The Complete Guide to Texas Hold’em Online
Thanks in large part to the World Series of Poker, Texas Hold’em poker online has become the most popular poker variation. This guide will teach you how to play Texas Hold’em online including different types of bets, basic poker strategy, game variations, and terminology. This page will also highlight where to play Texas Hold’em online.
Best Texas Hold’em Poker Online Rooms
Here are legal USA online gambling sites our team of experts recommend players use to play online Texas Hold’em for real money:
- 250+ Poker Rooms
- Min. deposit: $20
- Rollover: No rollover
- Games: All poker games
- 25 Free Spins
- Min. deposit: $20
- 100s of Poker Tables
- Min. deposit: $20
- Rollover: 10x
- Games: All poker games
How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker Online
The Deal & Betting Rounds
The deal and wagering process in a game of Texas Hold’em Poker online goes like this:
- Before each round, the two players to the immediate left of the dealer place their small and big blind antes, respectively.
- Each player is dealt two cards, both of which are face down.
- There is a round of betting.
- The dealer reveals the first three community cards – this is called the “flop.”
- There is another round of betting.
- The dealer reveals the fourth community card – this is called the “turn.”
- There is another round of betting.
- The deal reveals the final community card – this is called the “river.”
- There is a final round of betting.
Once all remaining players have finalized their bets, each player reveals their ‘hole’ cards, and the best poker hand wins the pot.
The History of Texas Hold ’em
Texas hold’em is so-called due to the Texas Legislature officially recognizing Robstown, Texas as the birthplace of the world’s most popular poker game format. That definition may go back to the early 1900s but, in truth, no one really knows when Texas Hold’em was invented. Was the game born on the Mississippi riverboats or in France or China a century earlier? None can say for sure, but one thing is certain, Texas Hold’em has made poker the global mindsport it is today.
Introduced to Las Vegas in 1963, Texas Hold’em took some time to gain traction. First, it was a novelty at the Golden Nugget, Stardust, and Dunes Casinos as a side-game to table action such as roulette. A group of Texan players including Doyle Brunson, Crandell Addington and Amarillo Slim help popularize the game.
Addington described the game’s formation when he said, “[In] draw poker, you bet only twice; hold’em, you bet four times. That meant you could play strategically. This was more of a thinking man’s game.”
After Texas Hold’em was played at the 1969 Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention, one year later the World Series of Poker was born, with Benny and Jack Binion acquiring the rights to and hosting the game at Binion’s Horseshoe on the Vegas Strip. Ever since then, no-Limit Texas Hold’em has been played as the WSOP Main Event. After an accountant named Chris Moneymaker won the $2.5 million top prize in 2003 from an $80 Texas Hold’em poker online satellite tournament, Texas Hold’em poker online has surged in popularity and becomes the world’s favorite poker version to play.
Differences Between Online and Land-Based Texas Hold’em
There aren’t many differences between land based and online Texas Hold’em. One of the biggest differences is that in an online poker room, you can not see your opponents. Therefore, you can’t read your opponents and that might be one of your strategies.
There are other ways of reading players online. Most players will analyse their opponents’ nicknames, how they behave in the chat room, and their betting behaviours to better understand their opponents’ tendencies.
Another big difference you will encounter is the speed of the games. In a brick-and-mortar casino, the dealers will usually be fast but they can never be as fast as a computer. You can see maybe twice as many hands being played in an hour online.
Game variety in an online casino will greatly differ from a land-based casino. In a land-based casino you will find maybe a dozen or so tables playing and the games and the limits available will be limited. The beauty of online Texas Hold’em poker is that there are nearly an infinite number of games going on at all times with unlimited variety.The only limit you might face while playing online is that some rooms will have restrictions for certain countries.
How We Rate Online Texas Hold’Em Poker Sites
Tips for Choosing the Best Real Money Texas Holdem Sites
Welcome Promotions
In order to attract new players, the best online Texas Hold’em real money sites will often advertise significant welcome bonuses specifically for poker players. This is typically a dollar-for-dollar match of your first deposit and a percentage match on every other deposit. Also, look for added kickbacks for Bitcoin deposits.
Game Variations
In the event one tires of playing the most popular Texas Hold’em online variation, No Limit, experienced players will want to find poker sites that offer variations of the game like pot limit and mixed Texas Hold’em. Also, be on the lookout for unique tournament offerings at the best online poker sites.
Table Attendance
Before signing up and making a first deposit, be sure to review each site’s poker room table attendance. Are most virtual tables full or a little thin? To play Texas Hold’em online is more enjoyable with a full table. Weak attendance could be a red flag that you’re at the wrong online casino.
