Hole Cards
The two private cards dealt face down to each player at the start of a Texas Hold'em hand.
Hole cards are yours alone. Nobody else sees them unless the hand reaches a showdown or you choose to show. Every player combines their two hole cards with the five community cards to make the best possible five-card hand.
You can use both hole cards, one of them, or neither. If the best five cards are all on the board, you are "playing the board" and every player still in the hand can do the same.
Example
You are dealt AK. Players call this "Ace-King suited", written AKs.
Questions players ask
- Can you use zero hole cards in Texas Hold'em?
- Yes. If the five community cards make the best hand, you play the board. In Omaha you must use exactly two, but Hold'em has no such rule.