No-Limit Hold'em

The game in a minute

Each player gets two cards of their own, face down. Five cards come out face up in the middle over three rounds: three together (the flop), then one (the turn), then one more (the river). Your hand is the best five cards you can make from your two and the five on the board, using both, one or even none of yours.

Above, you have two pair, aces and kings, with a nine to go with them. There's a round of betting before the flop and after each new card, and the best hand at the end wins the pot, unless everyone else has folded first.

Our step-by-step guide goes through a whole hand, and hand rankings shows what beats what.

What "no limit" means

On your turn you can bet or raise any amount from the minimum up to all the chips in front of you. That's what makes the game: one well-timed all in can win a big pot, or lose your whole stack.

• The smallest bet is the big blind.
• The smallest raise is the size of the last bet or raise. If someone bets 10, you can raise to at least 20.
• All in means putting in every chip you have. If you can't match a bet, you can still go all in and play for the part you covered, with a side pot for the rest.

More detail is in betting and blinds.

Playing it on Poker Rooms

• 2 to 9 players free, or any table size up to 10 with Premium, and up to 50 watching.
• The host sets the stakes in chips. A new table starts at blinds of 1/2 with buy-ins of 100 to 200 chips, and the host can change either, decimals like 0.25/0.50 included.
• Bet sizes are ready for you. The usual size is picked as your turn starts: three big blinds to open, three times a raise, half the pot after the flop. One tap bets it, or pick another.
• Straddles, running it twice and the rabbit hunt are free switches for the host. See all the side games.
• Every deal can be checked. "Verify this deal" proves nobody chose the cards. How fair dealing works.

Five tips for your first night

1. Play fewer hands. Most two-card hands are worth folding. Pairs, two high cards and suited aces are the ones to play.
2. Position matters. Acting last, on the button, lets you see what everyone else does first. Play more hands there and fewer from the blinds.
3. Raise rather than call before the flop. Raising gives you two ways to win: everyone folds, or you have the best hand.
4. Watch the board. Four cards of one suit, or four in a row, change what a good hand is.
5. Don't chase every draw. Count the cards that make your hand (your outs), and call only when the pot's worth it.