Texas Hold’em • Beginner rules
How to Play Texas Hold’em: Your First Hand
Learn the blinds, four betting rounds and five-card showdown with a worked example. Then try a free daily Hold’em session against AI opponents.
Updated October 16, 2026
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What are you trying to make?
Each player receives two private cards. Five community cards can appear in the middle. Your best five-card hand can use both private cards, one, or neither. You also win if every other player folds before showdown.
Suppose you hold A♠ K♠ and the board is A♦ 7♣ 2♥ K♦ 9♣. Your best five cards are A♠ A♦ K♠ K♦ 9♣: two pair, aces and kings. You do not have to use all five community cards. A player with three of a kind would beat your two pair.
Blinds and the first decision
The dealer button marks position and moves after each hand. At our six-player $1/$2 practice table, the player left of the button posts a $1 small blind and the next player posts a $2 big blind. These are practice chips, not a payment.
Before the flop, betting starts left of the big blind. Fold gives up your hand, call matches the current bet, and raise increases it. If nobody raises, a player who has not posted a blind needs $2 to call. The big blind can check when action returns without a raise.
Flop, turn and river
The flop adds three community cards, the turn adds one, and the river adds the last one. Each stage has a betting round. After the flop, the first active player left of the button acts first. Check means pass the action when you face no bet; you cannot check instead of calling a bet.
A useful first-session goal is simply to name the street and the amount needed to call. Do not rush to raise. Folding a weak hand is a normal part of poker, and chips already invested do not require you to keep calling.
Showdown and a first practice exercise
If more than one player remains after the last betting round, compare the best five-card hands. Suit alone does not break a tie. Equal best five-card hands share the relevant pot; side pots may matter when players go all in for different amounts.
For your first three hands, follow the button, identify both blinds and watch who acts first before and after the flop. Use hand replay to review one fold or call. Our opponents are simulated AI players; results against them do not predict results against real people.
Try it at the table
Try up to 5 hands or 10 minutes in this browser each day. The Academy and Strategy Lab are free to read. Full table access is Premium. No real-money wagering.
Try the free daily Hold’em session