Welcome to the table

Lesson 1 of 23 · Foundations · 4 min read

You against the dealer, four betting circles, one big decision.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em borrows its cards from Texas Hold'em poker, but it's a casino table game. There's no bluffing and no reading other players. You play against the dealer, and each player at the table makes their own decisions about their own hand.

Here's what's in front of you:

• Ante and Blind: two circles that take equal bets. You must make both to play a hand. If your Ante is $10, your Blind is $10 too.
• Trips: an optional side bet on how good your own hand ends up. More on it in lesson 19.
• Play: empty when the hand starts. This is where your one raise goes.

You and the dealer each get two cards face down. Five community cards are shared by both of you: first three (the flop), then two more (the turn and river). Each side makes its best five-card poker hand out of its own two cards plus the five on the board.

The twist that makes UTH interesting is the Play bet. You get exactly one chance to make it, and its size depends on how early you commit:

• Before the flop, you may bet 4× your Ante (or 3×).
• After the flop, if you waited, you may bet 2×.
• After the river, if you still waited, you must bet 1× or fold.

Waiting costs you size, but it buys information. Most of this course is about when to commit and when to wait, and the app will show you the exact value of each choice before you make it.

All 23 lessons