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
Reference: blinds and action order
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
With three or more players, the first seat clockwise from the button posts the small blind; the next posts the big blind. The button normally advances after each hand. Preflop action starts after the big blind. After the flop, start at the first remaining seat clockwise from the button and skip folded seats.
With only two players, the button posts the small blind, acts first preflop and last postflop. An ante is separate from a live blind: it contributes to the pot but does not reduce a call.
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