Poker Hand Signals

At a card room, most of what you do at the table you do with your hands. Here is what each move looks like at a real poker table, and the gestures that play the same moves at our free Texas Hold'em table on your phone.

At a real table

Check

Knock or tap the table, once or twice. It means "I pass".

Call

Put the right chips forward in one motion, or say "call" first.

Bet or raise

Say the amount ("raise to sixty") or push all the chips forward in one motion. Going back to your stack for more without saying anything is a string bet, and the dealer will only count it as a call.

Fold

Push your cards forward, face down, toward the dealer (the "muck"). Never fold when you can check for free.

All-in

Say "all-in", or push your whole stack forward.

A single chip

One big chip pushed out silently, facing a bet, is only a call. Say "raise" to make it one.

On your phone, at our table

Our Texas Hold'em table plays by the same instincts: a knock is a check, pushing up is putting chips in, pulling down is getting out. A hold steps up the size of a raise, so there's no slider to fumble.

Your turn

Between hands

A fold needs a long, deliberate swipe, and the table won't fold when checking is free. Before the first hand there's a short tip, and the Gestures button at the table lists them all and can bring the buttons back.

More free games

• Texas Hold'em: no-limit poker against five computer players, with a Learn mode that shows your odds.
• Poker hand rankings: what beats what, with the exact odds.
• Starting hands chart: all 169 starting hands and how often each wins.
• Blackjack: Vegas rules from a six-deck shoe, pays 3 to 2.
• Bubble Craps: the dice-in-a-bubble craps machine, regular or crapless.
• All Mini Velvet games

Play money only. No real wagering. About Mini Velvet