Texas Holdem Poker All In Rules
Poker Side Pot Calculator - Free Poker Tool
This tool lets you check who wins what when several players are all in. Your home game or private tourney won't have any more fist fights now. Enjoy!
Type in the stacks of the participating players and click on calculate. Click 'instructions' for, um, more instructions.
Rules for All-In Situations in Poker
- When playing Texas Holdem poker, every player is dealt two cards face down – these are called your 'hole cards'. Then there is a round of betting where you can Check, Bet or Fold. This stage of the game is known as pre-flop and what you should do is dependent on those hole cards, or starting hand.
- RULES: – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Straight Flush which is ranked the same in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Straight Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players provided no player holds a Royal Flush (meaning the Straight Flush is the strongest hand on the table).
In a Fixed Limit Texas Holdem game, you can only bet as much as the pot. But in a no-limit Texas holdem game, you can virtually go all-in any time you want. However, you'll only be eligible to win your stack multiplied by the amount of callers = the main pot.
The 'all in' rules we abide by in poker today were invented to prevent über-rich mobsters from running over small, honest guys at the poker table.
Before the all-in rule was invented if you had $500 at the table and $10,000 in the bank, if an opponent bet $20,000 into the pot you could not call him -- even if you ran across the street and withdrew all your money from the bank. Even if you had the absolute nuts!
To avoid people betting their cars and farms and wives (or husbands), some humanist genius introduced a rule called 'table stakes.'
It states that in a poker hand you can only bet whatever money and chips you had on the table when the hand started. You cannot reach for your wallet and get more money. You cannot go to the bank and mortgage your condo.
To handle the case where one player bets all his money and the opponent has less money at the table, the all-in rules were introduced. We'll walk you through them.
Betting in All-In Situations
Typically, if a player goes all-in for less than half the amount of a full raise, his bet is considered to have no effect on the betting options. That is to say, if a player bets $100, another player goes all-in for $125 and a third player calls, the original player could not now re-raise as this would be in effect raising himself.
The third player, on the other hand, could still raise instead of call as he has not yet had the option to raise.
Calling an All In is Always Allowed!
No matter how little you have in your stack you can always call with the rest of your chips. When you call with all your remaining chips, you call 'all in.'
All-In Example with 2 Players:
There's $200 in the pot. You have $50 left and your opponent bets $200. If you want to call, you call all in by placing your last $50 in the pot.
In this case the opponent first gets $150 back - the amount you couldn't match. Then there is a showdown and the player who shows down the best hand picks up $300 - the $200 originally in the pot plus $50 from each of you.
So you can always call -- but you can only win as much from your opponent as your stack dictates.
How to Calculate Poker Side Pots
All-in rules for two players are pretty straightforward, as we saw above. When three or more players are involved, things can get pretty messy with one main pot and several side pots -- especially if you're in a home game and have to balance a beer jug while doing the math.
RULE: The ruling principle is that each player matches as much of the opponents' bets as she has left in her stack.
METHOD: This is how you do it. First, the smallest stack matches all opponents' bets. These chips are put in the 'main pot.'
Then the second smallest stack matches the remaining opponents' bets with whatever is left in his stack and creates a side pot. And so on.
Side Pot Example
There are three players with stacks as follows:
- Player A: $10
- Player B: $50
- Player C: $200
All players move all in. Let's start with the smallest stack and create the main pot. Player A has $10 and matches $10 each of the other player's bets. A main pot of $30 is created. This is the money that Player A can win.
The remaining chips of Player B are then matched to the bet of Player C. Player B has $40 left so we take $40 from Player C and make a side pot of $80.
When all matching is done Player C still has $150 left in his bet. This money is returned to Player C immediately. Then the remaining cards are dealt and the showdown is performed. The following pots are contested:
- Main pot: $30, contested by Players A, B and C
- Side pot: $80, contested by Players B and C
Tip: Go ahead and check this out in the side pot calculator above!
Now if Player A has the best hand (s)he wins the $30 main pot. Then Players B and C compare their hands to see who wins the $80 side pot. If Player B or C has the best hand this player wins both the main pot and the side pot.
All In Rules when a Player's Stack is Less Than the Small Blind
If a player's stack is smaller than the amount of the small blind that player is automatically all-in in for the next hand they play, regardless of their position.
If the stack is bigger than the small blind but smaller than the big blind the player is all-in in any position other than the small blind (and can only survive if they fold their option).
The all-in player can then only win the amount of their stack and that same amount from any callers or blinds. If the player has less than the big blind they can only win chips equal to their stack, not the whole big blind.
