• Pineapple - Crazy Pineapple - Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo

Introduction

Texas Hold'em is a shared card poker game. Each player is dealt two private cards and there are five face up shared (or 'community') cards on the table that can be used by anyone. In the showdown the winner is the player who can make the best five-card poker hand from the seven cards available.

If you have the stone-cold nuts, or a very strong hand, and yet you make everybody else show first just because that’s what the procedure dictates, you may well come under criticism for “slow.

Since the 1990's, Texas Hold'em has become one of the most popular poker games worldwide. Its spread has been helped firstly by a number of well publicised televised tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and secondly by its success as an online game. For many people nowadays, poker has become synonymous with Texas Hold'em.

1. Robert's Rules of Poker state that the last player to take aggressive action by a bet or raise is the first to show the hand—unless everyone checks (or is all-in) on the last round of betting, then the first player to the left of the dealer button is the first to show the hand.
2. Blackjack online, online roulette, online craps, slots online, baccarat online 3 card poker, pai gow poker, and Poker Who Shows Hand First Caribbean stud poker are some of the best table games to play.
3. In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high games, like Texas hold 'em and seven-card stud, the highest-ranking hands win.
4. If everyone checks (or is all-in) on the final betting round, the player who acted first is the first to show the hand. If the re is wagering on the final betting round, the last player to take.

This page assumes some familiarity with the general rules and terminology of poker. See the poker rules page for an introduction to these, and the poker betting and poker hand ranking pages for further details.

Players and Cards

From two to ten players can take part. In theory more could play, but the game would become unwieldy.

A standard international 52-card pack is used.

The Deal and Betting

Texas Hold'em is usually played with no ante, but with blinds. When there are more than two players, the player to dealer's left places a small blind, and the next player to the left a big blind. The big blind is equal to the minimum bet and the small blind is typically half that amount. When there are only two players (a 'heads-up' game), the dealer places the small blind and the non-dealer the big blind.

The cards are shuffled and cut, the dealer 'burns' one card and then deals the cards one at a time face down until each player has two cards. These are known as the player's hole cards or pocket cards. Players may look at their two hole cards and must not show them to any other player.

The first betting round is begun by the player to the left of the big blind. The blinds count as bets, so the small blind need only pay the difference between the blinds to call. The big blind player acts last and is allowed to raise, even if the other active players have all called.

After the first betting round the dealer burns one card and deals three cards face up to the table. These three cards are known as the flop. There is then a second betting round begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer seat.

When the second betting round is complete, the dealer burns a card and then deals one card face up to the table. This card is known as the turn or fourth street. There is then a third betting round, again begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer seat.

After the third betting round the dealer burns another card and deals one more card face up - the river or fifth street. There is fourth and final round of betting before the showdown, again begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer seat.

In a fixed-limit or spread-limit game, any betting round that has more than two active players at the start is normally limited to one bet plus three (sometimes four) raises. In the first (pre-flop) betting round the big blind counts for this purpose as the first bet. If a betting round begins with only two active players, there is no limit on the number of raises.

In limit poker, the betting limits are usually doubled before the third betting round. So for example a $10-$20 game would typically have blinds of $5 and $10, bets of $10 in the first two rounds and bets of $20 in the last two.

The Showdown

Active players show their hands in clockwise order, beginning with the player who was the last to bet or raise in the final betting round. If everyone checked in the final betting round, the first active player to the left of the dealer seat is the first to show. See the betting and showdown page for further details.

Each player makes the best possible five-card poker hand from the seven available cards: the player's two hole cards and the five face-up table cards, which are known as the board. This can be in any combination: both hole cards with three from the board, one hole card with four from the board, or just the board cards without using the hole cards at all, which is known as playing the board.

Note that:

• For a hand to be considered for winning the pot, the player must show both hole cards, even if only one or neither of them is used to make the best hand.
• The cards speak for themselves: the best hand is entitled to win the pot if shown, even if the owner does not realise that it is the best hand.
• As always, poker hands consist of just five cards. The two unused cards have no bearing on whether one hand is better than another.

Example. On the board is A-Q-Q-9-6. Player A has K-9; player B has 9-6; player C has 9-3. This is a three-way tie, since all three players have Q-Q-9-9-A as their best hand. The pot is split equally between A, B and C.

Strategy

Because of its great popularity as a tournament and online game, much has been written about the strategy of Texas Hold'em.

The Poker Strategy page provides a list of sites with useful Texas Hold'em Strategy articles.

The Poker Books page reviews a couple of good books about how to play Texas Hold'em.

