This lesson is Texas Hold'em
Poker is a family of games. What most casinos, home games, and online sites mean by “poker” today is No-Limit Texas Hold'em. These lessons teach that game. Other variants (Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, draw games) use the same hand rankings but different dealing and betting rules.
2–10 players
Full-ring is 9 or 10 seats. Six-max is common online. Heads-up is two players.
52-card deck
Four suits — hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades. Suits do not outrank each other.
Chips
Cash games use chips that stand in for money. Tournament chips have no cash value until you cash.
Dealer button
Moves clockwise each hand. It sets who posts blinds and who acts last after the flop.
The goal
Win chips. You do that by making the best five-card hand at showdown, or by betting so that everyone else folds. You do not need the best hand to win a pot — you need everyone else to give up, or to show down something weaker.
Betting actions
On your turn you have a small menu:
Fold
Throw the hand away. Chips you already put in stay in the pot.
Call
Match the current bet to stay in.
Raise
Increase the bet. In no-limit, you may go all-in.
Check
Pass without betting. Only legal when no bet is outstanding.
Blinds — forced bets
Each hand starts with two forced bets so there is something to play for. In a tournament, many structures also add an ante.
- Small blind: the seat immediately clockwise of the button posts half the big blind (or a posted amount set by the house).
- Big blind: the next seat posts the full big blind. That amount is the minimum opening bet before the flop.
Words you will hear
- Hole cards: the two private cards dealt to you.
- Board / community cards: the five shared cards: flop (3), turn (1), river (1).
- Pot: chips in the middle.
- Showdown: remaining players table their hands; the best five-card hand wins.
- Bluff: a bet or raise with a hand that would likely lose if called.
- Tilt: playing angry or stubborn after a bad beat. It is expensive.