Bet Types in Texas Hold’em
In Texas Hold’em poker online, like in other online variations, when it comes time to bet, players have five options: fold, check, bet, call, or raise.
Fold
- To ‘fold’ is to turn your cards in and give up on that round, forfeiting any bets you have made up until this point.
- You may want to fold if you don’t have a strong hand, believe another player has a very strong hand, or the wager sizes are getting higher than you hoped.
Check
- To ‘check’ is to choose not to bet, but to stay in the game. It’s essentially the equivalent of choosing to wager zero dollars.
- You may want to check if it’s early in the game, if you want to see how other players will bet, or if you like your hand, but don’t love it.
Bet
- To ‘bet’ is to place a wager in the pot. Betting is how the pot (prize pool) gets full, and for players to stay in the game, they must match the current bet size.
- You may want to bet if you feel confident in your hand, or if you think another player is likely to fold.
Call
- To ‘call’ is to match another player’s bet. Once someone has placed a bet, if you want to remain in the game, you must either call or fold.
- You may want to call if you like your hand enough to stay in the game, if you’re close to having a winning hand, or if you want another player to think you’re confident in your hand.
Raise
- To ‘raise’ is to match and increase another player’s bet. If you raise someone’s bet, all players must match this new bet size in order to remain in the game.
- You may want to raise if you are confident in your hand and want to increase the pot size, if you believe you have a better hand than the other players, or if you want to appear more confident in your hand than you actually are.
Texas Hold’em Poker Tips
Here are some quick tips to get you started in a game of Texas Hold’em poker!
Bet or Raise Instead of Checking and Calling
If you play passively, you are playing to lose in Texas Hold’em. To avoid being passive, you should bet and raise instead of checking and calling.
Be Selective on the Hands You Play
This is normally less important than playing aggressively but it is still important if you are a new player. To be tight and aggressive as a strategy is the most consistently profitable way to go for new players. Especially if you are playing against passive players, some players do well if they are aggressive.
Pay Attention to Your Position
Most Texas Hold’em players won’t pay enough attention to their position when deciding which hands to play and how to play them. The tip is simple enough, have more strict requirements from your hands in an early position.
If You Want to Bluff, Bluff Carefully
Bluffing adds extra excitement to the game! If you are going to bluff however, you should do it in a late position when you are against one or two opponents. Your odds of success in bluffing will go way down against 3+ players, unless you are playing against very tight players.
Try the Free Games First
You should always try the free games first and get used to how everything works. This way you will avoid costly mistakes and you can practice your strategies without the risk of losing any real money.
Mobile Texas Hold’em Online vs Apps
Browser Based Poker
While some poker sites still offer apps for download, the majority of the Texas hold’em online poker rooms we recommend have optimized their websites for all mobile devices. That means in order to get into a game, all you have to do is fire up your device’s web browser, log into your account and enjoy the same experience you would on a PC or laptop at home.
Texas hold’em poker online apps
The reason many of the Texas hold’em poker online operators we promote have gravitated away from third-party apps is because they can be clunky, require a lot of maintenance, have a tendency to crash mid-hand, and suck up a lot of storage on the phone.
Texas Hold’em Online Betting Rounds
Once you understand which bet types are available, you can apply those strategies to each of Texas Hold’em online betting rounds: pre-Flop, the Flop, the Turn, and the River.
Betting Pre-Flop
After each player has been dealt their face-down cards – but before any community cards have been revealed – there is a “pre-flop” round of betting.
Like in most poker variations, there are big and small blinds – minimum buy-in amounts – and each player must at least ‘call’ the big blind amount in order to remain in the game.
Players also have the option to raise, if they have strong hole cards, or fold, if they do not have strong hole cards.
Once each player has either folded or wagered an equal amount, the first three community cards are revealed (the flop.)
Betting on the Flop
Now that the first three community cards have been revealed, there is another round of betting. The player clockwise from the dealer is the first to go, and can choose from any of the bet types. Once this betting round is completed, the next community card is revealed (the turn.)
Betting on the Turn
There are now four community cards face-up, plus the two face-down cards that each player has been dealt. Players should have a good understanding of what is in their hand and what they are targeting.
There is another round of betting at this time. Action once again begins with the active player clockwise from the dealer, and any of the bet types are available.
Once this betting round is complete, the final community card is revealed (the river.)
Betting on the River
At this point, all cards have been revealed, and each player knows what their best possible hand is. There’s another round of betting – again, starting with the player immediately clockwise from the dealer – where all remaining players once again must choose to check, raise, call, or fold.
Once this final round of betting is finished, the remaining players show their cards, and the best poker hand in online Texas Hold’em for real money wins.
