hello welcome to pokerstars learn i'm
james hartigan and this is the only how
to play poker for beginner's guide you
need to start your poker journey
after watching this video you will know
the basics and be able to play your
first hand of poker and if you want to
learn more please don't forget to
subscribe to our channel
so when we talk about poker the most
popular version of the game which you
see in movies on tv and on live streams
is no limit texas hold'em and that's
what we are going to learn to play in
this video the aim of texas hold'em is
simple make the best five card poker
hand from the two cards you've been
dealt and the five shared cards in the
middle of the table or act like you have
the best five card hat
so what beats what well let's run
through the official hand rankings
starting at the bottom and working our
way to the top the worst you can have is
a high card no two cards are the same
and the five cards don't connect in any
other way
ideally you'd like to have at least one
pair two cards of the same value aces
are the highest pair a pair of twos is
the lowest
two pair is better pretty
self-explanatory in this example a pair
of kings and a pair of sixes
three of a kind is also pretty
self-explanatory and it beats two pair
next up a straight
five cards in a row of different suits
now an ace can be high or low but no
wrap-arounds are allowed queen king ace
2 3 is not a hand
then a flush five cards of the same suit
doesn't matter what order they're in
a full house also known as a boat is
where you have three of a kind plus a
pair that is a very strong hand
but it's still beaten by quads
officially known as four of a kind
a straight flush is an incredibly rare
hand five cards in a row all of the same
suit
and the royal flush is unbeatable it's a
straight flush 10 to the ace please note
your chances of being dealt this hand
are roughly thirty thousand to one and
those are the hand rankings to recap it
goes high card
one pair
two pair three of a kind a straight a
flush a full house four of a kind
straight flush
roll flush
there's also a downloadable hand
rankings guide in the description this
is really useful to have by your side
for easy reference when you're starting
to play the game
so how does a hand a poker play out well
let's start with three important
positions at the table
the button sometimes referred to as the
dealer button and to their immediate
left the small blind and the big blind
before any cards are dealt they have to
put chips in they are literally forced
to bet blind hence the name
the player in the big blind posts the
current minimum bet with the player in
the small blind to their right posting
half that amount
the cards will then be dealt in a
clockwise order starting with the player
to the left of the button
now if you play online or at a casino
you won't have to worry about dealing
but if you're playing privately with
friends it's standard for the player
with the dealer button to actually deal
the hand
once everyone has been dealt two cards
known as their whole cards it's time for
the first betting round
now because the players in the small
blind and big blind have already been
forced to bet the action starts with the
player to their left
this player has a decision to make based
on the two cards they've been dealt they
can fold and wait for the next hand but
if they want to stay in they can call in
other words match the amount of the big
blind or they can raise and set a new
bet that every other player has to match
the minimum raise is double the big
blind and the maximum well it depends on
the type of game but if you're playing
no limit there isn't a maximum at any
point a player can go all in and bet
everything in front of them
if a player raises and everybody else
folds the hand's over but for the sake
of argument let's assume someone raises
and one or more players match this bet
that means we move to the next round and
we get to see the flop
three cards dealt face up in the middle
of the table
these are often referred to as community
cards because they are shared by all the
players so everyone now has a five card
poker hand with more cards still to come
we then have the second betting round
the action starts with the first active
player to the left of the dealer and
because there are no longer any forced
bets this player doesn't have to put
chips into the pot they can check for
free this means the action passes to the
next player who can also check or bet
let's recap the basic actions in a round
of betting
check means i'm not betting but i'm
staying in the hand i'm passing the
action along to the next player and i
will react to whatever they decide to do
bet means i'm putting chips into the pot
call means i'm matching the bet
raise means i'm increasing the size of
the bet
and fold means i don't want to call the
bet i'm throwing my hand away and
surrendering the pot
remember you can't check once there's a
bet in front of you if you're not
willing to commit any more chips you
have to fold so if we make it to the end
of the second betting round with at
least two players still in another card
is dealt face up in the middle of the
table this is called the turn
each player now has six cards to choose
from when trying to make a good five
card poker hand
there's then another round of betting
before the river card is dealt face up
next to the flop and turn
now everyone has seven cards available
to them remember the aim of the game is
to make the best five card hand this
could be a combination of two whole
cards and three community cards
one plus four or it could be the five
cards in the middle of the table this is
known as playing the board
after one final betting round once all
the bets are matched it's time for
showdown this is where you finally show
your hand and if it's better than
everyone else's you win all the chips in
the pot
once the hand is over the dealer button
is moved one spot to the left meaning
the small blind and big blind positions
also rotate clockwise and the next hand
begins and you start again so now you
know how a hand of poker works
i'm james hartigan and this has been the
guide on how to play poker for beginners
from pokerstars don't forget to like and
comment on the video and subscribe for
more poker content thanks for watching
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