New to Texas Hold’em? Read straight through; each step builds on the last. Already know some of it? Use the index below to jump ahead.
Texas Hold’em is a card game where everyone shares five community cards in the middle of the table. You also get two private cards that only you can see. At the end of the hand, the winner is whoever makes the best five-card poker hand using any mix of their private cards and the shared board (you can use both, one, or even none of your private cards).
Players put chips into a shared pot by betting. If you fold, you give up that hand and cannot win the pot. If you stay in until the end, you go to showdown and the best hand wins the chips.
A standard deck has 52 cards: four suits (♠ spades, ♥ hearts, ♦ diamonds, ♣ clubs) and thirteen ranks from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Suits are equal in Hold’em - a heart king does not beat a spade king by itself.
Before cards are dealt, two seats post forced bets called the small blind and big blind. Those chips start the pot so there is something to play for every hand.
When action reaches you, you choose one move. You do not have to memorize strategy yet - just learn what each word means:
A hand unfolds in rounds called streets. On each street, cards are dealt (or you already have them), then players act in turn until everyone has matched the highest bet or folded. Read these in order - that is exactly the order a real hand plays out.
What happens: Each player is dealt two hole cards face down. The small and big blinds are already in the pot.
What you decide: Action starts left of the big blind. You can fold, call the big blind, or raise. No community cards are out yet - you are deciding from hole cards and position alone.
What happens: The dealer puts three community cards face up at once. This is usually the biggest jump in information of the whole hand.
What you decide: Betting starts with the first active player left of the dealer button. Check or bet if the pot is unchecked; fold, call, or raise if someone bets.
What happens: One more community card is dealt - four cards on the board total. Draws can complete or miss, and pots often get bigger.
What you decide: Same actions as the flop, but bet sizes are often larger relative to the pot.
What happens: The fifth and final community card is dealt. No more cards will come after this.
What you decide: Value bets, bluffs, and calls matter most here - there is no future street to improve on.
What happens: If two or more players are still in after the river betting round, hands are revealed.
Who wins: The best five-card hand takes the pot (or splits it on an exact tie). Folded players do not win, even if their cards would have been better.
At showdown, each remaining player makes their best five-card hand from hole cards plus the board. Stronger categories always beat weaker ones - memorize the order below from strongest (1) to weakest (10). A pair of aces beats any high-card hand; a flush beats any straight; a full house beats any flush.
If two players have the same category (for example both have one pair), compare the ranks inside that category next - higher pair wins, then kickers (the leftover cards) decide ties.
What it is: A–K–Q–J–10, all the same suit.
Why it wins: The absolute best hand in poker - nothing beats it.
What it is: Five cards in sequence, all the same suit (for example 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥).
Why it wins: Beats everything except a royal flush (or a higher straight flush). Compare the top card if two players both have one.
What it is: Four cards of the same rank (for example four kings) plus one kicker.
Why it wins: Higher quads beat lower quads; if both have the same four-of-a-kind, the kicker decides.
What it is: Three of one rank and two of another (for example three queens and two fives - “queens full of fives”).
Why it wins: Compare the three-of-a-kind first, then the pair. Beats any flush or worse.
What it is: Any five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
Why it wins: Beats straights and everything below. Compare the highest card, then the next, and so on.
What it is: Five cards in sequence of mixed suits (for example 10♥ 9♠ 8♦ 7♥ 6♠).
Beginner note: Ace can be high (A–K–Q–J–10) or low (5–4–3–2–A), but not both ends at once (K–A–2–3–4 is not a straight).
What it is: Three cards of the same rank plus two kickers.
Beginner note: A “set” usually means you held a pocket pair and hit one matching board card; “trips” often means the board already held a pair. Same hand strength either way.
What it is: Two different pairs plus one kicker.
Why it wins: Compare the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
What it is: Two cards of the same rank plus three kickers.
Why it wins: Higher pairs win; if both players have the same pair, kickers decide.
What it is: No pair or better - just five unmatched cards.
Why it wins: The highest card wins, then the next, and so on down the five-card hand. This is the weakest category.
Here is the whole hand as one loop:
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Hand rankings, the betting rounds, and how a hand plays out, in about three minutes. Know some already? Jump ahead from its index.
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