Poker for beginners: hands, terms, Hold’em and Omaha

1. Royal Flush — 10, J, Q, K, A of one suit. The strongest and rarest hand.
2. Straight Flush — five cards in sequence, all one suit.
3. Four of a Kind — four cards of the same rank.
4. Full House — three of a kind + a pair.
5. Flush — five cards of one suit (not in sequence).
6. Straight — five cards in sequence (mixed suits).
7. Three of a Kind (Set/Trips) — three cards of the same rank.
8. Two Pair — two different pairs.
9. Pair — two cards of the same rank.
10. High Card — no combination made; the highest card plays.

These hands are the same in every app — in X-Poker, PPPoker and ClubGG alike.

The main difference is how many hole cards you get and how they’re used:

• Texas Hold’em — 2 hole cards. You can use any combination of your cards and the board. The most popular and the easiest format to start with.
• Omaha (PLO) — 4 hole cards, but your hand must use exactly 2 of yours and 3 from the board. Bigger pots and more trap hands — more dynamic, but harder for a beginner.
• Short Deck (6+) — a deck without 2–5. Flushes and straights swap places, more action.

A beginner is better off starting with Hold’em. Move to Omaha and 6+ once you’re comfortable.

• Blinds — forced bets before the deal (small and big blind), so there’s always something to play for in the pot.
• Preflop — the betting round right after the hole cards are dealt.
• Flop — the first 3 community cards on the board.
• Turn — the 4th community card.
• River — the 5th and final community card.
• Showdown — players reveal their hands; the strongest combination takes the pot.

• Button (BTN) — the most profitable position: acts last after the flop and sees opponents’ actions.
• Small blind (SB) and big blind (BB) — to the left of the button; they post the blinds.
• Early positions — act first, so play tighter.
• Late positions — more information, so you can play wider.

Beginner’s rule: the later your position, the more hands you can play.

• Fold — discard your cards and leave the hand.
• Check — pass the action without betting (if no one has bet).
• Bet — be the first to put chips in.
• Call — match an opponent’s bet.
• Raise — increase the bet.
• Re-raise — raise back over an opponent’s raise.
• All-in — put in all your chips.

• Cash — play with chips equal to money; sit down and leave any time.
• Tournament (MTT) — everyone pays a buy-in and plays until eliminated; prizes go to the best.
• Freeroll — a tournament with free entry and a real prize pool. The best way to try without risk.
• Guarantee (GTD) — the minimum prize pool a club guarantees for a tournament.
• Knockout (PKO) — part of the prize is paid for knocking opponents out.
• Bomb pot — a hand where everyone antes and goes straight to the flop, with no preflop betting. Lots of action.

• Rake — the commission the club takes from the pot.
• Rakeback — a return of part of the rake to the player. The main bonus for a regular (calculate yours in the calculator below).
• Buy-in — the amount to enter a cash table or tournament.
• Bankroll — the money set aside for playing.
• BBJ (bad beat jackpot) — a large progressive prize for losing with a very strong hand.
• Union — a group of clubs that share traffic at the tables.
• Agent — an intermediary you join the club through and who handles organizational questions.

Texas Hold’em — it has simple rules (2 cards) and the most learning material. Pick up Omaha and Short Deck later.

It’s a return of part of the commission (rake) the club takes from pots. For a regular player, rakeback is the main way to cut costs. Calculate yours in the calculator above.

The friendliest for a beginner is ClubGG — simple interface and install. PPPoker is the most populous, and X-Poker has big unions and tournaments.

A tournament with free entry and a real prize pool — the best way to try the game with no risk to your bankroll.