Lesson overview
Your First Hold'em Hand
Follow the action from blinds to showdown
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Inside the full lesson
The dealer gives you two cards. What happens next?
In the full lesson, you work through this scenario with interactive examples.
Join a three-player game with 1/2 blinds. Follow one hand from the first forced bets to the final shared card and showdown.
What you’ll learn
- Recognize all four betting rounds and the action order
- Distinguish checking, calling, betting, raising and folding
- Track the pot without paying twice for a blind
From the full lesson
Two ways to win
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
Win when everyone else folds, or show the strongest five-card hand at showdown. Use any five of your two hole cards and the five shared cards: both hole cards, one, or neither. Hold'em uses a standard 52-card deck.
A check adds nothing and keeps your hand live when you owe no bet. A call matches what you owe; a raise increases the amount to match. Folding gives up your hand and the chips you already committed.
From the full lesson
The before-you-act check
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
My turn? My price? My action? Wait until the action reaches you, check what you owe, then choose.
Owe nothing with no live bet: check or bet. If a live bet is already matched, such as your big blind before any raise, check or legally raise. Face an unmatched bet: fold, call or legally raise. Ask the dealer for an unclear amount before moving chips. A new street starts a fresh betting round; a blind already posted counts toward a preflop call.
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