How to play poker: rules and basics for beginners

The goal of the game

Every hand of poker has one goal: win the pot, the chips everyone has bet. There are two ways to do that:

1. Show down the best hand. If two or more players are left after the final betting round, cards are turned over and the best five-card hand wins.
2. Make everyone else fold. If you bet and nobody calls, you win the pot without showing your cards.

That second route is why poker is a game of skill, not just luck. You don’t always need the best cards to win the hand.

Poker hand rankings

From best to worst, the ten hands are:

1. Royal flush: A-K-Q-J-10, all one suit
2. Straight flush: five cards in a row, all one suit
3. Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank
4. Full house: three of a kind plus a pair
5. Flush: any five cards of one suit
6. Straight: five cards in a row, mixed suits (A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest)
7. Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank
8. Two pair
9. One pair
10. High card: none of the above

Only your best five cards count. Suits never rank above each other in standard poker, so two identical hands split the pot. Keep our printable cheat sheet handy while you learn.

Blinds: how the betting starts

Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the dealer button post forced bets called the small blind and big blind. The small blind is usually half the big blind. Blinds make sure there is always something to win, and the button moves one seat clockwise after each hand so everyone takes a turn paying them.

The four betting rounds

A hand of Texas Hold’em runs like this:

1. Preflop. Everyone gets two hole cards. Action starts with the player to the left of the big blind.
2. Flop. Three community cards are dealt face up. Betting starts with the first active player to the left of the button.
3. Turn. A fourth community card, then another round of betting.
4. River. The fifth and final community card, then the last round of betting.

If more than one player remains after the river, it’s a showdown.

Your options on each turn

When it’s your turn you can:

• Fold: give up the hand and any chips you’ve already put in.
• Check: pass the action without betting (only if nobody has bet yet this round).
• Call: match the current bet.
• Bet: be the first to put chips in this round.
• Raise: increase the current bet, forcing others to put in more to continue.

Limit, pot-limit and no-limit

The betting structure controls how much you can bet:

• No-limit: you can bet any amount up to all your chips. This is how most Hold’em is played.
• Pot-limit: the maximum bet is the size of the pot. This is standard for Omaha (PLO).
• Fixed-limit: bets and raises come in set amounts.

Five habits of new winning players

• Play fewer hands, and play them aggressively (raise rather than call).
• Pay attention to position. Acting last is a big advantage.
• Don’t chase every draw. Learn pot odds so you know when calling is correct.
• Watch what opponents do when you aren’t in the hand.
• Judge decisions by whether they were right, not by whether you won that pot.