Rebuying After an All In
In a rebuy tournament, if you go all-in and lose all your chips you can buy more chips if you are still within the prescribed rebuy period. If you do this you must do so immediately. You cannot leave the table and come back!
If you do not have the money on hand to rebuy you're out of luck unless you can borrow from someone else at the table, buy the chips, then go get money to repay him or her.
Rules for Exposed Cards in Poker
In most card rooms exposing cards to reduce or encourage action, especially in a tournament, is not allowed. Most card rooms and tournament directors agree that unrestricted showing of cards is unacceptable and that if a player exposes his cards to one person, he must expose them to everybody.
After that though, things get a bit hazy.
The 'Show One, Show All' Rule
A common refrain among poker players who have seen someone show his hand to another player (who presumably has folded) is 'show one, show all.'
This clearly means that since the player has given information to one opponent, all opponents are entitled to the same information.
However, in recent years, this rule has been interpreted to mean 'show one, show both,' meaning if a player exposes one of his cards after the hand is over, the players are entitled to see the other card. In some card rooms the dealer is then required to turn over the other card.
Response to the 'Show One, Show Both' Rule
This rule has been met with nearly universal disdain from card players. Poker professional Daniel Negreanu is particularly outspoken about his opposition to this rule.
The rule discourages players from showing a single card to confuse their opponents and most agree that psychology and deception is very much a part of poker. Still, this may be the rule in the poker room you play in so you should find out before trying to expose one card.
Exposing a Card to Induce or Diminish Action
Another popular poker rule in card rooms is that you cannot show an opponent a card in order to induce a call or a fold. This rule is adhered to most commonly in tournaments since the actions of one player affect everyone at the table.
In the NBC Heads Up Poker Championship, though, players were permitted to expose a single card -- both because it made good television and because no one but the two players involved in the hand would be affected by the action.
Exposing Cards During All-In Situations
Providing there is not more than one player who still has more chips in his stack involved in the pot, there is no penalty for exposing cards once a player is all-in and called.
In tournaments, in fact, it is mandatory. However exposing a card while a player is considering whether to call an all-in usually merits a penalty.
Exposed Cards When Dealing
If you're dealing at home, if the first or second card you deal is exposed the hand is a misdeal. Any cards that have been dealt are collected and the deal starts over.
If any card after the 1st or 2nd is exposed then the deal continues. Once all cards have been distributed as normal the dealer takes the top card of the deck and gives it to the player who received the exposed card. The exposed card is then turned face up and shown to everyone at the table.
It's then put on the top of the deck and the dealer will use it as the first burn card when dealing the flop. If more than one card is exposed during the deal of the hand the whole hand is a misdeal and reshuffled to be dealt again.
Exposed Cards in the Shoe
If an exposed card (ie a face-up card) is in the deck while the dealer is dealing, the exposed card is simply shown to every player and taken out of play for that hand. The deal resumes as normal.
Poker Rules FAQs
Question: Once you've shown your cards, your hand is dead and you're considered folded out of the hand, correct?
Answer: This is a debated question and the rules vary depending on if you play tournaments or cash games. In cash games the general rule is that the hand is still alive even if the hole cards are exposed in the middle of a hand.
One of the most cited set of poker rules available is 'Robert's Rules of Poker' created by poker expert Bob Ciaffone. Rule 12 in the General Poker Rules chapter states that 'A card that is flashed by a player will play.' Similar rules are found in other poker rules collections.
But tournaments are a different story. Here the general rule seem to be that exposed cards are considered dead. It's important to keep in mind that there are no universal poker rules per se and rulings can vary between card rooms and tournaments.
Always check the local rules before sitting down at the table.
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Question: Do you need two decks of cards when the number of players is 7 or over?
Answer: No. In poker you use one deck of cards, end of story. After all, what would you do if a player flipped over five of a kind on the river? If the game you're playing is 7 Card Stud and you run out of cards, you deal the last card open for everyone to use.
Read more:
On the other hand, if you're playing Texas Holdem you could invite 20 players without running out of cards. This is probably one reason Holdem was invented in the first place - the railroad builders wanted all the guys to be part of the game.
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Question: If there's a flush on the board can an off-suit card in the pocket serve as a kicker?
Answer: No. According to the poker rules, players can only use five cards to build their poker hand. Since a flush is made up of five cards, there's no room for any off-suit cards to influence it.
On the contrary, if there's a flush on the board, a card of the same suit in a players hand can give him or her a higher flush.
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Question: Can you cash out some of your chips from the table and keep playing with the rest?
