How to Play the Pokémon Trading Card Game: The Complete Beginner’s Guide

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) has been a beloved hobby for decades, blending strategy, creativity, thrill and competition. Whether you’re a complete beginner or someone looking to  your skills, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start playing the Pokémon TCG.

• Build A Deck (A collection of cards)

• A standard pokémon deck has 60 cards (no more than 4 copies of the same card, (except for basic Energy). note that all cards in your deck have to be in the current format that is from the latest sets. I will talk more about what the standard format is in pokémon in the next section. Below is an example of a standard deck in 2025.

• I recommend that beginners start by playing with prebuilt decks rather than trying to build their own right away. A great resource for exploring these decks is limitlesstcg.com, where you can find officially registered decks from major tournaments. In addition, there are plenty of awesome YouTubers who stream themselves playing with fun and creative decks—some of my favorites are For the Win TCG, PopsicleKnight, and Little Dark Furry.

Think of Standard rotation in the Pokémon TCG like a yearly “reset button”. Each year, usually around August or September, the Pokémon Company removes the oldest sets from the Standard format. In most cases, sets rotate out when they are about two to three years old, making room for newer Sets. This keeps the game balanced and exciting. To know if your card is still legal in Standard, check the small letter (like “E,” “F,” or “G”) printed at the bottom left corner of the card—only cards with letters from the current Standard rotation are allowed in 2025 the allowed letters are("G," "H," and "I"). This simple system helps players quickly figure out which cards can be used in official events.

• Flip a Coin

Ask your opponent to call heads or tails, then flip a coin (or roll a dice, odds count as tails, evens as heads). The winner of the flip chooses whether to go first or second. Keep in mind that the player who goes first cannot play a Supporter card or attack during their first turn.

• Shuffle and Draw

Each player shuffles their deck thoroughly, places it face down, and then draws 7 cards from the top.

• Choose Your Active Pokémon

From your hand, place one Basic Pokémon face down in the Active Spot (this will be your battling Pokémon). You may also place up to 5 Basic Pokémon face down onto your Bench if you have them in your hand.

• Setting Up the Prize Cards

After both players have chosen their Active Pokémon, each sets aside six cards from the top of their deck face down as Prize Cards. Every time you Knock Out one of your opponent’s Pokémon, you take one of your Prize Cards into your hand. If you collect all of your Prize Cards before your opponent, you win the game!

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• The Active Spot and the Bench

  In the Pokémon TCG, the Active Spot is where your main battling Pokémon goes. Only the Pokémon in this position can attack and take damage from most of your opponent’s attacks. However, some attacks or abilities can also target Pokémon on the Bench (see example below). Behind the Active Spot is your Bench, where you may keep up to five Pokémon. Benched Pokémon cannot attack directly—unless a card specifically allows them to—but they can evolve, hold Energy, and be ready to move into the Active Spot when needed.

• During the very first turn of the game that player can't attack or play a supporter card.
• Each turn the player should draw a card from the top of his deck before starting his turn if the player is unable or forgets to draw a card he looses the game.
• In each turn a player can attach one energy, play one supporter and play one stadium during that turn however there's no limits to how many item cards, or pokémon cards that you can play in each turn note that you can't play pokemon cards unless there's place for them on them and you can only have upto 5 pokemon on the bench. and you can't evolve a pokémon that you just played in the same turn 

To win a game of Pokémon TCG, the main goal is simple — take all your Prize cards before your opponent does. At the start of the game, each player sets aside six Prize cards (fewer in some formats). Every time you Knock Out one of your opponent’s Pokémon, you get to take a Prize card. Once you’ve taken them all, you win!

But that’s not the only way to win. You can also win if your opponent has no Pokémon left in play (for example, if you Knock Out their last active Pokémon) or if your opponent runs out of cards in their deck at the start of their turn.

So, every turn, your mission is to attack, evolve, and set up your board while protecting your key Pokémon. Keep track of your Prize cards, plan how to take them efficiently, and always think one or two turns ahead. The best players win not just by hitting hard — but by making every move count toward that final Prize card.