Variations

The game described above is Texas Hold'em as played formally in public card rooms. When it is played at home, the same procedure can be used, but in some informal games the burning of cards is omitted, and the five community cards are dealt face down to the table at the start. Three of these cards are turned face up after the first betting round, one after the second and one after the third. The result is similar to the formal game, but there is an increased risk that a player might, by accident or by cheating, learn the identity of some of the table cards before they are officially exposed.

The practice of dealing the community cards to the table at the start and turning them face up later is commonly found in community card poker games with more complex layouts, such as Iron Cross and Tic-Tac-Toe. Several of these are listed on the Poker Variants page.

Pineapple

This is played the same way as Texas Hold'em, except that each player is initially dealt three hole cards and must discard one of them before the first round of betting.

Crazy Pineapple

As in Pineapple, each player is dealt three cards, but in Crazy Pineapple they are kept until after the second betting round. Each active player must discard one card immediately before the fourth board card (the turn) is dealt.

Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Crazy Pineapple is often played in such a way that the pot is shared between the players with the highest and lowest hands. The deal and betting are exactly as in Crazy Pineapple. At the showdown, as well as making their best hand, each active player makes the lowest possible hand from their seven cards. When making a low hand, the five cards must all be of different ranks, the aces count as low, straights and flushes do not count, and no card can be higher than an 8. So the best low hand is A-2-3-4-5 and the worst is 8-7-6-5-4. Cards are compared from the top down, so 7-5-4-3-2 is better than 7-6-3-2-A because the 5 is lower than the 6. Players can use a different selection of cards for their high hand and their low hand.

The pot is split equally between the highest hand and the lowest hand. If none of the active players qualifies for low (which will automatically be the case if there are three cards higher than 8 on the board), then the player with the highest hand wins the whole pot.

Irish

This Texas Hold'em variant is similar to Crazy Pineapple, but each player is initially dealt four hole cards. These can all be kept until the end of the second round of betting. Before the fourth board card (the turn) is dealt, each active player must discard two of their hole cards, keeping just two for the turn and river.

If you’re new to Texas holdem (or any other poker game), one of the first things you need to learn and understand is who goes first in poker. In Texas holdem games, this is related to your position relative to the blinds. In other games, other criteria determine the order in which you bet.

The purpose of this post is to explain poker rules related to position and who bets first and reveals first. It can be a complicated subject if you’re new to the game, but it’s hard to overstate how important it is.

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How the Blinds Work

I’ll start this discussion of who goes first in poker with a discussion of the blinds, because how the blinds work is tied so closely to what order everyone plays in.

First, a definition:

The blinds are forced bets, similar to ante,s that stimulate the action at the poker table. Unlike an ante, you only need to post a blind twice every rotation around the table.

In home games, the dealer position rotates around the table, and the 2 players to the left of the dealer post the blinds. The size of the blinds are determined by the table stakes. There’s a small blind and a big blind. The big blind is normally the size of the small bet, while the small blind is usually half that.

For example, if you’re playing in a $4/$8 Texas holdem game, the bets during the first 2 rounds are made in $4 increments. During the second 2 rounds, the bets are made in $8 increments. The blinds for such a game are usually $2 for the small blind and $4 for the big blind.

In casino games, a professional dealer handles all the dealing, so they use a white disk labeled “dealer” to determine position. This is called “the button.” The players to the left of the button post the blinds–the small blind is immediately to the left of the button. The big blind is the player next to him.

Texas Holdem Rules Related to Position, or Who Bets First in Texas Holdem?

The rules for Texas holdem related to position are actually simple enough, especially if you just look for the button. Preflop, after you get your first 2 cards, the players bet in order starting with the player to the immediate left of the big blind. The player in the big blind is the last to act in this betting round.

In all subsequent betting rounds, the first player to bet is the player to the immediate left of the button. This means if you’re in the big blind, you get to act last preflop, but you act first on all subsequent betting rounds.

Betting always happens in turn, moving clockwise around the table.

Here’s a list of who bets and in what order in Texas holdem :

1. Under the gun – The player to the left of the big blind acts first preflop.
2. Early position – The next couple of players to the left of the UTG player.
3. Middle position – The next 2 or 3 players after early position.
4. Late position – The last 2 or 3 players to act before the blinds.
5. The button – Acts before the blinds except after the flop, when the button becomes the last player to act.
6. The small blind – Next to last to act preflop. First to act after the flop.
7. The big blind – Last to act preflop. Acts after the small blind after the flop.

It’s rude and inappropriate to bet when it isn’t your turn. Even if you’re going to fold, wait until it’s your turn to act. It’s not fair to the players acting later to know what action you’re planning to take.

What Position Is Best in Texas Holdem Poker?

If you’re smart, you’ve probably already started to think about the strategic implications related to position. That’s good, because position is one of the most important aspects of the game.

