Free beginner guides
Learn poker from the first card
Three plain-language guides cover what you need before your first hand: how the game flows, which hands win, and the basic math of calling a bet. Read them in any order.
The guides
- Texas Hold'em rulesHow a hand flows from deal to showdown, who acts when, and how the best five of seven cards wins.
- Poker hand rankingsAll ten hand categories from royal flush to high card, with examples and how ties and kickers work.
- Pot oddsThe price your call is offering, how to compare it to your chance of winning, and where shortcuts break.
A suggested order
- Read the Texas Hold'em rules to follow a hand from deal to showdown.
- Learn the hand rankings until the order feels automatic.
- Move on to pot odds for your first piece of real strategy math.
- Then practice in the app with play chips.