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Start here · Your path

From fish to narwhal

Learn Texas Hold’em one stage at a time. Every stage has a coach and an exam, and every skill ends in one. Pass a stage and you move up a rank, from Fish all the way to Narwhal.

Played before? A 3-minute self-check finds your stage, so you skip what you know. Taken again, it’s a check-up.Take the self-check

The map

Five stages, 8 skills. The numbers are the order we suggest. Inside a stage, your next step takes turns between its skills, so you learn them side by side.

  1. Stage 1

    Free, no account

    The basics

    The cards, the hands, a whole hand of Hold’em and who wins the pot.

    Pufferfish, your coach: “I’m small, but I know every rule on this reef. Stick with me and you will too.”

    1Skill 1

    The basics

    The deck, the ten hands, betting, position and the showdown.

    Exam: Which hand wins?

    Finish the stage to become a Pufferfish. Knows the rules of the reef.

  2. Stage 2

    Free accountComing soon

    Read the cards

    Tricky showdowns, and the cards that can still turn your hand into a winner.

    Octopus, your coach: “Eight arms, and I count with all of them. Let’s count every card that can still help you.”

    2Skill 2Coming soon

    Hand reading

    Kickers, split pots, three-pair boards and flushes on the board.

    Exam: Which hand wins? Hard mode

    3Skill 3Coming soon

    Draws and outs

    Count the cards that can still make your hand, and how often they come.

    Exam: Count the outs

    Finish the stage to become an Octopus. Counts every out.

  3. Stage 3

    ProComing soon

    Make good calls

    Which hands to play from each seat, and when a call pays for itself.

    Shark, your coach: “I never pay too much for a meal. By the end of this stage, neither will you.”

    4Skill 4Coming soon

    Before the flop

    Which hands to play from each seat, and what to do when someone raises.

    Exam: Open or fold

    5Skill 5Coming soon

    Pot odds

    Weigh your outs against the price of a call.

    Exam: Call or fold?

    Finish the stage to become a Shark. Never pays too much.

  4. Stage 4

    ProComing soon

    Play the players

    Read Mia, Leo and Ana, and bet with a plan instead of a hunch.

    Orca, your coach: “My family hunts with a plan, handed down for generations. Here’s ours.”

    6Skill 6Coming soon

    Reading players

    Mia plays few hands, Leo bluffs, Ana calls everything. Use it.

    Exam: Read the table

    7Skill 7Coming soon

    Betting with a plan

    Bet for value, bluff on purpose and pick the size.

    Exam: Bet or check?

    Finish the stage to become an Orca. Hunts with a plan.

  5. Stage 5

    ProComing soon

    The final table

    Every skill at once, against the whole table.

    Narwhal, your coach: “Few ever see me, and fewer make it this far. Shall we?”

    8Skill 8Coming soon

    The final table

    Long coached hands against the whole cast, with every skill at once.

    Exam: Final table

    Finish the stage to become a Narwhal. The unicorn of the sea.

At every coached table

The regulars

Mia, Leo and Ana play every coached hand with you, and they never change their ways. By Stage 4 you’ll know exactly how to beat each of them.

  • Mia Careful

    Plays few hands. When she raises, believe her.

  • Leo Wild

    Bets a lot and bluffs often. Don’t let him push you around.

  • Ana Calls everything

    Calls almost any bet. Don’t bluff her; bet your good hands.

How the path works

Poker is a handful of skills stacked on top of each other: you can’t weigh a call before you can count your outs, and you can’t count outs before you can read a hand. The path puts those skills in order, in five stages.

  • Each stage has a coach: the creature you become when you finish it. The pufferfish teaches the basics, the octopus teaches you to count, and so on up to the narwhal.
  • Each skill ends in an exam you pass at 80%. Pass it and the skill is done, even if you skipped the lessons.
  • Pass every skill in a stage to move up a rank: Fish, Pufferfish, Octopus, Shark, Orca, then Narwhal.
  • Not a beginner? The self-check finds your stage in about three minutes and opens it. You claim the ranks below by passing their exams.

Questions

Do I need to know anything first?

No. Stage 1 starts with the cards and the hand names, and every answer comes with the reason.

What’s free?

Stage 1 is free with no account at all. Stage 2 will need a free account, which also keeps your progress on every device, and Stages 3 to 5 will be part of Pro.

I already play. Do I have to start at the beginning?

No. Take the self-check: it opens the stage that fits you. The ranks below it are yours to claim with their exams, which go quickly when you know the game.

Do I have to take the lessons?

No. Passing a skill’s exam finishes the skill, lessons or not, so you only learn what you don’t know yet.

Is this real-money poker?

No. The coached tables use play chips, and there’s nothing to bet or win. RankMyHand is for learning only.