How to play online poker and Texas Hold'em: a complete rules guide
From zero to the felt: learn to play poker online
One place to make sense of every game type. WPT Global breaks down Texas Hold'em, PLO, Short Deck, tournaments, and the table tools in plain English — rules and hand rankings first, then just pick a real-money game and take a seat.
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One place to master every game type on WPT Global
From Texas Hold'em, PLO, and Short Deck cash games to tournament formats and exclusive table tools, every guide explains the rules in plain English. Pick a card, get it in three minutes, and sit down at the table.
Texas Hold'em
The most popular poker game in the world, played across four betting rounds.
Learn morePLO (Pot-Limit Omaha)
Four hole cards and nonstop action: the pot-limit Omaha everyone wants to learn.
Learn moreShort Deck
Hold'em with a 36-card deck: more action and a different hand ranking.
Learn moreHow tournaments work
Buy-in, blind structure, and payouts: understand a poker tournament from start to finish.
Learn moreGlobal Spins
Three-handed sit & go with a randomized prize pool that can multiply your buy-in.
Learn moreMystery Bounty
The mystery-reward format where every knockout can be worth a huge prize.
Learn moreWPT Jackpots
Instant prizes that can drop on any hand at the table.
Learn moreReveal cards
Show your cards at just the right moment and add more drama to the cash game.
Learn moreRabbit Hunt
See which card would have come next after the hand is over, just for the curiosity.
Learn moreTime extension
Grab a few extra seconds to decide on the tough hands.
Learn moreStraddle
An extra-bet feature that makes the cash game even more dynamic.
Learn moreInsurance
Protect part of the pot when you're ahead and cut down on variance.
Learn morePoker glossary
Every poker term explained in plain English, from all-in to value bet.
Learn moreGift Fest
WPT Global's gifting season with extra rewards and promotions.
Learn morePoker rules: a minute to learn, a lifetime to master
Famous the world over, poker blends short-term luck with long-term skill — thrilling and challenging in equal measure. It mixes bluffing, odds calculation, and reading your opponent, and it's earned its reputation as "easy to learn, hard to master."
As the legendary Mike Sexton put it, "it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master." He was talking about No-Limit Texas Hold'em, the most popular game on the planet, but nearly every community-card game shares the same basic rules and the same hand ranking. Understanding them is the real starting point for learning online poker.
The goal of the game and the hand ranking
People like to say that games such as bridge are "card games you bet on," while poker is "a betting game you play with cards."
Your goal is to win the pot: you can show down the strongest hand or bluff to make your opponents fold. Without betting, poker would just be a contest of "who has the highest card" — it's the chips that give every decision its weight.
Whether it's draw, stud, or community-card games like Texas Hold'em and Omaha, players act in turn on each betting round and choose whether to show — or pretend to show — the strength of their own hand. The stronger the hand, the better the chance of winning at showdown.
A poker hand is made up of five cards, which can come entirely from the player's own cards (stud, draw) or from a combination of the hole cards with the community cards on the table (Texas Hold'em, Omaha).
Poker hand rankings
Every community-card game uses the same hand ranking. Below are the ten hands from strongest to weakest, with card examples, so you remember who beats who at showdown.
- 1A♦K♦Q♦J♦10♦
Royal Flush
The famous highest straight flush — 10 through A in the same suit (any suit).
- 2J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠
Straight Flush
Five cards in sequence of the same suit, for example6♥7♥8♥9♥10♥. In a straight, the A can be the highest or the lowest card, soA♣2♣3♣4♣5♣is the lowest straight flush.
- 39♦9♠9♥9♣K♦
Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same value.A♥A♦A♠A♣is the highest four of a kind. In the (rare) cases where two players hold the same four of a kind, the fifth card (the "kicker") decides who has the stronger hand.
- 4A♦A♠A♥6♠6♥
Full House
Three of a kind plus a pair, for example,J♠J♦J♥8♠8♦. To compare full houses, you first compare the three of a kind. So,J♠J♦J♥8♠8♦beats9♣9♦9♠A♦A♥.
- 5K♣10♣8♣7♣6♣
Flush
Five cards of the same suit, for example,K♥J♥9♥4♥3♥. If more than one player has a flush, you compare the highest card to decide the stronger hand.
- 68♦7♠6♥5♦4♣
Straight
Five cards in sequence of any suit, for example,4♦5♣6♥7♥8♠. In a straight, the A can be the highest or the lowest card, soA♦2♣3♥4♦5♣is the lowest straight and10♦J♣Q♠K♠A♥is the highest (any suit).
- 77♦7♣7♥Q♠6♥
Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same value plus two kicker cards, for example,K♦K♥K♠10♦7♥. This hand is nicknamed "trips."
- 88♦8♣7♥7♠Q♠
Two Pair
You compare the higher pair first to decide the stronger hand, then the second pair. If it's still a tie, you compare the fifth card (the "kicker"). So,A♥A♦7♥7♣J♦beatsA♣A♠5♥5♣K♦, andQ♠Q♥9♦9♠10♣beatsQ♣Q♦9♥9♣6♥.
- 98♦8♣J♥10♠6♥
One Pair
Two cards of the same value. If two players have the same pair, you compare the kickers (the other three unpaired cards) to decide the stronger hand.
