Introduction
nlh.poker is a free Texas Hold'em app you can play in your browser or on your phone—no download required.
This article walks you through everything you need to get started: creating an account, joining NLH Quick or NLH Win The Button, and using hand history, stats, bookmarks, and settings. If you are new to the app, read this once and you will know where to find each feature.
Table of contents
- Sign up and sign in
- The Lounge (home hub)
- Playing NLH Quick
- NLH Win The Button (WTB)
- Hand history
- Bookmarks
- Statistics
- Settings
- Hand credits
- News and contact
- How to use the app to improve
1. Sign up and sign in
Creating an account
You can register in two ways.
Sign up with Google (recommended)
- Go to Sign up.
- Tap Sign in with Google.
- Complete the Google login—no separate password or confirmation email.
Sign up with email
- Go to Sign up.
- Enter your email and password.
- Enter the verification code from the confirmation email to finish setup.
Your password must be at least 8 characters and include three or more of the following: lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The exact set of allowed symbols follows Amazon Cognito rules (common punctuation is supported). For a detailed walkthrough, see the Japanese article サインアップのやり方—your browser’s translate feature works well—or follow the on-screen validation on the signup page.
Signing up from a friend’s invite link
If someone sends you an invite URL, open it and sign up from that page. You can use Google or email registration. When you join through an invite, the person who invited you receives a hand-credit bonus.
Signing in
If you already have an account, use Sign in with Google or with email and password. If you forgot your password, use the password reset flow from the sign-in screen.
2. The Lounge (home hub)
After you sign in, you land on the Lounge. Think of it as the main menu.
What you see on the Lounge
- Your username and how many hands you can play (hand credits).
- A daily login bonus you can claim once per day.
Menu overview
| Menu item | What it is |
|---|---|
| NLH Quick | Real-time Texas Hold'em tables |
| NLH Win The Button | Win The Button format (winner keeps the BTN next hand); titles; no rating/stats impact |
| Hand history | List of hands you have played |
| Bookmarked hands | Hands you saved for review |
| Statistics | Results, EV chart, and HUD-style stats |
| Invitation campaign | Invite friends to earn hand credits |
| News | Updates from the team |
| Settings | Game options and account tools |
3. Playing NLH Quick
NLH Quick is where you play Texas Hold'em in real time against other players.
How a session works
- Open NLH Quick from the Lounge.
- Matchmaking starts; a waiting screen appears until enough players are found.
- When the table fills, the first hand begins automatically.
- From preflop onward, choose fold, call, raise, check, or bet as the action comes to you.
Layout (desktop and mobile)
The layout adapts to desktop and mobile. On phones you can play in portrait or landscape.
In-game tools
- Stack display: Switch between chip counts and big-blind (BB) units.
- Sound: Mute or enable sound effects.
- Stats overlay: View your own stats (such as VPIP and PFR) while you play.
- Player labels: Attach custom labels to opponents for quick reference (see Settings below).
Hand credits
Each completed hand costs one hand credit. When your balance hits zero, you cannot start another hand until you earn more credits through the daily bonus or invitations (see section 9).
Bet and raise presets
In Settings, you can save preflop raise sizes (in BB) and postflop bet sizes (as a % of the pot). During play, one tap applies a saved size so you do not have to type amounts every time.
4. NLH Win The Button (WTB)
Win The Button (often shortened to WTB) is a Texas Hold'em variant where whoever won the previous pot becomes the dealer button (BTN) on the next hand, instead of the button always moving clockwise around the table. Winning streaks can let you keep the button and the positional edge that comes with it.
nlh.poker offers this as NLH Win The Button—open it from the Lounge (same place you pick NLH Quick), get matched, and join a table.
How it differs from NLH Quick
- Button rule: Last hand’s winner gets the BTN next hand (house rules for split pots and all-ins follow the in-game implementation).
- Stakes: WTB uses its own blind schedule—check the stakes shown in the app when you enter the queue.
- Rating and stats: Games in this mode do not affect your rating or your regular Statistics / HUD stats. Use it when you want to learn the format, chase titles, or play more casually without moving your long-term numbers.
- Titles: You can earn titles based on consecutive and total times you “win the button.” Open the in-app title list for exact conditions.
For a longer explanation of the rule and strategy (in Japanese, with browser translate), see Win The Button.
5. Hand history
Hand history lists every hand you have played in the app.
What each record shows
- Date and time
- Stakes (blind level)
- Starting stack
- Your hole cards
- Board cards
- Profit or loss for that hand (in BB)
- Your position
Sorting and filters
You can sort and filter by time, stakes, result, position, and more. That makes it easier to review losing sessions or spots from a specific seat.