Answer: No. If you're playing in a cash game you're playing with all of your chips on the table. It's considered very poor etiquette to try and take any chips off the table ('go south') and it won't be allowed in any poker room.
Home games you can decide for yourselves but again it's considered poor form.
If you do want to cash out some of your chips but still get back in the game you have to cash out all of your chips and leave the table for an extended amount of time before returning.
This is called 'recycling' and while it's generally not encouraged it's not as bad. The wait time differs from poker room to poker room but expect to have to sit out an hour at least.
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Question: Can you buy more chops off another player at the table?
Answer: Another bad idea. If you buy your chips off another player you cut down on the overall amount of chips at the table. The same amount of chips the first player had is now divided into two players.
Chips should only be bought from the cashier or the dealer. If you're player at home it's also a good idea to designate one player as the sole recipient of cash and distributor of chips.
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Question: If you put one chip larger than the size of the pot in, is it a raise or a call?
Answer: Very common question. If you put one over-value chip into the pot without saying anything (at least in a standard casino poker room), it is always a call.
In a home game you can always decide if you want to ask the player if it's a raise but elsewhere if there is no verbal declaration of a raise it is considered a call and the difference between the call size and the chip value is returned to the player.
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Texas Hold'em Poker All In Rules
Introduced to the poker world at large in the late 1960s by Doyle Brunson and the famed Texas road gamblers, Texas Hold'em has literally re-shaped poker as we knew it and helped create a poker boom still reverberating around the globe today.
Why has Texas Holdem become the de facto poker game of choice for millions of poker players? And why is it still the benchmark for poker glory at the World Series of Poker?
That's easy. It's incredibly fun. And packed with multi-level strategy that draws on equal parts brains, nerves and complex psychology. It's also, importantly, not very hard to learn!
As the old saying goes, 'Texas Hold'em: it takes 2 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.' We can help you with the 'master' part over in our poker strategy section; here we'll stick to the 2-minute part and introduce you to the official Texas Hold'em rules below.
How to Play Texas Hold'em
Texas Holdem is a community card game in which each player at the table is dealt two 'hole' cards face down. Each player then uses those two hole cards in combination with five communal board cards to make the best possible five-card poker hand.
You can win a Texas Hold'em hand by:
- Having everyone else fold before the hand is over
- Having the best 5-card poker hand at showdown
And that's essentially it. Texas Hold'em can be played in either cash game or tournament format (with dozens of variations) and with stakes from as small as 1c/2c all the way up to $500/$1,000 and above.
Tournaments offers buy ins from entirely free up to $1 million (eg. The Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker). Most poker tournaments online run with buy-ins of $1-30 with 10-15% of the tournament field making the money and getting paid a return on their buy-in.
Texas Hold'em rules can be broken up into a few essential categories:
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Button & the Blinds
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Deal
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The First Betting Round
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Flop, Turn & River
- Texas Hold'em Rules - The Showdown
- Texas Hold'em Rules - Tournaments
Texas Holdem Rules - The Button & the Blinds
A Texas Hold'em cash game is played at a single poker table with anywhere from 2-10 players. In a poker home game, the role of dealer usually passes from player to player with each hand, rotating to the left.
If the game is played online or in a live casino, a designated dealer will deal all of the cards for every round.
Where the deal starts is important, however, as the position of the players in relation to the dealer determines when they act in the hand. The player with the dealer button is the player who gets to act last in every hand. That gives them very important information as to the other players' holdings.
While the dealer spot is fixed in a live game, a dealer 'button' is used to represent the dealer spot and is passed to the left with every hand.
The blinds, meanwhile, are two 'forced' bets that are put into the pot before every hand. These are usually in simple increments like 1c/2c or $1/$2. The 'small blind' is the player immediately to the left of the dealer and puts in the smaller bet before each hand starts.
The 'big blind' is the player to the left of the dealer and puts in the bigger bet before each hand starts. This ensures each pot has some money in it for every hand.
As the dealer button moves on to the next player after every hand, so too do the blinds. That means once every orbit around the table each player will at least put in one small blind and one big blind into play.
In some Texas Holdem games (and in the later rounds of tournament play) an 'ante' is put in place to further bump up the value of the pot before the hand begins. Each player pays the ante into the pot before then hand is dealt.
Texas Holdem Rules - The Deal
Once all players have been properly seated at the table and the blinds and/or antes have been paid into the pot, the deal begins. Each player will receive one card face down, in sequences starting with the player to the left of the dealer, then followed up by a second card in sequence to each player.
