How to Play Poker: Texas Hold'em for Beginners

Intro

Picture your first poker night. A friend's kitchen table, snacks out, chips stacked up.

Someone says, "Small blind, big blind." Someone else says, "Action's on you." Then everyone's looking at you, waiting. Fold? Call? Raise? You're not sure what any of them mean.

So you throw your cards in. Then you throw the next ones in too. They flip over as they slide in: two aces, the best hand there is. You didn't throw them in because they were bad. You just didn't know what else to do.

Here's the good news. Those words aren't random. Each one has its place in a hand, and every hand ever played runs through the same five steps.

The 5 steps of every hand

By the end of this video, you'll know where every word fits, well enough to sit down and play your first hand.

Five steps. One: the button and the blinds. Two: the deal. Three: your choices. Four: the shared cards. Five: the showdown.

Let's play one hand together.

Step 1: the blinds and the dealer button

Step one. The button and the blinds.

Six players: Emma, Jack, Dave, Sophie, Tom, and you.

See the white disc in front of you? That's the dealer button. It marks who deals this hand, and after every hand it moves one seat to the left, so everyone gets a turn.

Play always moves clockwise round the table, starting from the button.

Before any cards come out, the two players after the button put chips in. Emma puts in the small blind. Jack puts in the big blind, which is twice as much. They're called blinds because they bet before they've seen anything.

The big blind also sets the stakes. The bigger the blind, the more you're playing for.

From here on, every amount is counted in big blinds.

Step 2: the deal

Step two. The deal.

Everyone gets two cards, face down. Yours are the ace of clubs and the queen of diamonds. Have a look, and keep them to yourself.

The blinds have already put chips in, so the first player to act is the one after the big blind. That's Dave. Then Sophie, Tom, you, and the blinds last.

Step 3: fold, call or raise

Step three. Your choices.

Dave folds. Sophie raises, to three big blinds. Tom folds. Now it's your turn.

You have five possible actions, but only the ones that make sense right now are open to you. Sophie has already bet, so you can't check and you can't bet. That leaves three.

Fold: you give up the hand. It costs you nothing more.

Call: you match Sophie's three big blinds and stay in.

Raise: you put in more than she did, and now she has to match you or give up.

Ace Queen is strong enough to raise or call. Raise is the side I lean on, so you raise, to nine big blinds. Emma folds. Jack folds. Sophie calls.

Two of you are left. The other two actions, check and bet, are coming up.

Step 4: the flop, the turn and the river

Step four. The shared cards.

Three cards go in the middle, face up. This is the flop. These cards belong to everyone, and you combine them with your own two.

Ace of hearts, seven of clubs, two of diamonds. You've got an ace, so you've just made a pair of aces.

After the flop, the first player still in after the button goes first. That's Sophie. Nobody has bet yet, so she can check: she passes, stays in, and pays nothing. She checks.

Now it's you. Nobody has bet, so you can bet: put chips in first. You bet six. Sophie calls.

A fourth card. This is the turn. The ten of diamonds. This time Sophie bets, twelve big blinds. When someone bets, you fold, call or raise. You call.

The fifth and last card. This is the river. The five of spades. Sophie checks. You check too. Nobody bets, so the hand goes to a showdown.

Step 5: the showdown

Step five. The showdown.

Both of you turn your cards over. You can see seven cards each: your two, and the five in the middle. Your hand is the best five of those seven.

Your best five: two aces, with the queen, the ten and the seven. A pair of aces.

Sophie has the ten and nine of spades. Her best five: two tens, with the ace, the nine and the seven. A pair of tens.

A pair of aces beats a pair of tens. The pot is yours. And that's how a hand works. Now you know the steps, let me introduce myself. I'm Zane, your strategy coach. My lessons are designed by high-stakes pros and coaches who know exactly where players get stuck. So when you hit that brick wall, I'll help you smash through it.

Meet Zane, your strategy coach

And that's how a hand works. Now you know the steps, let me introduce myself. I'm Zane, your strategy coach. My lessons are designed by high-stakes pros and coaches who know exactly where players get stuck, and help you smash through it. So here are my top three tips for beginners.

3 poker tips for beginners

One. Having the button is good. You act last, so you see what everyone else does before you decide.

Two. Don't just call the big blind. That's called a limp, and it's the biggest beginner mistake there is. Raise when you've got a good hand, or fold.

Three. You don't always need the best hand. If everyone folds, you win. But betting on a weak hand, called a bluff, is the fun part, and the risky part.

Back to the kitchen table

So, back to that kitchen table. "Small blind, big blind." "Action's on you." Everyone's looking at you again. Fold? Call? Raise? This time, you know. You look at your cards: two aces. You raise.

Now you know how every hand runs, start to finish. But that was just one hand.

Even with only two players, the number of different ways a hand of poker can play out is a one followed by forty-eight zeros. That's more than chess. And that's with two players. Sit six round the table, like we just did, and it's bigger by a long way.

Knowing the rules is one thing. Getting good takes practice: hand after hand, with a coach who takes you through each one, step by step.

That's what I do in Zayrion. You play a hand, you make the choice, and I show you whether it was right, and why. Then the next one.

A one followed by forty-eight zeros. We'll take them one hand at a time. The link's below.

Next time: what beats what, so you know a good hand when you see one.