Download
You can export hands in PokerStars hand-history format. That lets you import them into external tools (solvers, trackers, etc.) for deeper analysis.
- Download all hands from today in one file, or
- Select specific hands with checkboxes and download only those.
Note: Hand history is deleted automatically two weeks after the day you played. Bookmark hands you want to keep long term, or download them before they expire.
6. Bookmarks
When a hand stands out—whether you want to study a mistake or a tricky spot—save it with Bookmarks.
Hand history vs bookmarks
| Hand history | Bookmarks | |
|---|---|---|
| Retention | About two weeks from the play date | Kept until you delete them |
| Download | Yes | Yes |
| Removal | Auto-deleted after the retention period | You delete manually |
Bookmarked hands stay available for long-term review so you can build a personal study library.
How to bookmark
- Open a hand from hand history.
- Tap the bookmark icon.
- Find saved hands under Bookmarked hands on the Lounge.
7. Statistics
The Statistics screen shows your overall results and detailed stats.
Real results vs EV chart
- Realized profit and EV (expected value) are plotted in BB over the number of hands played.
- The chart refreshes about every five minutes.
Comparing actual results with EV helps you see how much short-term variance affected your graph. Over the long run, strong play tends to track closer to EV.
HUD-style stats
You can review tendencies such as:
| Stat | Meaning |
|---|---|
| VPIP | How often you voluntarily put money in the pot |
| PFR | How often you raised preflop |
| 3-bet | How often you re-raised someone’s raise |
| C-bet | How often you continuation-bet the flop |
Tracking these over time surfaces leaks—playing too many hands, not betting enough, and so on. For a deeper article on reading stats (in Japanese), see ポーカーのスタッツから自分のリークを特定する方法.
8. Settings
Settings covers gameplay preferences and account management.
Changing your username
You can change your display name, but only after you have played at least 1,000 hands since the last rename. That limit reduces frequent name changes.
Player labels
Create labels with a name and color, then assign them to opponents—for example “aggressive” or “calls too much.” Labels appear near player names in game.
NLH Quick options
- Default stack display: Raw chip count or BB.
- Preflop raise presets (BB): Up to four saved sizes.
- Postflop bet presets (% of pot): Up to four saved percentages.
Password and account deletion
- Change your password from Settings if you use email login.
- Deleting your account permanently removes your hand data and cannot be undone—only use this if you are sure.
9. Hand credits
nlh.poker uses hand credits: each hand you play consumes one credit.
How to earn credits
| Source | Credits |
|---|---|
| Daily login bonus | +1,000 |
| Each friend who signs up via your invite | +5,000 |
| Cumulative milestone: 5 invited friends | +40,000 (total bonus) |
| Cumulative milestone: 10 invited friends | +100,000 (total bonus) |
Daily login bonus
When you open the app, a modal offers the daily bonus. Tap Claim to add credits. If you tap Later, you can still claim it later that day.
Invitation campaign
Open Invitation campaign from the Lounge to copy your invite link and share it. You can invite up to 10 friends; total rewards can exceed 100,000 credits when milestones stack.
10. News and contact
News
News in the Lounge covers feature releases, rule changes, and maintenance windows. Checking it occasionally helps you avoid surprises after an update.
Contact
Bug reports, feature ideas, and general feedback go through the contact form linked in the site footer. The project is independently run, so replies may not be instant, but reports still drive improvements.
11. How to use the app to improve
The app is not only for playing—it is a loop you can use to study:
- Play NLH Quick (or NLH Win The Button when you want the variant without affecting rating or stats) to practice decisions under pressure.
- Review hand history and focus on spots where you were unsure or lost a big pot.
- Bookmark those hands so they do not disappear after two weeks.
- Check statistics for leaks in VPIP, PFR, c-bet frequency, and more.
- Read strategy articles on the site (many are in Japanese; use translate if needed) to reinforce theory.
Repeat that cycle and both your intuition and your numbers tend to move in the right direction.
Summary
- Free to join—sign up with Google or email.
- NLH Quick for standard rated play; NLH Win The Button for the winner-gets-BTN format (no rating or regular-stats impact, titles available).
- Hand history and statistics for review (stats reflect NLH Quick and related tracked play, not WTB).
- Bookmarks keep important hands beyond the two-week window.
- Daily login and invites refill hand credits.
- Settings let you tune stack display, bet presets, and player labels.
If you have not signed up yet, create an account and try a few hands. Good luck at the tables!