This guide is about how the hand actually moves: who posts, who acts, how much a legal raise must add, where the pot stands, and how to compare the final hands. It uses ordinary high-hand No-Limit Texas Hold'em. A room's specific rules and a tournament director's ruling govern play at that table.
If you are learning the vocabulary first, begin with How to Play Poker. If the broad sequence is familiar but the order of action still trips you up, stay here and follow the single hand below.
One Hand at a Glance
| Stage | Cards visible to everyone | First player to act | What ends the stage? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blinds and deal | None | No voluntary action; the small blind and big blind post before cards are dealt | Preflop action begins after the deal. |
| Preflop | None | First seat left of the big blind that can act | All players who can act have responded to the last wager, including the big blind's option; or everyone but one has folded. |
| Flop | Three community cards | First active seat left of the button | Betting round completes. |
| Turn | Four community cards | First active seat left of the button | Betting round completes. |
| River | Five community cards | First active seat left of the button | Final betting round completes. |
| Showdown | Five community cards | Showing order follows the applicable rules and final action | Best five-card hand wins, or tied hands split. |
The button and blinds determine where action starts, not which player must stay in the pot. A hand may end on any betting round if a bet makes every opponent fold. PokerStars lays out the preflop-to-showdown sequence and its button/blind positions; the table above condenses that sequence rather than creating a new ruleset.
Set the Table: Button, Blinds and Stacks
The dealer button marks a position and normally moves clockwise after each hand. At a table with three or more players, the first active seat left of the button posts the small blind; the next active seat posts the big blind. These are forced wagers, placed before players decide whether to continue. In a $1/$2 game, those blinds are $1 and $2. Check whether your table also uses an ante before copying any pot example: the worked hand here does not.
The big blind is a live wager. If at least one opponent calls but nobody raises, its owner still has the option to check or raise when action returns. If everybody folds, the big blind wins without another decision. If somebody raises, the big blind can fold, call the difference, or make a legal re-raise when action reaches them. Position matters in two ways that beginners often conflate: the blinds are posted by seats, while betting order changes after the flop. Our poker blinds guide covers the forced bets in more depth.
Before dealing an example hand, write down its assumptions. Are there six players or two? Is this no-limit, pot-limit, or fixed-limit? Are there antes or rake? Are stacks deep enough to cover the stated bets? If those facts are hidden, a pot calculation may look precise while describing an impossible table.
Preflop: Two Hole Cards and the First Decision
Each player receives two face-down hole cards. Preflop action starts with the first active player immediately left of the big blind and continues clockwise. At a six-handed table, that seat is usually called under the gun (UTG). Players facing the blind can fold, call it, or raise; after another player raises, later players face that new amount. The big blind acts if action returns to it.
A call is not a new bet. Suppose the blinds are $1/$2 and a player raises to $6. A later player with nothing invested needs $6 to call. The big blind has already posted $2 and needs $4 more to call. Writing “raises by $6” would mean a different amount and corrupt the pot ledger, so distinguish the total wager from the additional chips.
A Minimum Raise Is an Increment, Not a Guess
Under PokerStars' published no-limit rule, a raise must add at least the size of the previous full bet or raise on that betting round. With a $2 big blind and an open raise to $6, the raise increment is $4. Unless the player goes all-in for less, the next raise must bring the total to at least $10. A raise to $8 is too small; $12 is legal, but it is not the minimum. The formula for this specific spot is $6 current total + $4 last full increment = $10 minimum total.
Do not carry that $4 increment over to the flop. A new street begins with its own opening bet; under the cited PokerStars no-limit rules, a player with enough chips must open for at least the big blind. Fixed-limit and pot-limit structures have different sizing constraints, so do not apply this no-limit calculation to every poker game.
An all-in player can have too few chips to make a full raise. That wager may still be valid, but it does not necessarily restore the right to re-raise for someone who already acted. Poker TDA rule 49 explains that multiple short all-ins can cumulatively reopen action for a player who faces at least a full raise when action returns. This is a spot to ask the dealer or read the operator rule, not to rely on a one-line shortcut.
Flop: Three Board Cards, New Action Order
If at least two players remain when preflop betting is complete, three community cards are revealed together: the flop. Every player still in the hand can use them. Postflop action starts with the first player left of the button who can still bet, not automatically with the player who raised preflop. A folded player or one already all-in cannot take another betting action. If the small blind can still act, that player acts first; if not, move clockwise to the next eligible seat.
If nobody has bet on this street, a player may check (pass without adding chips) or bet. Once there is a bet to face, the next player's options are generally fold, call, or raise. You cannot check while facing an outstanding bet. When betting is settled and at least two players remain, the next board card can be dealt.
The flop is also where casual descriptions create misleading pot totals. A player who checks adds nothing. A player who folds after posting a blind does not recover that blind. A called $8 bet adds $16 to the pot, not $8. The worked hand below keeps each contribution visible.
Turn and River: One Card, One Betting Round Each
The turn is the fourth community card. The river is the fifth and final community card. Betting follows each street while players can still contest it. Players facing an all-in wager must respond before the hand can continue; once everyone remaining is all-in, no one can make another betting decision. The first eligible seat left of the button acts first on both streets. The button does not suddenly become first because it bet the previous street.
Betting can stop early. If everybody checks, no new chips enter the pot. If a player bets and everyone else folds, that player wins without showing a five-card hand. If a bet is called, record both contributions before moving on.
