Build your poker foundations.
Free introductory poker lessons covering Texas Hold’em, position, hand review and tournament fundamentals.
Start with the rules, then work through position and hand review. These introductory reading guides are free; they are not paid video courses or certificates.
Start with the Fundamentals
Short, free learning guides. Open a card to begin.
Texas Hold’em Basics
Two private cards. Five community cards. Learn how a hand is built.
BeginnerRead guide +
Texas Hold’em Basics
Two private cards. Five community cards. Learn how a hand is built.
In Texas Hold’em, each player receives two private cards. Five community cards are revealed in stages: the three-card flop, the turn, and the river.
Your final hand is the best five-card combination from the seven cards available. You may use two, one, or none of your private cards.
From strongest to weakest: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. A royal flush is an ace-high straight flush.
Position & Pre-Flop
Understand the order of action and why information matters.
BeginnerRead guide +
Position & Pre-Flop
Understand the order of action and why information matters.
Position describes when you act relative to other players. Acting later usually gives you more information about what has already happened.
Before the flop, action begins to the left of the big blind. After the flop, action normally starts with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer button.
When reviewing a hand, note the dealer button, each player’s position, and the sequence of actions before judging a decision.
Reading a Poker Hand
Follow the action. Separate what you know from what you assume.
Study skillsRead guide +
Reading a Poker Hand
Follow the action. Separate what you know from what you assume.
- Record the positions, stack sizes, and community cards.
- Pause the video before each decision and list the information available at that moment.
- Consider several possible hands, not just one exact holding.
- Compare your reasoning with the revealed cards. A single outcome does not prove a decision was good or bad.
Tournament Essentials
Learn the language of blinds, levels, eliminations, and final tables.
BeginnerRead guide +
Tournament Essentials
Learn the language of blinds, levels, eliminations, and final tables.
Tournaments have scheduled levels. Blinds generally increase as the event progresses, and players are eliminated when they run out of chips, subject to the event’s re-entry rules.
Chip counts and cash values are different things. A tournament’s payout structure determines how finishing positions are rewarded.
When following coverage, distinguish the festival dates from the dates of a specific championship. Always check the organizer’s latest schedule.