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Learn poker in 3 minutes

The five rules, the hand rankings with an example of each, and why your seat at the table changes which hands you should play.

Lesson: Seven cards, best five (needs an invite). In the glossary: Streets: preflop, flop, turn and river, Hand rankings, Showdown. How the numbers are made.

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The whole game in five rules

  1. You get two cards that only you see. Five shared cards are then dealt face up in the middle: three, then one, then one.
  2. Your hand is the best five cards from your two and the five shared ones.
  3. There is a round of betting before the shared cards and after each new batch. On your turn you fold, check, call, bet or raise.
  4. You win the pot when everyone else folds, or when your hand is the best one shown at the end.
  5. Before the cards, two players put in forced bets called the blinds, so there is always something to win. The button marks the dealer and moves one seat left each hand.
Preflop2 cards eachAce of heartsA♥Jack of spadesJ♠betting round 1Flop3 on the boardKing of diamondsK♦Jack of heartsJ♥Seven of clubs7♣betting round 2Turn1 moreKing of diamondsK♦Jack of heartsJ♥Seven of clubs7♣Two of spades2♠betting round 3Riverthe last oneKing of diamondsK♦Jack of heartsJ♥Seven of clubs7♣Two of spades2♠Ace of clubsA♣betting round 4
Each street adds cards and then a round of betting. The new card on each street has a gold edge. Your two cards are yours alone; the five on the board are shared by everyone.

What beats what

  1. 1Royal flushAKQJ10Ace to ten, all one suit.
  2. 2Straight flush98765Five in a row, all one suit.
  3. 3Four of a kindQQQQ7All four cards of one rank.
  4. 4Full houseKKK99Three of one rank and a pair of another.
  5. 5FlushAJ863Five cards of one suit.
  6. 6Straight109876Five ranks in a row; the ace plays high or low.
  7. 7Three of a kind777K2Three cards of one rank.
  8. 8Two pairJJ10104Two different pairs.
  9. 9One pairAA963Two cards of one rank.
  10. 10High cardAJ853None of the above; the highest card plays.

When two players hold the same kind of hand, the higher cards win: a pair of kings beats a pair of queens. Suits never decide. The hand rankings page gives the odds of each one.

Where you sit matters

Before the flop, the player left of the big blind acts first. After the flop, the player nearest the button's left acts first and the button acts last. Acting last is an advantage: you see what everyone else did before you decide. So play fewer hands from early seats and more from late ones.

Action moves clockwisepot in the middleCutoff: acts 3 of 6 before the flopCO3Button: acts 4 of 6 before the flopBTN4DSmall blind: acts 5 of 6 before the flopSB5½Big blind: acts 6 of 6 before the flopBB61Under the gun: acts 1 of 6 before the flopUTG1Middle position: acts 2 of 6 before the flopMP2
A six-handed table. The button moves one seat to the left after every hand, and the two blinds move with it. The number on each seat is its turn to act before the flop.

Your first decision

Most hands should be folded before the flop. Pairs, two high cards, and suited cards close in rank are the hands worth playing; small unconnected offsuit cards like 7-2 or 9-3 are folds from every seat up to the button. When nobody has entered the pot before you, come in with a raise rather than a call.