How do you play poker? In Texas Hold’em — the game most casinos and apps mean — you get two private hole cards. Five community cards come in three streets (flop, turn, river). You make the best five-card hand from those seven. Betting happens before the flop and after each street. The ranking of those five-card hands is not this page; it is poker hands ranked. Odds versus another hand: poker calculator.
This is the rules-and-formats cluster (dealing, sit-and-go, rake, PLO). It is not a second ranking article.
2
hole cards in Hold’em
5
community cards
4
betting streets
PLO
four hole cards, must use two
The Hold’em loop
- Blinds. Two players post forced bets (small and big blind) so there is a pot.
- Hole cards. Each player gets two cards face down.
- Preflop. Action starts left of the big blind: fold, call, or raise.
- Flop. Three community cards. Another betting round.
- Turn. Fourth community card. Bet.
- River. Fifth community card. Last bet.
- Showdown. Remaining players show; best five-card hand wins the pot (or the last raiser wins if everyone else folded).
Button (dealer) rotates clockwise each hand in a home or casino cash game.
How to deal poker (home game)
Use a 52-card deck, no jokers. Shuffle. Burn one card before the flop, turn and river if you are mimicking casino procedure (optional at home; it is an anti-marking habit). Deal two hole cards each, starting left of the dealer, one at a time. Then the flop (three), turn (one), river (one). Never mix discarded cards back until the hand is over.
Do not deal a second deck “because it is faster” unless you know the group’s rules. Misdeals (card flashed, wrong count) are usually a reshuffle of that hand.
Casino staff deal; you do not. This section is for a legal home game among adults, not an invitation to run an unlicensed card room.
Sit-and-go versus cash versus casino table
| Format | What it is | How you leave |
|---|---|---|
| Cash game | Chips equal money; buy-in is a stack | Cash out between hands (house rules) |
| Sit-and-go (SNG) | Tournament at one table, starts when seats fill | Play until one stack remains (or a posted payout table) |
| MTT | Multi-table tournament | Play down to a prize pool |
| Casino hold’em / three card | You bet against a banker, not a pool of players | The house pays posted odds minus its edge |
A sit-and-go is still poker. The chip value is tournament chips, not cash until you finish in the money. ICM (payout equity) matters near the bubble; our calculator does not model ICM.
Is poker a sport?
Poker is a game of incomplete information with a skill component over a large sample and a luck component in any one hand. Sports bodies and tax offices classify it differently by country. It is not a way to “beat” a slot RTP. Calling it a sport does not remove rake or the banker edge on casino poker products.
How casinos make money on poker (rake)
In a poker room, the house is not usually a player. It takes rake: a capped percentage of the pot, a time charge (“time rake”), or a tournament fee. That is the product edge.
In casino hold’em and similar, you bet against the house. The ranking still follows the hand chart, but ante/call payouts include a banker edge. Knowing a flush beats a straight does not make that table +EV.
What is PLO?
Pot-limit Omaha (PLO) deals four hole cards. You must use exactly two hole cards and three from the board. You cannot play a “one-card flopped flush” the way Hold’em sometimes allows. Bets are capped at the pot. It is a different game — more nutted hands, bigger swing. The five-card ranking categories are the same; the way you make them is not. This calculator on Rehanak is Hold’em-only.
Beginner mistakes
- Playing every hand to “see a flop.”
- Treating kickers as optional (they are not — see ranking).
- Assuming a casino poker table is the same as a raked cash game.
- Chasing with Q-K-A-2-3 as a “straight.” It is not. What is a straight.
Practice ranking before you post blinds
Memorise the ten hands, then use the odds calculator on a few heads-up examples (Ace-Ace versus a weak ace). Then stop. The tool is for literacy, not for grinding a session you cannot afford.
Compare real-money rooms on compare and best casinos. US-facing notes: US hub. German ranking article (separate page): Poker-Hand-Ranking.
Short questions
Q: How do you play poker in one paragraph?
A: In Texas Hold’em you get two hole cards, share five community cards, and bet on four streets. The best five-card hand wins if more than one player stays to showdown. Folding, calling and raising are the only legal actions besides checking when no bet is owed.
Q: How do you deal poker?
A: Shuffle a 52-card deck, post blinds, deal two hole cards each, then flop, turn and river. Burn cards before each board street if you follow casino procedure. Adults only; this is not a licence to take a rake at home.
Q: Is poker a sport?
A: It has skill over a long sample and luck in every deal. Legal and sporting classifications differ by country. It is still gambling when money is at risk.
Q: What is PLO in poker?
A: Pot-limit Omaha: four hole cards, must use exactly two of them with three board cards, bets capped at the pot.
18+ (21+ where required). Gambling can be addictive. Educational rules, not a staking plan. Help: responsible gambling.