LEARN / POKER BASICS
Poker basics.
Follow the hand.
In community-card poker, players make hands using private cards and a shared board. A hand can end when everyone except one player folds, or when the remaining hands are compared at showdown.
Published · Mavopoker
A Hold’em
starting point.
This guide uses standard high-hand Texas Hold’em to explain the terms and stages. Each player receives two private hole cards, and up to five community cards form the board.
Your best hand contains five cards chosen from those seven. Hold’em allows zero, one or two hole cards. Omaha has a different requirement: exactly two hole cards and three board cards.
For the conventional Hold’em structure, see the official PokerStars Hold’em rules. Mavopoker’s final table rules will be provided with the released product.
The table terms.
- Hole cards
- Your private cards
- Board
- The shared community cards
- Pot
- Chips contributed to the hand
- Stack
- Chips a player has at the table
- Blinds
- Required bets that start the action
- Buy-in
- The amount brought to a table
The dealer button marks the dealer position for the hand. The button and blind positions normally move as hands are completed. A table’s displayed rules explain its stakes and entry requirements.
What do the
actions mean?
| Action | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Check | Stay in the hand without adding chips when you face no outstanding amount to call. |
| Bet | Put in the opening wager for a betting round. |
| Call | Match the current wager, accounting for chips you already committed in that round. |
| Raise | Increase the current wager. |
| Fold | Leave the current hand and give up your claim to its pot. |
| All-in | Commit all your remaining table chips. |
A player who is all-in can remain eligible for the pot their contribution covers. Further betting by other players can create a separate side pot.
Terminology reference: WSOP Online poker terms. For table-stakes and side-pot explanations, see PokerStars rules help.
The four
betting rounds.
| Stage | Cards and action |
|---|---|
| Preflop | Each player has two hole cards. The first betting round takes place before community cards are dealt. |
| Flop | Three community cards appear, followed by another betting round. |
| Turn | A fourth community card appears, followed by the next betting round. |
| River | A fifth community card appears, followed by the final betting round. |
A hand can finish before all five board cards are dealt if only one player remains. If multiple players remain after the final betting round, eligible hands are compared at showdown.
Round-sequence reference: PokerStars Learn: Texas Hold’em rules.
Seven available.
Five that count.
Suppose your hole cards are K♣ Q♦ and the board is J♥ 10♠ 9♣ 3♦ 2♠. Your best five cards are K♣ Q♦ J♥ 10♠ 9♣: a king-high straight.
This is a hand-construction example. It shows how the cards combine, without recommending an action.
Where do you go next?
Learn the order of poker hands, then read the guide for the format you want to understand. Check the specific table rules for betting limits and variant differences.
Mavopoker is in development. iOS, Android and H5 Web are coming soon. Final formats, table rules and availability will be confirmed at release.