These are the player's 'hole' cards. A player can use both hole cards, one hole cards or none of their hole cards when comprising their final 5-card poker hand.
The hole cards can be used in any combination with the 5 communal cards on the board to make up the highest ranked poker hand possible. If the highest hand possible is made up of all 5 cards on the communal board, it is called 'playing the board.'
Texas Holdem Rules - The First Betting Round
Texas Holdem is played in three different betting formats:
- No-Limit
- Fixed-Limit
- Pot-Limit
In short, No-Limit means a player can bet the entire amount of their chips at any time. In Fixed Limit they may only bet a specified maximum amount in relation to the value of the blinds. In pot-limit the maximum bet is the current size of the pot.
For more detail on the different rules for Texas Holdem betting structures, see out articles here:
Texas Holdem games you've seen on TV, and most Texas Holde'm games in general these days, as played as No-Limit games. That means a player can go 'all in' at any point in the hand. This makes for very exciting TV and the spectacular outbursts you've likely seen during the World Series of Poker on ESPN.
Once the betting structure has been determined for each game, Texas Holdem is played with a small and a big blind -- two forced bets that are posted before the cards are dealt.
Once the blinds are posted each player is dealt two cards face down. When each player has their hole cards, it's time for the first betting round.
Starting with the player to the left of the big blind (called 'Under the Gun'), players in sequence either fold, 'call' the amount of the big blind (ie match the size of the big blind) or bet/raise.
In order to continue in a hand each player has to match the amount of the maximum bet (or equivalent). For example if the blinds are $1/$2 and someone raises the bet in their turn to $10, each player, including any players who have already acted in the hand, can now match that $10 in total or raise the bet even further.
The minimum bet in a Texas Hold'em game is equal to either twice the amount of the big blind (if no one has yet to raise) or twice the amount of the previous bet or raise.
Texas Holdem Rules - The Flop, Turn & River
When all the remaining players have contributed an equal amount to the pot, the next rounds of cards - in this case called 'the flop' is dealt.The dealer will 'burn' one card - that is deal it face down out of play, and then deal the next three cards off the top of the deck face up in the center of the table.
These are 'community cards, which mean that all players can use them to make up their best possible five-card poker hand. If you need a reminder of how poker hands are ranked in Texas Hold'em, you'll fine the official hand rankings below under The Showdown header
Once the flop has been dealt a second round of betting occurs in the same manner as the previous round, except this time it starts with the player directly to the left of the dealer (if he or she is still in the hand).
That means if the big blind is still in the hand he or she will bet first after the flop, followed by the small blind (if still in) and then the player who bet first in the first round (if still in) and so on.
This is obviously quite important as it changes which player has the final say in the hand. For this round and each subsequent betting round, the player on the button (or player closest to the button still in the hand) will act last.
Once all bets have again been equalized a fourth communal card, known as 'the turn' is dealt. The dealer burns the first card off the top of the dec again and deals the next card onto the table as the turn card.
After the turn is dealt another round of betting follows in the same manner as the flop round with the player still in the hand closest to the left of the dealer beginning the action. The player on the button again will act last.
After all bets have been matched again a fifth and final card, called 'the river' is dealt face up on the board. The card on top of the deck is again dealt face down out of play (burned) before the next card from the top is placed on the table.
Once the river is dealt a fifth betting round begins in the same format as the two rounds before it.
An Important Note on All Ins
As mentioned, if playing Texas Hold'em in No-Limit format any player can push all of their chips into the middle at any point in a hand. As most players tend to have an unequal amount of chips in their stacks, once a player goes all in it is considered the 'effective' stack for the hand.
That means the maximum bet that can be played vs. that player is the amount of the total stack all in. so for example if a player has $200 in chips and goes all in, if another player with a bigger stack also declares All In later they will only be risking $200 vs. that player. Other players with larger stacks can also then call the All In and a side pot for the amount over $200 between the larger stacks will be created.
Texas Holdem Rules - The Showdown
Once the final betting round takes place. If more than one player is still in the hand after the betting is finished there is a 'showdown.' The player that made the last bet or raise reveals his/her cards first; if all players check the first player after the dealer shows the cards first.
The remaining players then reveal their hands clockwise. Players that don't want to (or can't) compete for the pot can choose to fold (muck) their hands unseen.
Again, a player can choose to use none, one or both of their hole cards together with the board cards to make their best hand. He/she can also 'play the board' - use all the five community cards to create a five-card hand.
