Poker for beginners: Texas Hold’em rules, hand rankings and first steps

Poker is a game where you compete not against a casino but against other players. The winner isn’t the one with better cards, it’s the one who makes better decisions. The most popular variant is Texas Hold’em. Here are the rules and the key terms.

How a hand plays out

1. Blinds. The two players to the left of the dealer button post forced bets: the small blind and the big blind. They build the pot.
2. Preflop. Everyone is dealt two cards face down. A betting round follows: you can fold, call or raise.
3. Flop. Three community cards are dealt face up. Another betting round.
4. Turn. A fourth community card, and betting.
5. River. The fifth community card and the final round of betting.
6. Showdown. If several players remain, they reveal their cards. The best five-card hand wins, made from your two cards and the five community cards in any combination. If everyone else folds, the last player takes the pot without showing.

Hand rankings, strongest to weakest

1. Royal flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit.
2. Straight flush: five cards in sequence of the same suit.
3. Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank.
4. Full house: three of a kind plus a pair.
5. Flush: five cards of the same suit.
6. Straight: five cards in sequence of mixed suits.
7. Three of a kind.
8. Two pair.
9. One pair.
10. High card.

If two players have the same hand, the one with higher cards wins, and with a complete tie the pot is split.

Position is one of the key ideas

Position is your seat relative to the dealer button. The later you act in a betting round, the more you learn about what your opponents are doing. That’s why players play more hands from late position and fewer from early position. Beginners often ignore this and play any cards from any seat, which burns a bankroll fast.

Common beginner mistakes

• Playing too many hands. There aren’t many strong starting hands, and most starting hands are best folded.
• Ignoring bankroll. Pick stakes where a losing streak won’t knock you out of the game, and move up gradually.
• Chasing losses. After a bad session it’s better to take a break.
• Ignoring rake. The room’s fee takes a slice of the pot, and over time that affects your results. More on this: what is rake in poker.

Where to practice

If you want to play for small amounts, for example at tables with $0.05/$0.10 blinds, see our TON Poker review: the formats, minimums and languages. And how to deposit and withdraw is covered here: how to deposit and withdraw money. Before you play for money, also read about safety: is it safe to play poker in Telegram.