Bonuses and Promotions
All the best poker sites will offer generous welcome bonuses and other promotions to get the attention of new players as well as keep the existing ones. Most popular bonuses like free spins are not useful when it comes to online poker. The bonuses you will see in poker rooms will usually be one of the following:
All the best poker sites will offer generous welcome bonuses and other promotions to get the attention of new players as well as keep the existing ones. Most popular bonuses like free spins are not useful when it comes to online poker. The bonuses you will see in poker rooms will usually be one of the following:
No Deposit Bonus
Not to be confused with freerolls, no deposit bonuses will give players a small sum of money to bet on tables without having them make a deposit first.
Welcome Bonus
Welcome bonus is as the name suggests, the first bonus you will get at any poker site when you register for the first time.
Match Bonus
One of the most popular bonuses amongst players, a match bonus will allow you to get bonus cash. The casino will match your first deposit with an equal amount of compensation. However, match bonuses can be above 100%.
All bonuses will have wagering requirements attached to them. They will require you to bet a certain amount of bonus cash to be able to withdraw it as real money. To exemplify, if you have $100 of bonus cash with a wagering requirement of 30x the value of your bonus, you will need to bet $3,000 before you can cash out that bonus money.
Texas Hold’em Online Strategy
Think Long Term
Keep your emotions in check, don’t chase losses, and don’t bet recklessly. Have a plan and stick to it. Winning at Texas Hold’em poker online is a marathon, not a sprint.
Folding Isn't Losing
Expert poker players know that there’s no shame in folding if you think you’ve been beaten in Texas Hold’em online. Watch the table carefully, learn your opponent’s tendencies, and don’t let your ego take over. By folding when you’re beaten, you can protect your bankroll and live to fight another day.
Manage Your Bankroll
This is a crucial part of any Texas Hold’em online wagering strategy, regardless of the game. Carefully decide how much money you have available per session & per hand, and stick to it. For beginners, we recommend setting a self-limitation of no more than two buy-ins per session.
Texas Hold’em Online Hand Rankings
Nearly all variations of poker use the standard 52-card deck and that is true when you play Texas hold’em online. The value ranking of each card goes in descending order (Ace > King > Queen > Jack > 10 > 9, etc.)
The following table will show common online Texas hold’em real money poker hand variations, ranked from best to worst:
| Texas Hold’em Online Hand Name | Cards | Example Hand |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | A, K, Q, J, 10 – same suit | 
|
| Straight Flush | Five sequential cards – same suit | 
|
| Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same value, one of each suit – fifth card doesn’t matter | 
|
| Full House | Three cards of the same value, and a pair of an additional value | 
|
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit – any order | 
|
| Straight | Five sequential cards – any suit | 
|
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same value – other two cards don’t matter | 
|
| Two Pair | Two cards of the same value and two cards of a different value – fifth card doesn’t matter | 
|
| One Pair | Two cards of the same value – other three cards don’t matter | 
|
| No Pair | All five cards of different values and not all the same suit |
Texas Hold’em Poker Online Glossary
When playing Texas hold’em online, it’s good to study and learn basic poker terminology. We highlight some of the more common words tossed around the table below:
Action
The amount of money being wagered and added to the pot.
Ante
In order to get some action into the pot prior to the flop, these are mandatory bets in addition to the small and big blinds.
All-In
When a player risks all their remaining chips before seeing the hand play out.
Big Blind
The larger of the two pre-flop bets. The big blind is the player seated two spots to the left of the dealer.
Blinds
Pre-flop mandatory bets by the two players seated to the left of the dealer.
Bluff
When a player pretends to have a strong hand or stronger than they actually possess. You can also “slow play” a strong hand, which is another form of bluffing.
Burn and Turn
When the dealer takes the top card and sets it aside in the muck, that’s the burn or “to burn” a card before turning the next card (2nd from top of deck) over.
Call
When a player matches another player’s wager.
Check
When a player elects not to place a bet and passes the action to the next player. This is done either verbally or by tapping the felt or both.
Drawing Dead
When a player is in a hand or all-in one-on-one and they know they can’t win no matter which cards the dealer turns over.
Flop
The first three community cards turned face up by the dealer.
Hole Cards
The two cards a player receives face down.
Pot committed
When a player has wagered so much money into the pot that their chip bankroll remaining is significantly less that it’s too late to muck their hand.
Rags
Weak hand of cards are also known as rags.
River
The fifth and last community card turned face up by the dealer, which is also referred to as fifth street by some.
Small Blind
When a player is positioned directly to the left of the dealer, it’s the smaller of the two mandatory bets before the flop to create a pot of money to build off of.
Tilt
When you play Texas hold’em online and bet with volatile emotion rather than strategy and patience.
Turn
The fourth community card turned face up by the dealer and is also known as fourth street.
