Don’t know how to play poker game? Worry not, you have come to the right place to learn poker! We will show you the easiest way to learn Texas Holdem poker with comprehensive examples. We will answer everything you want to know about how to play poker game. So, without any further delay, let’s learn how to play poker cards game.
Explain how to play poker to me in just 5 minutes
Ok. In a nutshell, this is how a game of poker is played:
- You and your opponents are dealt 2 cards each, known as Hole Cards. These cards are placed face down and are not shown to your opponents.
- Preflop: This is the first round of betting. You can bet money based on the strength of your starting hand (2 Hole Cards).
- Flop: This is the second round of betting. 3 cards from the deck are placed face-up on the table. These cards on the table are called Community Cards. You need to combine your starting hand (2 Hole Cards) with these 3 Community Cards to form a 5-card hand. You can bet money based on the ranking of your 5-card hand.
- Turn: This is the third round of betting. 1 card from the deck is placed face-up on the table. There are now 4 community cards. You need to use 5 out of the 6 cards (2 Hole Cards + 4 Community Cards) to make the best 5-card hand. You can bet money based on the ranking of your hand.
- River: This is the last round of betting. 1 card from the deck is placed face-up on the table. There are now 5 community cards. You need to use 5 out of the 7 cards (2 Hole Cards + 5 Community Cards) to make the best 5-card hand. You can bet money based on the ranking of your hand.
- Showdown: Players show their Hole Cards to each other to determine who has the best 5-card hand. The player with the highest hand ranking wins the pot (money).
In the example given above, you have A♣ Q♥ as the Hole Cards with A♥ 10♦ K♣ 10♣ 2♠ as the Community Cards. Now, you need to combine your Hole Cards and the Community Cards to form the best 5-card hand rank.
I understood the game a little bit, but what are poker hand rankings?
There are 10 different hand rankings in Texas Holdem Poker. Learn how to play poker game by understanding the hand rankings, from the highest to the lowest order:
Rank #1 – Royal Flush: Cards from Ten to Ace only, all of the same suit
Rank #2 – Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit
Rank #3 – Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank
Rank #4 – Full House: Three cards of the same rank with a pair
Rank #5 – Flush: Five cards of the same suit, but not in consecutive order
Rank #6 – Straight: Five cards in consecutive order, but not of the same suit
Rank #7 – Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank
Rank #8 – Two pair: Two different pairs
Rank #9 – One Pair: It has only one pair
Rank #10 – High Card: When you don’t have any from the poker hands list, the highest card is counted. In the example below, Ten is the high card and it is also called Ten High.
Let us look at the example below to figure what poker hand ranking do you hold.
Your Hole Cards: A♣ Q♥
Community Cards: 10♦ A♥ 10♣ 5♠ 2♠
Your Hand Ranking: Two Pair (A♣ A♥ and 10♦10♣)
How do I have a Two Pair Hand?
You have to combine A♣ Q♥ (Hole Cards) with the Community Cards 10♦ A♥ 10♣ 5♠ 2♠ to form the best possible 5-card hand. So, your hand will be A♥ A♣ 10♦ 10♣ Q♥.
You have to combine A♥ A♣ to form a pair of Aces and 10♦ 10♣ to form a pair of Tens. The best fifth card is Q♥.
5♠ and 2♠ are not combined as they do not help in forming the best hand ranking.
Read: Detailed analysis of poker hand rankings
Ok, I understood the hand rankings, but how does a poker game start?
You have somewhat understood poker hand rankings. We will show you more examples for your better understanding. Now, let us help you learn how to play poker by understanding how the game starts.
Placing the Dealer Button
The world’s most popular card game is usually played with a minimum of 2 players and a maximum of 9 players. A regular deck of 52 cards without any Joker card is used in Texas Holdem Poker. If you are playing with your friends at home, you need to decide who gets the dealer button. The host deals a card face up to every player until someone gets an ace. The player who gets the first ace is chosen as the dealer to start the game. A Dealer Button is placed on the table in front of the dealer. Then, Small and Big Blinds are placed. In online games, the dealer is chosen randomly at the beginning of the game,
Wait! What are Small and Big Blinds in Poker?
