Poker strategy that starts with the math.
Free tools and plain-English guides to hand rankings, odds, and betting decisions — for Texas Hold'em, Stud, and draw games. No fluff, no hype, just the numbers that win pots.
Start here
Poker Hand Rankings
All 10 hands from royal flush to high card, with the odds of making each one.
Free toolOdds & Equity Calculator
Pick your cards, add the board, and see your exact win probability instantly.
Free chartPreflop Starting Hands Chart
Which hands to open-raise from every position at a 6-max table.
Latest strategy guides
Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em, Ranked
Texas Hold'em starting hands ranked from AA down, with real equity numbers and the three factors that decide what any hand is actually worth.
RulesDoes a Flush Beat a Straight? Yes — Here's Why
A flush beats a straight because it's rarer — 0.197% of hands vs 0.392%. The full math, plus the 3-card poker twist where a straight wins.
Texas Hold'emFull House in Poker: Odds, Rank & How It Wins
A full house is trips plus a pair — 0.144% of hands. How to read 'kings full of threes', which one wins, and the paired-board trap.
RulesPoker Card Values & Ranking Order Explained
Ace high down to deuce, the ace's dual role in the wheel, why suits don't rank, and how kickers decide hands — with worked examples.
Poker MathRoyal Flush Odds: 1 in 649,740 Explained
Only 4 royal flushes exist in 2,598,960 hands — 1 in 649,740. The real Hold'em odds, why two royals split, and how to play the draw.
Poker MathStraight Flush Probability: 1 in 72,193
36 straight flushes exist in a 52-card deck — 1 in 72,193. Where the number comes from, the steel wheel, and the second-nut trap.
Why start with the math?
Most poker advice online is either vague ("play tight, play smart") or buried under promotional hype. Neither helps at a table. What actually helps is knowing that a flush draw hits by the river 35% of the time, that a pocket pair flops a set once in 8.5 tries, and that pot odds decide whether either number justifies a call.
Those aren't trivia. They're the difference between calling because the price is right and calling because you have a feeling. Every guide here starts from the arithmetic and ends at a decision you can make quickly.
Where to begin
If you're new, learn the hand rankings cold — including the two that trip up nearly everyone (a flush beats a straight, and a straight beats three of a kind). Then work out which hands are worth playing and use the preflop chart for your position. Position is worth more than most players believe: the button profitably opens roughly three times as many hands as the seat under the gun, purely because it acts last after the flop.
When you want to check a specific spot, the odds calculator simulates 20,000 runouts in your browser and tells you exactly how often your hand wins. Nothing is uploaded — the cards you pick never leave your device.
Skill, chance, and playing responsibly
Poker rewards skill over a long enough sample and punishes everyone in the short run. Correct decisions lose constantly; that's variance, not a flaw in your play. It's also why bankroll discipline matters more than any tactic — and why we'd rather you read our responsible gaming page than any strategy article, if you only read one. This site teaches the game; it doesn't offer real-money gambling, and nothing here is financial advice.