Texas Hold'em rules for a home tournament

The aim of the game

Every player gets two cards only they can see, and five shared cards come to the table one street at a time. The best five-card hand out of those seven wins – or the player everyone else leaves the pot to by folding. In a tournament you play for chips: whoever loses them all is out, and the last player with chips wins.

How a hand is played

Before every hand the dealer button moves one seat to the left. The first player to its left posts the small blind, the second the big blind – forced bets that get the action going. Then the hand runs in four rounds:

1. Preflop – everyone gets two cards and the betting starts left of the big blind.
2. Flop – three shared cards come out and the first active player left of the button acts first.
3. Turn – the fourth shared card and another betting round.
4. River – the fifth shared card and the last betting round.
5. Showdown – the players left show their cards and the best five cards take the pot.

When it is your turn you can fold, call, bet or raise; if nobody has bet yet you can also check. All-in means betting all your chips.

Hand rankings

From the strongest to the weakest:

1. Royal flush – A, K, Q, J and 10 of one suit.
2. Straight flush – five cards in a row of one suit.
3. Four of a kind – four cards of the same rank.
4. Full house – three of a kind and a pair.
5. Flush – five cards of one suit.
6. Straight – five cards in a row; the ace plays high or low (A-2-3-4-5).
7. Three of a kind – three cards of the same rank.
8. Two pair.
9. One pair.
10. High card.

With the same kind of hand the remaining cards of the five (the kicker) decide. Suits have no order – equal hands split the pot.

Betting in No-Limit Hold'em

• You may bet all your chips at any time; the smallest bet is the big blind.
• A raise must be at least as big as the previous raise: from 200 to 600 is a raise of 400, so the next one must go to at least 1,000.
• A short all-in that is not a full raise does not reopen the betting for players who have already acted.
• A player without enough chips to call goes all-in for part of the pot; the rest of the others' bets form a side pot.
• A bet nobody called goes back to the player who made it.

Showdown and split pots

• The player who made the last bet or raise of the final round shows first; if there was no bet, the first active player left of the button.
• Cards speak: the best five cards count even if the player calls the hand wrongly.
• Equal hands split the pot; an odd chip goes to the first player left of the button.

Home tournament etiquette

• Act in turn – acting out of turn gives away more than you want.
• Announce a raise, or put the whole bet out in one motion. Chips pushed out in several moves (a string bet) count only as a call.
• A single oversized chip without a word is just a call.
• Don't throw your bet into the pot – leave it in front of you so it can be counted.
• Protect your cards and don't show them while the hand is on.
• If someone takes too long, the table can put them on the clock – a minute, say.
• Settle rebuys, breaks and payouts before you start, not when they matter.

Rebuys, add-ons and breaks

At home it is common that a player who busts before a set level may buy the starting stack again (a rebuy). An add-on is a one-off purchase of extra chips, usually at the break after the rebuys end. The break is also when the smallest chips are exchanged for bigger ones (colour up).

How to run a tournament