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Hold'em and Pineapple family

No-Limit Hold'em poker rules

2 Cards / Classic Hold'em

Hole cards
2
Board
1 community board
Betting
No-Limit
Players
2-7 players
Pot
High hand
Family
Hold'em and Pineapple family

What is No-Limit Hold'em?

No-Limit Hold'em is the game most players already know: two private cards, a shared board of five, and the best five-card hand wins using any combination of your hole cards and the board.

Betting is No-Limit, so any player can bet their whole stack at any time, across preflop, flop, turn and river rounds.

On SophiesPick it is the reference point for every other variant and the easiest game to mix into a Dealer's Choice rotation. 2-7 players.

Objective

Make the best five-card poker hand.

Starting cards

2 private cards. 1 community board. No-Limit betting.

How to play

  1. Preflop betting.
  2. Deal the flop (3 community cards), then flop betting.
  3. Deal the turn (1 card), then turn betting.
  4. Deal the river (1 card), then river betting and showdown.

Showdown

Make the best five-card hand using 0, 1, or 2 hole cards and the community board.

Hand rankings in No-Limit Hold'em

High Hand

  1. Royal Flush
  2. Straight Flush
  3. Four of a Kind
  4. Full House
  5. Flush
  6. Straight
  7. Three of a Kind
  8. Two Pair
  9. One Pair
  10. High Card

Royal Flush is the highest possible Ace-high Straight Flush.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking you must use both hole cards: Hold'em lets you use 0, 1 or 2 of them with the community board.
  • Forgetting the board can play: when the best five cards are all on the board, every remaining player splits.
  • Confusing Hold'em showdown with Omaha, where exactly two hole cards are mandatory.
  • Pineapple

    Pineapple adds a third hole card that you discard before the flop; everything after that is Hold'em.

  • Super Hold'em

    Super Hold'em is Hold'em with a sixth board card dealt after river betting and no further betting round.

See how No-Limit Hold'em lines up against every other game in the poker variants comparison table.

No-Limit Hold'em FAQ

How many cards does each player get in No-Limit Hold'em?

Two private cards. Five community cards are dealt in three stages: the flop (3), the turn (1) and the river (1).

Do you have to use your hole cards?

No. Make the best five-card hand using 0, 1 or 2 hole cards and the community board.

What does No-Limit mean?

There is no cap on bet size other than your stack; you can move all-in on any betting round.