How to Play Poker: Beginner's Guide to the Rules, the 10 Hands and the 4 Betting Rounds

Updated on October 31, 2026.

To learn how to play poker, start with Texas Hold’em, the most played poker game in the world. Each player gets 2 private cards, 5 community cards are dealt in stages, and you win by making the best 5-card hand or by making everyone else fold. In this beginner’s guide you’ll see the rules, the order of the hands and how to take your first steps without wasting money.

Quick summary

• Texas Hold’em is the ideal game to start with: 2 cards of your own and 5 cards on the table.
• Each hand has up to 4 betting rounds: preflop, flop, turn and river.
• The best 5-card combination wins, following a fixed ranking of 10 hands.
• The blinds are forced bets that rotate around the table and make sure there is a pot to play for.
• Practice for free with play money and freerolls before you play for real money.

How to play poker: the Texas Hold’em rules

Texas Hold’em is played with a 52-card deck, with 2 to 10 players per table. According to PokerNews’ rules guide, each player gets 2 private cards (the hole cards) and uses the 5 community cards on the table to make the best 5-card hand. You can use both of your hole cards, just 1 of them, or none.

Before the cards are dealt, two players post forced bets: the small blind and the big blind. They sit just to the left of the dealer button, a marker that moves clockwise after every hand. That way, everyone pays the blinds from time to time.

When it’s your turn, you have these options:

• Fold: you throw away your cards and leave the hand.
• Check: you pass without betting, as long as nobody has bet before you.
• Call: you match the bet of the player before you.
• Bet or raise: you put chips in or increase the bet.
• All-in: you bet your whole stack, meaning all the chips you have on the table.

The 4 betting rounds

Each hand has up to 4 betting rounds, and it ends earlier if everyone folds except one player:

Round	What happens	Who acts first
Preflop	Each player gets 2 private cards	The player to the left of the big blind
Flop	3 community cards are dealt	The first active player to the left of the button
Turn	The 4th card is dealt	The first active player to the left of the button
River	The 5th and last card is dealt	The first active player to the left of the button

If more than one player is still in after the river, there is a showdown: the cards are shown and the best hand wins the pot.

What is the order of poker hands?

The order of poker hands, from strongest to weakest, is: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. This ranking is the same in the PokerNews and Wikipedia guides, and it applies to Texas Hold’em and to Omaha.

1. Royal flush: A, K, Q, J and 10 of the same suit.
2. Straight flush: 5 cards in sequence of the same suit.
3. Four of a kind: 4 cards of the same rank.
4. Full house: three of a kind and a pair.
5. Flush: 5 cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
6. Straight: 5 cards in sequence, of different suits.
7. Three of a kind: 3 cards of the same rank.
8. Two pair: two different pairs.
9. One pair: 2 cards of the same rank.
10. High card: no combination; the highest card counts.

When two players have the same combination, such as a pair of aces each, the kicker decides: the highest remaining card outside the combination. Any new term you run into at the table is in the RakebackPokerWorld poker glossary.

What does a beginner need to know before playing?

What matters most for a beginner is playing fewer hands and understanding position. Players who call with any two cards lose chips little by little, hand after hand.

• Position: the player who acts last, on the button or close to it, sees what everyone else did before deciding. From early positions, play only strong hands, like big pairs and A-K.
• Draw: when you are one card short of a flush or a straight, you have a draw. Calling a big bet while chasing a draw almost always costs a lot.
• Cash game or tournament: in a cash game the chips are worth real money and you can leave whenever you want; in a tournament you pay a buy-in and play until you are eliminated or you win. See how cash games work in poker.

How do you start playing online poker?

The cheapest way to start is to practice for free and only then make a small deposit. Here are the 5 steps:

1. Practice without spending. Play-money poker tables teach you the rules and the buttons of the room’s software.
2. Play freerolls. Online poker freerolls are free tournaments with real cash prizes.
3. Pick a trustworthy room. Compare the best online poker sites, with crypto deposits. On your phone, check the guide to real money poker apps.
4. Set aside a bankroll. Use only an amount you can afford to lose. The poker bankroll guide shows how many buy-ins to keep.
5. Get rakeback from the first hand. The room charges a fee on every pot, the rake, and rakeback gives part of it back to you. Find out what rakeback is.

Poker involves luck in the short run, and most beginners lose at first. Play for fun and to learn, never with money you need for your bills.

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Frequently asked questions

Sources

• PokerNews: How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker for Beginners
• Wikipedia (Portuguese): Texas hold ‘em
• Wikimedia Commons: Texas hold ‘em showdown

Play responsibly. 18+ only, and check the legal age where you live.