Blinds are one of the crucial aspects of learning how to play poker. Every cash poker game has a pre-decided and fixed blind structure. Blinds are mandatory bets that players need to place while playing poker.
Small Blind: The player on the immediate left of the Dealer has to put a mandatory bet, which is called the Small Blind.
Big Blind: The player on the immediate left of the Small Blind has to put the mandatory Big Blind, which is the double of Small Blind. So, if the Small Blind is $5, the Big Blind will be $10.
The size of Small and Big Blinds do not increase during cash games. However, they increase gradually in tournaments.
Ok, what happens next?
After the mandatory Big and Small Blinds are placed, the Dealer shuffles the deck properly and distributes 2 cards (Hole Cards) face down to every player. These cards are not shown to each other.
Let us learn how to play poker cards game by looking at a 6-player table with players named A, B, C, D, E and F. After the toss if Player A is chosen as the Dealer, then Player B has to put the Small Blind (say $5), and Player C has to put the Big Blind ($10).
Now you have Preflop Betting, right?
Yes, you are absolutely right! The betting turns go clockwise. So, the player to the left of Big Blind has three options: call, raise or fold.
Call: In Texas Holdem Poker, Call means to put the equal amount of Big Blind ($10).
Raise: If the player thinks he has a strong starting hand, he can raise by doubling the Big Blind ($20). In No Limit Texas Holdem Poker, a player can raise any amount from $20 to all of his chips.
Fold: A player may choose not to play by folding his cards. The folded cards will be placed separately on the table.
Let’s go back to our example to learn how to play poker in a better way. As the betting turns go clockwise, it is Player D’s turn as he is left to the Big Blind.
Player D’s Turn: She can call, raise or fold. Let us assume that Player D has a strong starting hand and she raises to $40. Here, she has raised 4 times the big blind.
Going clockwise, it’s Player E’s turn as he is left to Player D.
Player E’s Turn: Player E has the same options: call, raise or fold. Let us assume that Player E folds.
Player F’s Turn: Player F Folds.
Player A’s Turn: Player A also folds.
Player B’s Turn: After Player A, it’s Player B’s turn, who already had put $5 (Small Blind) as a mandatory bet. If Player B wants to call, she has to match the raise of Player D ($40). She can even re-raise to $80 or more if she wishes. Let us assume that Player B wants to call and puts $35 more to match the raise ($40) of Player D.
Player C’s Turn: Player C who had put $10 (Big Blind) as a mandatory bet can call, raise or fold. Let us assume that Player C calls; so, he has to put $30 more to match the raise.
Once all the bets are matched, the chips are collected, which forms the pot. Here, the pot is $120 ($40 each from Players B, C and D).
What happens next? Oh, Flop! Right?
You are right again! Flop is the next important lesson in learning how to play poker game. It is the second round of betting where community cards are revealed.
The Dealer (Player A) will “burn” the first card from the deck, which means removing the first card from the deck without revealing it. Then, the Dealer will put 3 cards from the deck face-up on the table, which is called the “Flop.”
These are the Community Cards that every player can use to build their hand. Each player will compare these cards with the Hole Cards in their hand.
A♥ 10♦ 2♠ hit the board.
Do we need to bet on the Flop?
Yes. But before we go to the flop betting, let us see what kind of Hole Cards do each player hold. Remember, the Hole Cards are not shown to your opponents, but for your learning session, we will see what each player holds.
If we combine the Hole Cards with the three Community Cards A♥ 10♦ 2♠ on the Flop, we see that the players have the following poker hands:
- Player B has a “One Pair” hand with a pair of Aces: A♣ A♥ Q♥ 10♦ 2♠
- Player C has a “High Card” hand with an Ace High: A♥ 10♦ 5♠ 6♥ 2♠
- Player D has a “One Pair” hand with a pair of Tens: 10♥ 10♦ A♥ J♥ 2♠
Note: On the Preflop, the betting turn starts from the left of the Big Blind. But on the the Flop and the later betting rounds, the betting turn starts from the Small Blind.
