KEVIN'S CARD ROOM

Texas Hold'em: everyone gets 2 private cards ("hole cards"), and the table shares 5 community cards over the course of a hand. Make the best 5-card hand out of your 2 plus the 5 shared ones, and you win the pot — or everyone else folds and you win it without a showdown at all. That's the whole game; everything else below is just how a hand unfolds and what beats what.

1. Blinds. The two players left of the dealer button post forced bets — a small blind and a double-sized big blind — so there's always something in the pot to play for.
2. Hole cards. Everyone's dealt 2 cards, face down. Only you ever see yours — not even this browser is shown anyone else's until a real multi-way showdown happens.
3. Preflop betting. Starting left of the big blind, everyone folds, calls, or raises.
4. The flop. 3 community cards go down, shared by everyone still in. Another betting round.
5. The turn. A 4th community card. Another betting round.
6. The river. The 5th and last community card. A final betting round.
7. Showdown. Anyone left shows their hand; best 5-card combination (from your 2 + the board's 5) takes the pot. Split pots happen on a tie.

• Fold — give up the hand, lose whatever you already put in.
• Check — pass, only when nobody has bet yet this round.
• Call — match the current bet to stay in.
• Bet / Raise — put in more than you need to, forcing everyone else to match it or fold.
• All-in — bet every chip you have left. If a bigger stack calls, a side pot splits off so nobody can be outbet on chips they don't have.

1. Royal Flush — A-K-Q-J-10, one suit.
2. Straight Flush — five in a row, one suit.
3. Four of a Kind — four cards of the same rank.
4. Full House — three of a kind plus a pair.
5. Flush — five cards, one suit, any order.
6. Straight — five in a row, mixed suits.
7. Three of a Kind — three cards of the same rank.
8. Two Pair — two separate pairs.
9. Pair — two cards of the same rank.
10. High Card — none of the above; whoever's highest card wins.

Practice against bots — jump straight in against six built-in characters, no waiting on anyone. Good for learning the buttons.

Play online with real people — open practice tables you can join, or start your own and send the link. A hand starts the moment a second player sits down.

Or join a tournament from the same lobby — several tables at once, blinds that climb on a clock, tables merge as players bust, one winner at the end.

Everything here is play money. No account, no download — close the tab and you can always come back and sit down again.