The pot is won by the player with the best 5-card poker hand. If two or more players have the same hand, the pot is split between them. Here are the official poker hand rankings for Texas Hold'em:
- Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10 all of same suit)
- Straight Flush. (5 cards in sequence all in same suit - eg 7h-8h-9h-Th-Jh)
- Four of a Kind. (All four cards of same rank)
- Full House. (3 cards of one rank alongside 2 cards of another - eg. 6h-6s-6d-8d-8c)
- Flush (All 5 cards or one suit, any rank)
- Straight (A sequence of 5 cards of rank, any suit - eg, 2h-3d-4c-5s-6c)
- Three of a kind (3 cards or any one rank, two unmatched cards)
- Two pair (Two different pairs plus one unmatched card)
- One pair (One pair of equal rank, 3 unmatched cards)
- High Card (all unmatched cards ranked by the highest single card)
Some common confusion about Texas Hold'em hand rankings:
Flush vs Flush -- The highest single card of the flush determines its overall ranking. Meaning any flush with an Ace in it is the higher flush. Even if the other flush has 'more' high-value cards in it, the single highest card of the flush determines the winner. Eg. A-6-4-3-2 beats K-Q-J-8-5
Two Pair vs Two Pair -- The highest single pair determines the winner, not the cumulative value of the two pairs together. Eg. AA-44 beats KK-QQ.
Full House vs. Full House -- The highest three-of-a-kind determines the higher full house. Eg. K-K-K-9-9 beats Q-Q-Q-J-J.
Also:
- A Flush always beats a Straight
- 3-of-a-Kind always beats Two Pair
- Suits do not determine ranks in Texas Holdem
- Straights do not 'wrap around' - meaning J-Q-K-A-2 is NOT a straight but A-2-3-4-5 is (ace can be low end of straight)
Texas Hold'em Rules - Tournaments
If you've only ever played Texas Hold'em cash games but you'd like to give Texas Hold'em tournaments a try, don't be intimidated. The Texas Holdem rules themselves don't change drastically.
But there are some alteration to play that definitely change your optimal strategy approach. Here we'll give you just a quick overview of some of the basic differences between Texas Hold'em cash games and tournaments.
MTTs vs. Sit & Gos
Texas Hold'em tournaments can come in dozens of formats but the two basic ones are:
- MTT - Multi-Table Tournaments
- Sit & Go - Single table tournaments (usually) that begin when all players are seated
A multi-table tournament, as you might expect, has multiple tables of players. All players pay a buy-in plus fees that secures entry to the tournament and a pre-determined starting stack of chips.
The final player left with chips at the end is the winner. Typically 10-15% of the prize pool is set aside to reward the top finishers on a sliding scale with the winner (and the other top 3-5 players getting the biggest share).
A Sit & Go (SnG) is usually a single-table tournament with anywhere from 3-10 players. Each player pays the same buy-in to play and is given an equal starting stack. The last player left usually wins all the money (or the Top 3 players are paid).
SnGs play at very low $ levels online and start up virtually every few minutes. SnGs can also run in Jackpot format (the prize pool is randomly multiplied before the event begins) or Turbo formats (extra fast blinds).
Beware the Rising Blinds
Texas Holdem Poker Rules Explained
Another major difference between cash games and tournaments are the rising blinds. In a cash game the blinds for the table are static and remain set throughout play. There is a minimum and maximum buy in for the table and if you lose your stack you can buy in to the table again for any amount between those two figures.
In a poker tournament, the blinds will increase on set intervals to force the action. A standard level time for a poker tournament is around 30-45 minutes. The blind structure for the tournament is posted beforehand so you'll know exactly when the blinds will increase and by how much. This ensures the action and means you can't just sit and wait for big hands to play or you will 'blind out' of the tournament.
Dozens of Texas Hold'em Tournament Formats
While the game begin played at the table is always Texas Hold'em (and follows its basic rules), there are literally dozens of different types of Texas Holdem tournaments you can play from Re-Buy and Re-Entry tournaments to Freezeouts, Bounty, Heads-up, etc so be sure to check which type you're playing before you sign up.
The tournament director will provide a list of all the unique rules to the tournament beforehand for all players to see.
Play Texas Holdem Free Online
While a poker home game is a great way to be introduced to the rules of Texas Hold'em, the best way to improve your Texas Hold'em skills is to play in free Texas Holdem games online.
Virtually every poker site offers free-to-play, 'play money' poker games where you can try out the games and get used to the software before investing any money yourself. You can even win real money paying in free Texas Hold'em games to give your beginner bankroll a boost.
To see our list of the poker sites with the best free Texas Hold'em cash game and tournament options, see our page below.
Texas Holdem Poker Rules For Beginners
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