How a Poker Round Works: Step-by-Step Walkthrough

A hand has up to four betting rounds

Blinds are posted first, then each player receives two private cards. Players act preflop. If at least two remain, the flop adds three shared cards, the turn adds one, and the river adds one; each street can have its own betting round. An ordinary board only grows—it never swaps an earlier card.

The sequence above is a separate illustrative deal. The worked hand below uses different named cards and tracks every chip. A fold can finish a hand before the next street; an all-in runout can finish the board without another betting choice.

The button changes who acts first

At this six-handed table, the small blind is immediately clockwise from the button and the big blind follows. Before the flop, action begins left of the big blind. After the flop, start with the first active player clockwise from the button; skip anyone who folded or is all-in.

Deal the first private card to the small blind at a six-handed table and continue clockwise, then repeat for the second card. With only two players, the button is the small blind and receives the last initial card. The button/small blind acts first preflop and last after the flop.

The heads-up exception is also stated in the Poker TDA’s published tournament rules (inspected HTML rule 36(C)); see the version and format note below.

One hand from blinds to showdown

This is a six-player $1/$2 no-limit Hold’em teaching example, not a suggested stake or betting strategy. There is no ante, straddle or rake in the arithmetic. You are Player 5, the hijack (HJ); Player 1 is on the button (BTN). You and the button each begin with $200, enough to cover the $101 each commits.

1. Blinds and preflop Pot $19

   Player 2 posts the $1 small blind; Player 3 posts the $2 big blind. Player 4 (UTG) folds. You raise to $6 total from the HJ; Player 6 (CO) folds. BTN calls $6, SB folds, and BB adds $4 to match $6. Three players see the flop. The blind posts and calls contribute $19 in total.

2. Flop Pot $43

   10♠♠109♠♠94♦♦4

   The flop is 10♠ 9♠ 4♦. With Q♠ J♠, you can complete a straight with an eight or king, or a flush with another spade. These possibilities overlap and are not all guaranteed winners against an unknown opponent. BB checks; you bet $12; BTN calls $12; BB folds. The pot grows by $24.

3. Turn Pot $99

   10♠♠109♠♠94♦♦4K♥♥K

   The turn adds K♥ to the existing flop. Your Q♠ J♠ now makes a king-high straight, K–Q–J–10–9. You bet $28 and BTN calls $28, adding $56 to the pot.

4. River Pot $209

   10♠♠109♠♠94♦♦4K♥♥K2♣♣2

   The river adds 2♣. Your straight remains; you bet $55 and BTN calls $55, adding $110. The two players now reach showdown.

BTN has two pair, kings and tens, using K♣ 10♦ with the board. Your king-high straight wins. The gross pot is $209, which includes chips contributed by the folded blinds. You put in $101; with no rake or other costs in this example, your net gain is $108—not $209 of profit.

Where the $209 pot comes from

These are new chips added on each phase, not the amount a player has already committed. A “raise to $6” is a total wager of $6 for that player; the big blind has already put in $2 and adds only $4 to call.

The pot is the amount returned to the winner before costs; a player’s profit subtracts that player’s own contributions. This fixed example does not calculate equity, rake, side pots or an optimal bet size.

Not every hand follows the entire diagram

• One player remains: all others folded, so that player takes the existing pot without a new community card or ordinary showdown.
• Multiple players remain and can bet: the next community card is dealt and the next betting round begins with the first active player after the button.
• No further bet can be contested: once wagers are matched and any uncalled excess is returned, this includes hands where everyone remaining is all-in, or only one player with chips remains against all-in opponents. There is no betting into an empty side pot. Deal the remaining board and compare live hands for the pots they are eligible to win.

At an ordinary non-all-in showdown, the last aggressor on the final street normally shows first under the inspected TDA HTML rule 18; when there was no final-street bet, the first player who would act shows first. The inspected rule 17 instead requires all live hands to be tabled once all-in betting is complete. Check the event or room’s current rules rather than assuming every losing hand can be hidden.

What to learn next

• Basic poker rules — actions, betting formats, side pots and etiquette.
• Poker hand rankings — compare the best five cards at showdown.
• Table positions — a fuller guide to seats and action order.
• Texas Hold’em guide — the rules and examples in one place.
• Poker glossary — define the terms used here.
• Bluffing — what it means to win before showdown, without assuming every fold reveals weakness.

Sources and format scope

This lesson describes an ordinary six-handed no-limit Hold’em example, with a separate heads-up exception. The World Poker Tour’s Hold’em rules support the broad deal and street order. For tournament procedure, the Poker TDA HTML inspected on 24 September 2026 identifies itself as 2026 version 1.0 (7 September; its addendum says 6 September), including rules 17, 18 and 36(C) discussed above. The TDA announced version 1.1 on 21 September; that file was not reviewed for this lesson. A tournament's adopted rules, cash-room procedures or a platform's terms may differ.

The card and chip examples are deterministic teaching fixtures, not claims that a particular bet is optimal, that every game uses the same house rule, or that this publication tested an account or a table.