Poker Cheat Sheet for Beginners

You have to walk before you can run. That’s the essence of a poker cheat sheet! You’ll get the core fundamentals of how to play Texas Hold’em in our cheat sheet. We’re going to tell you the hand rankings, the hands you’ll want to play, the betting options you have and the table positions to be aware of. By the end of this poker cheat sheet you’ll be able to sit and compete in freerolls and low stakes games.

Poker Hand Rankings

Most beginners have an idea of what a strong hand is, however, you’ll need to know precisely what beats what so please refer to the rankings below for the best to word hand rankings.

Royal Flush: This is five cards in sequential order and of the same suit up to ace e.g. 10c Jc Qc Kc Ac
Straight Flush: This is five cards in sequential order of the same suit but not royal e.g. 7s 8s 9s 10s Js
Four of Kind: This is for of the same card rank e.g. Four Queens
Full House: This is three of a kind coupled with a pair e.g. 9s-9d-9c-8s-8c
Flush: This is five cards of the same suit e.g. 2s 3s 5s 9s Ks
Straight: This is five cards in sequential order of any suit e.g. 5d 6h 7s 8d 9d
Three of a Kind: This is three cards of the same rank e.g. Three Jacks
Two Pair: This is 2 sets of pairs e.g. As-Ac-Js-Jh
One Pair: This is a single pair e.g. 2s 2d
High Card: This is the highest card you have with no pair e.g. As 9d 8c 7c 2s

Starting Hands

Knowing which hands to play and which to discard can be tricky when you’re starting out. You will probably get excited any time you see an ace or king in your hand. However, on a table of 6 or more people, you’ll need to be selective about the hands you enter the pot with. Pre-flop strategy is important at all levels of poker. That’s why we’re recommending initially you only play the hands below. As you gain experience and develop your skills, you can begin to play a wider range of hands.

All pocket pairs e.g. 2s 2d all the way to two aces
Ace King
Ace Queen
Ace Jack
Ace Ten
King Queen
King Jack
Queen Jack
Any paint cards suited with a ten or higher e.g. Qh 10h and Qs Js
Suited connectors higher than 7 e.g. 7s 8s and 9d 10d

Betting Options

There are lots of TV shows and movies that depict poker, but many have glaring mistakes. If you’re only knowledge of poker has been through TV or cinema, ignore it now! Instead, read the betting options below to get a proper understanding of what you can do at the poker tables online or in casinos.

Fold: This is where you discard your hand, risking nothing more and getting out of the hand
Bet: This is where you’ve voluntarily put money in the pot
Check: This option is only available when you’re involved in the hand but neither want to check or bet and nobody else has bet yet
Call: This means you’re matching an opponents bet and are staying in the hand (for now)
Raise: If it has already been bet in front of you, this is the option to put even more money in the pot, above what is needed to call. In other words, the action will go back round to the initial bettor.

Table Positions

When you sit down at a poker table, the action will flow clockwise, starting from the blinds. Each seat has its own “title” that players use to differentiate the position from another. The terms below explain the various seating positions, from small blind to button.

Small Blind (SB): This is to the left of the dealer button. You have to put in ½ of what the BB invests. It’s an ante you must put in. If the stakes are 10c/20c, you will put in 10c
Big Blind (BB): This is to the left of the SB. You must put in the full big blind
Under the Gun (UTG): This is left of the BB. You will be first to act before the flop. This position is considered one of the worst as you are acting before everyone else before the flop and lack key information
Early Positions (EP): This consists of the first 3 seats left of BB including UTG. At a 6 handed table EP is only UTG.
Middle Position (MP): This consists of 2/3 seats to left of EP. Players can play a little more hands here than EP
Cutoff (CO): This is later position and to the right of the button. You will act later post-flop with only the button acting later. This is a great spot to play Texas Hold’em from
Button (BTN): This is the best position in poker as you act last post-flop. You’re also in a great spot to steal blinds if it folds to you. As such you can enter pots with a much wider range than earlier positions

Poker Cheat Sheet Summary

There you have it, a poker cheat sheet for beginners to use online or in casinos. You can now try your hand at Texas Hold’em at any major online poker site and compete. If you’re completely new to poker, we recommend you try GGpoker to start with. You can get an amazing matched deposit bonus by registering below. There’s no need for any GGPoker bonus code, simply register an account and choose your favourite welcome offer. Good Luck!