- 10K♦7♣8♥J♠6♥
High Card
When you can't make even a pair or anything better, the highest card (or cards) among the five count. The A is the highest. You compare from the highest card down, soK♠J♣8♠6♠3♥beatsK♣J♦8♣4♠2♦.
Poker decisions: you only need to learn these five
The options at the table can seem endless, but on every betting round there are only five actions — bet, check, call, raise, and fold. Get these down and you'll follow the rhythm of every hand.
BetOn any betting round, betting is when the first player puts chips in the pot on their own. Once a bet is made, everyone else has to call at least the same amount to stay in the hand.
CheckIf no player has bet yet, checking passes the decision to the next player still in the hand, clockwise. If everyone checks on the round, it ends and the next community card / next round comes.
CallIf there has already been a bet on the current round, calling matches the largest bet on the table right now so you can stay in the hand.
RaiseIf there has already been a bet on the round, a player can raise to a larger amount. That reopens the betting, and everyone else — including whoever bet first — has to cover the new top bet to stay in the hand.
FoldA player can fold on their turn, tossing their cards into the muck and making no more decisions until the next hand begins.
Betting limits: No-Limit, Fixed-Limit, and Pot-Limit
The "limit" is how much you can bet at once. In the same Texas Hold'em, different limit rules completely change the pace of the game — start by memorizing the difference between the three.
No-Limit
No-Limit
You can bet any amount at any time, all the way up to all-in. The minimum bet is the big blind, and the minimum raise is the big blind or double the previous bet.
Fixed-Limit
Fixed-Limit
The bet size on each round is fixed. In $2/$4, for example, you bet $2 pre-flop and on the flop, and double that, $4, on the turn and the river.
Pot-Limit
Pot-Limit
The minimum is the big blind and the maximum is "the whole pot." The pot raise = the chips already in the pot (including your call) plus the amount of the call.
A pot-limit example: pre-flop in $1/$2, the first player to act can bet at minimum $7 (small blind $1 + big blind $2 + call $2; so the "pot raise" is the call amount plus $5).
Another example: on the turn the pot is at $30 and player 1 bets $15. Player 2's maximum raise = the size of the pot ($45) plus the amount of the call ($15) = $60, so the maximum bet is $75 (the pot raise plus the initial call).
These figures can look scary at first, but in online poker you don't have to do the pot math in your head — the bet slider already shows you the minimum and maximum at each stage.
Learn how to play online poker games
WPT Global's "How to play" section is a resource for poker players new and experienced, with complete guides to the rules and strategy of all kinds of online poker games.
Whether you're taking on online poker tournaments, hunting for exclusive poker promotions or grabbing an online poker bonus code, you'll find the answers you need right here.
Poker fundamentals for beginners
Start with the most popular game types, likeTexas Hold'em,PLO,Short Deck orGlobal Spins. In Short Deck, for example: just like in traditional Hold'em, there are four betting rounds, and each player uses two hole cards and five community cards to make the best five-card hand.
To level up, don't forget to take advantage of our online poker tips and improve your game step by step.
With so manyonline poker promotions and a flood ofonline poker tournaments, WPT Global has become the go-to platform for plenty of players, helping you play poker online with more fun and higher quality.
Ready to take a seat?
Download WPT Global and put the rules and game types you just learned to work at real-money tables. From the cash game to the main event, your online poker home is ready.
You know the rules — here's how you get to a real table
Reading about poker only takes you so far; the game really clicks once chips are in front of you. Grab the free app — it installs in minutes on PC, Mac, phone or tablet — and before your first deposit, see how the welcome offer actually pays out so nothing in the terms catches you off guard.
The questions beginners get stuck on before their first real hand
No-Limit Texas Hold'em, without much debate — it's the most popular poker game in the world, and nearly every other community-card game borrows its basic rules and hand ranking. Learn Hold'em's four betting rounds and five actions and you're most of the way to understanding PLO and Short Deck too. Get comfortable with one game before you sample the rest.
Right on this page — the hand rankings section lists all ten hands from Royal Flush down to High Card, with card examples for each one. The same ranking applies to nearly every community-card game — Short Deck uses a slightly different one — so it's worth committing to memory once. Until it sticks, keep this guide open in another tab while you play.
In a cash game the chips are worth real money: you pick a table that fits your bankroll, sit down when you like and leave when you like. In a tournament you pay a fixed buy-in, everyone starts on equal chips, and prizes are paid by finishing position — once your chips are gone, you're out. Cash games suit short, flexible sessions; tournaments trade one fixed cost for a longer, structured event.
No. Cash games run from micro stakes up, freerolls appear in the lobby every week, and the minimum deposit is just $10 — which also triggers a $15.50 gift package. Start at stakes where losing a buy-in doesn't sting, and only ever play with money you can afford to lose.
Download the free app on PC, Mac, phone or tablet, create your account and verify your email — the whole thing takes a few minutes. Your first deposit then activates the welcome offer: a 100% match up to $3,000, with up to $3,348 in total rewards on the table. Before you deposit, read the release rules on this site's promotions overview — the bonus unlocks as you play and expires after 60 days.
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