How betting rounds work
3 min read · Updated 2026-09-26
Hold'em has up to four betting rounds: preflop, flop, turn and river. The rules for each round are the same; only the starting seat changes. Get these right and most table arguments disappear.
Who acts first
| Round | First to act | Last to act |
|---|---|---|
| Preflop | Left of the big blind (“under the gun”) | The big blind |
| Flop, turn, river | First player still in the hand, left of the button | The button (or the closest player to its right) |
Action always moves clockwise, one player at a time. If a straddle is on, preflop action starts left of the straddler, and the straddler acts last.
Note — Heads-up is different: With only two players, the button posts the small blind and acts first preflop, then last on every later round.
When a round is over
- Everyone still in the hand has put in the same amount this round, or is all-in, and
- Everyone has had at least one chance to act.
- If everyone checks, the round is over and the next card comes.
- If all but one player folds, that player wins the pot straight away — no need to show.
Tip — The big blind’s option: If everyone just calls preflop, the big blind can still raise. The dealer should wait for the big blind to check before dealing the flop.
A round in practice
Blinds 1/2, five players. Pot figures include the blinds.
| Player | Action | Pot |
|---|---|---|
| Small blind | Posts 1 | 1 |
| Big blind | Posts 2 | 3 |
| Under the gun | Folds | 3 |
| Ana (cutoff) | Raises to 6 | 9 |
| Ben (button) | Calls 6 | 15 |
| Small blind | Folds | 15 |
| Big blind | Calls — adds 4 more | 19 |
| Flop: big blind | Checks | 19 |
| Flop: Ana | Bets 10 | 29 |
| Flop: Ben | Folds | 29 |
| Flop: big blind | Calls 10 | 39 |
How much you can bet
| Format | Smallest bet | Largest bet |
|---|---|---|
| No-limit | The big blind | All your chips |
| Pot-limit | The big blind | The pot; when raising, call and then raise by the pot |
| Fixed-limit | Fixed: one small bet preflop and flop, one big bet (double) on turn and river | Same fixed size, usually capped at one bet and three raises per round |
Minimum raise (no-limit and pot-limit): a raise must be at least as big as the last bet or raise in that round. Blinds 1/2: if someone raises to 6 (a raise of 4), the next re-raise must be to at least 10.
Short all-ins: if a player goes all-in for less than a full raise, the players who already acted can call or fold, but they can’t re-raise — the betting isn’t reopened for them.
Say it, then do it
- Saying an action out loud (“call”, “raise to 20”) commits you to it.
- If you don’t speak, the chips you push forward in one motion are your action. Going back to your stack for more without saying “raise” is a string bet — it counts as a call.
- Facing a bet, a single big chip pushed forward without a word is a call, not a raise.
- Keep bets in front of you until the round is over, so everyone can see the amounts. The dealer pulls them into the pot.