Player B’s Turn: As Player B is in the Small Blind, he can either check or bet. Check means to continue playing with the hand without betting or putting in any money in the pot. If you want to bet, you need to put at least the same amount of the Big Blind. Since Player B already has a pair of Aces, she decides to bet $80 (minimum bet = $10, which is the Big Blind).
Player C’s Turn: Player C can now call (match the $80 bet of Player B), raise or fold. If he wants to raise, he has to put at least the double of Player B’s bet to all of his chips. As he has a High Card hand, he decides to fold.
Player D’s Turn: Player D also has the same options: call, fold or raise. She has a pair of Tens and decides to call by putting $80 to match the bet.
Once all the bets are matched, the chips are collected, which forms the pot. Here, the pot is $280 ($120 already in the pot + $80 each from Players B and D).
Next comes the Turn, right?
Yes, the Dealer (Player A) will once again burn the first card from the deck and put 1 card face up on the table, which is called the “Turn”. Now, there are 4 Community Cards on the table. They can use five best cards out of the six cards (2 Hole Cards + 4 Community Cards) to form their best possible hands.
K♣ hits the board.
Player B’s Turn: As Player B is in the small blind, it’s her turn to either check or bet. As a King hits the board, K♣ will be included, and 2♠ will be excluded, to form her best 5-card hand: A♣ A♥ K♣ Q♥ 10♦. She still has a “One Pair” hand with a pair of Aces and decides to check.
Player C’s Turn: Player C will also include K♣, and exclude 2♠, to form the best 5-card hand: 10♥ 10♦ A♥ K♣ J♥. She also has a “One Pair” hand with a pair of Tens and decides to check.
The pot still has $280 as both the players did not bet on the Turn.
This is the last betting round, right? What is it called?
It’s called the River, and it is the final betting lesson in learning how to play poker game. For the last time, the Dealer (Player A) will burn the first card from the deck and put 1 more card face up on the table. Now there are 5 Community Cards on the table that the players can use with their Hole Cards to form the best possible hands.
10♣ hits the board.
Player B’s Turn: As Player B is in the small blind, it’s her turn to either check or bet. As a Ten hits the board, she will include 10♣ to form the best 5-card hand: A♣ A♥ 10♣ 10♦ K♣. She now has a “Two Pair” hand with two pairs of Aces and Tens. She decides to bet $100.
Player D’s Turn: With the 10♣ on the River, Player D has a “Three of a Kind” Hand with 3 Tens: 10♥ 10♦ 10♣ A♥ K♣. She can call, fold or raise. As she has a Three of a Kind, She decides to increase the pot and raises to $200.
Player B’s Turn: Now Player B has to call, fold or re-raise. If Player B folds, she will lose the game and Player D will win the pot. Player B thinks that her “Two Pair” is good enough and calls by putting $100 in the pot to match the $200 raise by Player D.
Once all the bets are matched, the chips are collected, which forms the pot. The total pot is now $680 ($280 already in the pot + $200 each from Players B and D)
It’s Showdown Time, right?
Yes! You have almost learnt how to play poker! Showdown is the last phase where both the players need to show their hands to determine who has the best poker hand. The player to the left of the Dealer will show her hand first.
Player B shows her “Two Pair” hand with two pairs of Aces and Tens: A♣ A♥ 10♣ 10♦ K♣
Player D shows her “Three of a Kind” hand with three Tens: 10♥ 10♦ 10♣ A♥ K♣
Result: As a “Three of a Kind” hand is higher than a “Two Pair” hand, Player D wins the pot of $680.
Remember all the Poker Rules? Click to read all the poker rules in a nutshell.
What happens in the Next Round?
The Dealer button moves to the left and Player B becomes the Dealer with Player C putting the Small Blind and Player D putting the Big Blind. The same pattern of betting rounds continues.
If you have followed all the steps, you have now learned how to play Texas Holdem Poker. And, if you are wondering how to play poker online, it is the same. Online poker allows you to play poker in the comfort of your home where you don’t have to shuffle any card and distribute it to other players. The results are instant, and the fun doubled. If you are looking to find the best online poker site, you can check out our honest poker site reviews to find out which is the best site to play poker online.
Another popular variant is Omaha poker. If you are looking to learn this variant, take a look at this: How to Play Omaha Poker.
