Learn Poker

I always get promotional emails from stake for poker tournaments but I don't know how to play. What are the best resources to learn how to play poker? Please comment and let me know. Thanks

Just start playing micro-stakes on Stake tbh, it's the fastest way to learn the flow. For rules and basic strategy, Upswing Poker's free articles are solid.

Honestly, I learned by watching YouTube vids while grinding micro stakes on Stake. Just dive in, you'll pick it up way faster than you think.

Honestly the micro stakes on Stake are perfect for learning without getting wrecked, and I'd add Jonathan Little's free YouTube stuff to the mix – he breaks down hands really clear for beginners.

I learned basic hand rankings from a free app called Poker Trainer, then jumped into the micro tourneys here on Stake. You'll lose some at first but it clicks faster than reading a book imo

fr the micro stakes on stake are perfect for this, just jump in and you'll figure out the flow way quicker than reading a bunch of guides

Honestly just fire up a couple of those free rolls they email you about, you'll pick up the basics way faster losing fake money than reading theory all day

Yeah the free rolls they email you are actually perfect for this, zero risk and you'll get the hang of it way quicker than you think

Honestly just hop into one of those freeroll tourneys from the emails, you'll learn the flow way faster than any guide and it's not like you're risking anything

Honestly just hop on YouTube and search "beginner poker rules" — watch a 10-minute video then jump into one of those freerolls you're already getting emails about. No amount of reading beats just playing a few hands tbh

tbh those promo emails are basically free lessons waiting to happen. Just click one, sit down, and you’ll pick it up faster than any guide out there.

honestly just look up a basic hand ranking chart and dive into one of those freerolls, you'll mess up at first but that's literally how everyone learns

Id just look up the haand rankings and bet structure on some plain text site, theres really no substitute for clicking through a few dry hands. Those free tickets they spam you with are decent for that since losing costs nothing but a bit of time.

Just memorize which hands beat what first, then hop into a micro stakes cash game instead of a tournament so you can rebuy if you mess up.

i swear the hand ranking charts look like alien code at first, but once you stare at one for like five minutes it actually clicks way faster than any video i tried. those promotional emails are basically free tickets to learn on the job tbh, even if you lose a bunch at the start

Freerollls are rough, better off with a cash table.

Any freee app recs that worked for you?

I learned the hard way not to bet on every hand.

Maybe skip the emails and try some free play money games first so you don't lose real cash while learning the basics.

honestly just watching a few live streamers who explain their thought process helped me way more than any app tutorial ever did. you see the flow of a real game without having to risk anything first.

Do you find the promos push you toward tournaments more than cash games, or is it a mix of both in your inbox?

youtube taught me everything i needed tbh, search for stuff like "poker for beginners explained" and focus on videos about hand rankings and positions first, that's the backbone you can't skip. i ignored tournament strategy way too long and just bled chips, so maybe watch a few vids on that before clicking those email links.

I actually found those promo emails kinda distracting when I was starting out, they make tournaments seem way more glamorous than the boring foundational stuff you need to grind first. Maybe mute them until you've got the basics down, otherwise it's easy to jump in over your head just because the bonus looks nice.

Free play money games are safer than any promo tbh

Honestly I think diving itno books or long video courses right off the bat can kill your momentum before you even play a hand. I found it way more fun to just jump into micro stakes or free games after skimming a quick cheat sheet on hand rankings, you pick up the rhythm much faster that way.

honestly those emails got me curious too but I just ended up watching a bunch of hand breakdowns on youtube first. are you planning to start with tournaments right away or maybe learn cash games instead since they're less pressure?

honestly those pomo emails are designed to make it look easier than it is, i just started with some basic hand ranking charts on a quiet sunday and it sunk in faster than any app

I just opened a play money table on the side while watching a full fiinal table replay on youtube, it took a few hours but seeing why a pro folded pocket jacks on a specific board finally clicked for me way more than just reading hand charts.

My first "win" came from a free phone app where I finally beat the tutorial bot after a week of accidentally folding good hands, so I can vouch for those boring play money tables first.

i finnaly can play poker

Letsgo poker

(https://stakecommunity.com/topic/184369-learn-poker/page/2/#) (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=system&controller=content&do=find&content_class=forums_Topic&content_id=184369&content_commentid=3650812) On 7/9/2026 at 3:18 PM, sandenne (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=members&controller=profile&id=242559) said:

Honestly, I learned by watching YouTube vids while grinding micro stakes on Stake. Just dive in, you'll pick it up way faster than you think.

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Sounds good, will give that a try. Thanks

Videos with good commentary beat any flashy tutorial app imo, you need to hear why someone folds a decent hand instead of just memorizing the chart. i made the mistake of jumping into those promo tournaments way too soon and basically donated my buy in.

I literally just sat and watched my roommte play microstakes for like 4 hours, assking him "why'd you fold that" a hundred times til it started making sense

Honestly Stake’s poer promos got me hyped too but I started with free play on mobile apps just to nail hand rankings and the flow of Texas Holdem, took me like 2 weeks to stop folding every decent pair out of fear. The tournaments get wild once you know when to push your chips though

(https://stakecommunity.com/topic/184369-learn-poker/page/2/#) (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=system&controller=content&do=find&content_class=forums_Topic&content_id=184369&content_commentid=3654479) On 7/9/2026 at 4:28 PM, vyclor (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=members&controller=profile&id=238223) said:

Honestly just fire up a couple of those free rolls they email you about, you'll pick up the basics way faster losing fake money than reading theory all day

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Thanks will consider that

(https://stakecommunity.com/topic/184369-learn-poker/page/2/#) (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=system&controller=content&do=find&content_class=forums_Topic&content_id=184369&content_commentid=3830940) On 7/13/2026 at 1:56 PM, vyxrieon (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=members&controller=profile&id=244385) said:

I literally just sat and watched my roommte play microstakes for like 4 hours, assking him "why'd you fold that" a hundred times til it started making sense

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I've done something similar and it seems to be a quick way to learn.

I should consider this information too

Welcome! YouTube is probably the best place to start for free videos. You can also find many free practice apps that let you play hands without using real money. Have fun learning!

(https://stakecommunity.com/topic/184369-learn-poker/page/2/#) (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=system&controller=content&do=find&content_class=forums_Topic&content_id=184369&content_commentid=3878178) On 7/15/2026 at 4:36 PM, DRK98 (https://stakecommunity.com/?app=core&module=members&controller=profile&id=76207) said:

Welcome! YouTube is probably the best place to start for free videos. You can also find many free practice apps that let you play hands without using real money. Have fun learning!

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Cheers! Already begun