It seems obvious to some, but not to others, that the later you get to act, the better off you are. The later you act, the more information you have about the other players and their plans.

The best position in Texas holdem is the last person to act. This means that if you’re in the big blind, you have the best possible position before the flop, but you also have the worst possible position after the flop.

How Position Affects Strategy

The strategic rule of thumb to follow is that you need a stronger hand to bet or raise if you’re acting earlier than if you’re acting late.

Here’s why:

Let’s say you’re the first person to act preflop, and you have a pair of 10s. That’s a playable hand. You raise the big blind, so you put $8 in the pot.

The player behind you raises it to $12, the player after him raises it to $16, and the player after him raises it to $20.

When it’s your turn to act again, you really don’t have much choice but to fold. The probability that at least one of those players has a higher pair in the hole than you do is just too great to continue to put money in the pot.

On the other hand, if you’re the last person to act before the blinds, and all the players before you either limped in or folded, you might well be justified making a raise here. Since none of those players showed any strength before you acted, there’s a good chance you have the best hand preflop. If one of them is sandbagging, you can still play and see what the flop looks like.

To win at poker, you need to understand positional advantages.

This position advantage–the knowledge of what the others players who’ve acted first has done–continues throughout the game until the showdown. (I’ll have more to say about the showdown soon, too.)

By the way, this is how position is handled in related games, too, like Omaha and pineapple.

First, let’s talk about position and betting in the other popular variations of poker.

Who Goes First in Draw Poker?

5 card draw poker is mostly played with an ante, but that ante doesn’t affect the order of betting. Everyone has to place an ante before getting a hand.

In fact, in 5 card draw poker, the order of action is simple.

Betting just goes in clockwise order, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. This is the order of action throughout the game, which only has 2 rounds of betting anyway.

Who Goes First in Stud Poker?

Position and betting in stud poker is more complicated than in draw or stud poker. Most stud games have an ante, but during the first round of betting, the player with the lowest face up card must place a “bring-in” bet. The size of the bring-in bet is usually half the size of the lower betting amount. (In a $10/$20 stud game, the bring-in would be $5.)

The bring-in also has the option to “complete” the bet, which would mean raising the size of the bet to $10.

Betting continues around the table clockwise, with the person to the immediate left of the bring-in continuing to act.

In all the subsequent rounds, the first player to bet is the player with the best hand showing. Since there are usually fewer than 5 cards showing, the best hand is usually determined by who has the highest card, the highest pair, or even 3 of a kind.

But there aren’t usually enough cards showing for someone to have a flush or a straight and bet first. Incomplete hands like this don’t count toward who goes first.

This has the interesting effect of changing who the first player to act is every round.

The Showdown

In all poker games, if more than one player stays in the pot (doesn’t fold), the game ends with a showdown. During the showdown, the players reveal their cards. The player with the best 5-card poker hand wins the pot.

In some games, the pot gets split between the player with the best poker hand and the player with the best qualifying low hand. This doesn’t affect the order in which the players show their cards.

There are a couple of things to remember about the showdown:

The first is that you must expose all your cards to win the pot, even if not all those cards count toward your final 5-card hand.

The second is that “the cards speak.” You get credit for the best possible 5-card hand you can make, regardless of what hand you announce.

Who Has to Reveal His Cards First in Poker?

Some players prefer not to reveal their cards at the showdown if they’ve lost. They don’t want to give any information to their opponents about how they play. This is good strategy.

But who has to reveal his cards first?

This is the same regardless of which variation you’re playing.

The last player to bet or raise is the player who must show his cards first. If everyone has checked or is all-in, players reveal their hands clockwise starting to the left of the dealer.

If you don’t have the winning hand, you can “muck” your cards, which means you put them in the pot without revealing them. You also give up any claim to the pot. Depending on the cardroom, you might be allowed to ask to see the mucked cards.

When Are You Allowed to Show Your Cards in a Poker Game?

You’re only allowed to show your cards at the showdown or if there’s no more action following you. To show your cards before that provides information to the other players that they don’t need to have.

Different casino cardrooms handle this situation differently. In some casinos, if you expose your cards early, they muck your hand. In others, play continues, but the other players will almost certainly be irritated by your behavior.

Also, it’s considered unsporting to show your cards to another player without showing them to all the other players.

If you accidentally show one card, most players don’t get too upset, especially if it’s an honest mistake. If it happens repeatedly, expect to get a warning.

Finally

Who goes first in poker is one of the most important rules you can learn, in Texas holdem or any other variation. I’ve covered the basics in this post, but you should study this until you understand position and its implications well.

Who Shows Hand First In Poker Lingo

If you need to, practice online in free poker games until you grok all the concepts above.