How to Deal Texas Hold'em: Step by Step

Picture a six-handed table with the button on seat 3. To deal the hand, you move that button one seat, post two blinds, give everyone two cards, then lay five community cards in three stages — burning one card before each — with a betting round after every stage. Whoever makes the best five-card hand at the end wins. Below is that whole sequence broken out, using the six-handed example to keep it concrete.

Move the button and post the blinds

Every hand opens by pushing the dealer button one seat clockwise — seat 3 to seat 4 in our example. The button marks who acts last and anchors the blinds. The player directly left of it posts the small blind; the next player posts the big blind, usually double the small. Those forced bets seed the pot before a single card is out. The blinds guide covers how the amounts are set.

Deal the hole cards

Deal one card at a time, face down, starting at the small-blind seat and going clockwise. Round the table once so everyone has one card, then again so everyone has two. The button seat receives its card last on each pass. Two hole cards per player, and never two at once — one at a time is the casino standard and keeps cards from flashing.

Run pre-flop, then burn and deal the flop

With everyone holding two cards, the first betting round runs, starting left of the big blind and moving clockwise. Once it’s settled, burn the top card — face down into the muck, unshown — then deal three community cards face up: the flop. In our example that might be K♠ 9♦ 4♣. A betting round follows, and from the flop onward it starts with the first active player left of the button.

Burn and deal the turn and the river

• Turn: burn one card, deal a single fourth community card face up — say Q♠ — then bet.
• River: burn one card, deal the fifth and final community card face up — say 2♥ — then run the last betting round.

That’s three burns per hand, one before each community stage, and four betting rounds total. The betting-rounds breakdown covers how each round opens and closes.

The sequence at a glance

Stage	Cards dealt	Burn first?	Betting after
Hole cards	2 per player, face down	No	Yes (pre-flop)
Flop	3 community, face up	Yes	Yes
Turn	1 community, face up	Yes	Yes
River	1 community, face up	Yes	Yes
Showdown	—	—	No

Showdown

If two or more players remain after the river betting, it’s showdown. The last player to bet or raise shows first; if the river went check-check, the first active player left of the button shows first. Each player builds their best five-card hand from any mix of their two hole cards and the five on the board. Best hand takes the pot; a tie splits it.

The mistakes that trip up new dealers

• Forgetting to burn before a community stage — always one burn first.
• Dealing two cards at once instead of one at a time.
• Starting on the wrong seat — hole cards begin at the small blind, not the button.
• Exposing the flop before pre-flop betting has finished.

Deal in order, burn before each board card, keep the action moving clockwise, and the hand runs clean. Pair this with the core Texas Hold’em rules and the wider rules and how-to-play hub.