Katta

Kitchen Table Poker

Gaurav Ghoge

— 14 min read
Share

♠♥♦♣A plain-English guide to Texas Hold’em, plus three practice games. Read the guide first, then try the games in order.

The goal

Make the best five cards

Poker uses a normal 52-card deck. At the end of each round, every player still in shows their best five-card hand, and the best hand wins all the chips in the middle (the pot).

There is a second way to win: if you bet and everyone else gives up (folds), you take the pot without showing your cards.

Memorize this

Hand rankings, best to worst

Higher on the list always beats lower. Suits are all equal; spades are not better than hearts.

    Texas Hold’em

    How one round goes

    1. Two cards each

      Every player gets two cards face down. Only you see yours. These are your hole cards.

    2. First betting round

      Look at your two cards and decide: put chips in to stay, or fold.

    3. The flop

      Three cards are dealt face up in the middle. Everyone shares these. Then another round of betting.

    4. The turn

      A fourth shared card is added. Another round of betting.

    5. The river

      The fifth and last shared card. Last round of betting.

    6. Showdown

      Players left show their two cards. Each person makes the best five from their 2 cards plus the 5 shared cards. Best hand takes the pot.

    Your choices

    What you can do on your turn

    Check
    Pass without betting. Only allowed if nobody has bet yet this round.
    Bet
    Put chips in. Others must match it to stay in.
    Call
    Match the bet someone else made.
    Raise
    Match the bet and add more on top.
    Fold
    Give up this round. You lose what you already put in, but nothing more.
    Blinds
    Two small forced bets before the cards come out, so there is always something to play for. They move around the table each round.
    Good to know

    Common questions

    • You don’t have to use both your cards. You can use one, both, or even none if the five shared cards are your best hand.
    • The Ace is high or low. A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are both straights. It cannot wrap around (Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight).
    • Ties go to the higher cards. Two players with a pair? The higher pair wins. Same pair? The next highest card, called the kicker, decides.
    • Exact ties split the pot.
    • Folding is normal. Good players fold most of their starting hands. A pair, two high cards, or two cards of the same suit close together are good starts.

    Read more