How to play poker
In Texas hold'em each player gets 2 private cards and shares 5 community cards. There are 4 betting rounds, preflop, flop, turn and river, and the best five-card hand from any combination of the seven wins. Equal hands split the pot.
A hand, step by step
- 1
Post the blinds
The two players left of the dealer button post forced bets, the small blind and the big blind. These create a pot worth competing for before anyone has seen a card.
- 2
Deal the hole cards
Each player receives two private cards. Betting starts with the player to the left of the big blind and moves clockwise: fold, call the big blind, or raise.
- 3
Deal the flop
Three community cards are turned face up in the middle. They belong to everyone. A second betting round begins, this time with the first remaining player left of the button.
- 4
Deal the turn
A fourth community card is added and a third betting round follows. Bets are typically larger now, because the pot is larger and there is only one card left to come.
- 5
Deal the river
The fifth and final community card is dealt, followed by the last betting round. Every player now knows their final hand.
- 6
Show down
Anyone still in the hand reveals their cards. The best five-card hand, made from any combination of the two hole cards and five community cards, wins the pot. Equal hands split it.
The seats
Position decides how much information you have when you act, and it is the largest structural edge in the game.
| Position | Also called | Acts | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|
| UTG | Under the gun | First preflop | ~14% |
| HJ | Hijack | Second | ~18% |
| CO | Cutoff | Third | ~25% |
| BTN | Button | Last after the flop | ~48% |
| SB | Small blind | First after the flop | ~34% |
| BB | Big blind | Last preflop | Defends |
The three things that actually matter
Play fewer hands, from later seats
The most common beginner leak is playing too many hands from too early. A hand that is profitable on the button is often a loser under the gun, and the difference is not the cards, it is how many people can still beat you and how often you will have to act first for the rest of the hand.
Know the price you are being offered
Every call has a break-even point. A half-pot bet needs 25% equity, a pot-sized bet needs 33.3%. Knowing your outs converts a vague feeling into a percentage, and comparing the two turns most river decisions into arithmetic.
Judge decisions, not results
Aces lose to kings about one time in five, and there is nothing to be learned when they do. Poker rewards correct decisions over a long enough sample and punishes nothing in the short run, so the only reliable measure of whether you played well is whether the decision had a positive expected value at the time you made it.
Beginner questions
How do you play Texas hold’em?
Each player gets two private cards and shares five community cards. There are four betting rounds, before the flop, after the flop, after the turn and after the river. The best five-card hand from any combination of the seven cards wins.
Do I have to use both of my hole cards?
No. You use the best five cards available from your two and the five on the board, that can mean both, one, or neither. When the board is the best five cards, everyone still in the hand splits the pot.
What are the betting options?
If nobody has bet, you can check or bet. If somebody has bet, you can fold, call the amount, or raise it. In no-limit hold’em a raise can be anything from the minimum up to your entire stack.
What is the button and why does it matter?
The dealer button marks who acts last on every betting round after the flop. Acting last is a large and permanent advantage, which is why the button opens roughly 48% of hands and the earliest seat opens around 14%.
How much should I raise before the flop?
Between two and three times the big blind is standard, plus roughly one big blind for each player who has already called. Consistency matters more than the exact size: varying it by hand strength tells observant opponents what you have.
What is the single most useful number for a beginner?
The equity a call needs. Facing a half-pot bet you need 25% to break even; a pot-sized bet needs 33.3%. Comparing that against your actual chance of winning turns most difficult calls into arithmetic.
Next steps
- Next stepThe one thing to learn nextPlaying too many hands from too early is the leak that costs beginners the most. The charts turn that into six pictures you can print, and they are the whole of module one.
- Hand rankingsWhat beats what
- Pot oddsWhen to call
- Odds calculatorCheck any spot
- Start trainingDrill the decisions
- GlossaryEvery term explained
Hear when the course opens
The rules, the rankings, the charts and the calculator stay open to anyone. The course that follows them, in order, opens without a card while Deckwise is in early access.
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