call, and subsequently bet another 50 bb each on the turn.
| Pot | Contributors | Size | Eligible Winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Pot | All three (20 bb each) | 60 bb | Anna, Boris, Vera |
| Side Pot | Boris & Vera (50 bb each) | 100 bb | Boris & Vera only |
If Anna has the best hand, she wins the 60 bb main pot, while Boris and Vera contest the 100 bb side pot between themselves.