A useful hand history therefore needs more than “bet flop, check turn.” It should state who acted, the amount each player put in, who folded, and the pot after each street. That lets another reader reproduce the result rather than trust the author's arithmetic.
Showdown: Choose the Best Five, Not the Prettiest Hole Cards
When the last betting round ends with at least two players still in, they compare their best five-card poker hands. In Hold'em a player can use two hole cards, one hole card, or play the board with none. Omaha has a different hand-construction rule, so do not import “exactly two hole cards” into Hold'em. For the rank order and kicker logic, use the dedicated poker hand rankings.
Start by naming the five cards that actually play for each player. A shared pair on the board does not itself settle the pot; private cards may improve the hand or supply a kicker. Suits do not break an otherwise exact tie in standard Hold'em. If the best five-card hands tie after comparing every relevant rank and kicker, the players split the eligible pot under the applicable rules. PokerStars' showdown and tie description is the primary rule reference for that statement.
Showing order and mucking procedures are table-specific details. A general web guide should not overrule the dealer, floor or operator's published procedure when a live hand is in dispute.
A Complete Six-Seat Hand, With Every Dollar Accounted For
This is a rules exercise, not a recommendation to take the same betting lines. Six players have enough chips to cover every stated action. The game is $1/$2 No-Limit Hold'em with no ante and, solely to keep the arithmetic visible, no rake. Seats clockwise are Ava (button), Ben (small blind), Chen (big blind), Dana (UTG), Eli (hijack), and Farah (cutoff).
| Street | Action in order | New chips added | Pot after action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blinds | Ben posts $1; Chen posts $2 | $3 | $3 |
| Preflop | Dana folds; Eli folds; Farah raises to $6; Ava calls $6; Ben folds; Chen calls $4 more | Farah $6 + Ava $6 + Chen $4 | $19 |
Flop K♣ 8♦ 3♠ | Chen checks; Farah bets $8; Ava calls $8; Chen folds | $8 + $8 | $35 |
Turn 8♣ | Farah checks; Ava bets $12; Farah calls $12 | $12 + $12 | $59 |
River 2♥ | Farah checks; Ava checks | $0 | $59 |
The first line includes the blinds, so the preflop line adds only new chips. A second way to audit the $19 preflop pot is by final seat contributions: Farah $6 + Ava $6 + Chen $6 + Ben's folded $1 = $19. The two methods agree. Flop calls add $16; turn calls add $24; $19 + $16 + $24 = $59. No phantom chips appear when Chen folds.
At showdown, Ava turns over K♥ Q♥. Farah has K♦ J♦. The board is K♣ 8♦ 3♠ 8♣ 2♥. Ava's best five cards are K♥ K♣ 8♦ 8♣ Q♥: kings and eights with a queen kicker. Farah's are K♦ K♣ 8♦ 8♣ J♦: the same two pair with a jack kicker. Ava wins the $59 example pot because the queen kicker outranks the jack. Every named physical card is distinct; the shared board is, of course, available to both hands.
Notice the action order: Chen acts first on the flop because the small blind folded preflop. Once Chen folds on the flop, Farah becomes the first active player left of the button on the turn and river. Ava, on the button, acts last on every postflop street in this hand.
Two Edge Cases Worth Checking Before You Play
When Only Two Players Are at the Table
Heads-up play changes the blind/button arrangement. Under Poker TDA rule 36-C, the button is also the small blind. That player acts first preflop and last after the flop. The big blind acts last preflop and first postflop. Do not copy a six-seat UTG diagram onto a heads-up table; there is no UTG seat in a two-player hand.
When an All-In Is Smaller Than a Full Raise
Suppose one player bets $10 on a street and another moves all-in for $15 total. The extra $5 is not a full $10 raise. Under the cited TDA no-limit rule, a player who already acted and now faces only that short increment does not automatically get to re-raise. A player who has not yet acted may face different options, and multiple short all-ins can cumulatively reopen action for a player facing at least a full raise. The precise sequence matters; if the pot is live, ask the dealer or consult the applicable house rule.
The worked hand has no side pot because no one goes all-in. Do not add a side-pot calculation to a hand history unless its stack sizes and contributions actually establish one.
Fast Rule Check Before the Next Deal
Ask five questions when a hand feels confusing:
- Which seat has the button, and who posted each blind?
- Is action preflop or postflop, and who is the first active seat in order?
- Are you facing a bet? If so, what total amount must be called, and what was the last full raise increment?
- What did every active player actually contribute on this street?
- At showdown, what are the exact best five cards for each player?
That short audit catches most beginner mistakes without turning a rule guide into strategy advice. For a quick refresher on the broad game, see How to Play Poker; for forced-bet details, see poker blinds. The rules of a specific room or tournament take precedence when they differ from a general explanation.
Sources and Scope
- PokerStars: How to Play Texas Hold'em — operator description of deal, board sequence, betting order, no-limit minimum raise and showdown. Used as a concrete published ruleset, not as a claim that every room uses identical procedures.
- Poker Tournament Directors Association: 2026 Rules and Procedures — tournament reference for heads-up blind/button order and reopening after short all-ins. A live tournament's current rules and director's decision remain controlling.
- PokerStars: How to Play Omaha — exact-two-hole-card comparison only; Omaha's hand construction does not apply to Hold'em.
This page explains mechanics, not the probability of winning, a guaranteed strategy, or the availability of a game on any particular platform.
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