Learn polo, from the first throw-in.

Read these pages in order if you are starting from zero. They cover what happens on the field and why, before anyone talks about riding or hitting. When you are ready for more, the technique section sets out the riding and hitting principles that schools and federations teach, and the glossary explains the vocabulary.

The shortest possible version

• Outdoor polo is played four a side on grass. Arena polo, the HPA's winter format, is played three a side.
• Under the HPA's 2026 rules, only the right hand may hold the stick to hit the ball.
• A match is divided into periods called chukkas (chukkers in the USPA rulebook) of about seven minutes. The HPA's 2026 standard game is four to six (a Tournament Committee may vary it), the USPA's 2024 Outdoor Rules allow at most six regular periods, and the 2025 Argentine Open final at Palermo was played over eight.
• Outdoor teams change ends after a goal under both the HPA's 2026 rules (Rule 13a) and the USPA's 2024 Outdoor Rules (Rule 22e), though the USPA makes an exception for goals awarded on handicap or from a Penalty 1.
• Every player carries a handicap rated in goals. In a handicap match the lower-rated team starts with goals already on the scoreboard.
• Under the HPA's 2026 rules, the line of the ball is the reference for deciding which player has the right to the ball, and crossing a player who has it is a foul unless it is done with no risk at all. The USPA's 2024 Outdoor Rules frame the same idea as the Right of Way.

Whose rules?

Polo has no single worldwide rulebook. The Federation of International Polo (FIP) recognises the playing rules of three national bodies as the basis of international polo: the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) in the UK and Ireland, the Asociación Argentina de Polo (AAP) and the United States Polo Association (USPA). FIP says the differences between them are mainly administrative rather than in the core rules of play.

The differences still matter in detail, from ball weight to how the last chukka ends. So these pages always name the body and the year of the rulebook: the HPA's 2026 Rules and Regulations, and the USPA's 2024 Outdoor Rules. The USPA revises its rules each year and its 2026 rulebook was not reviewed for this site, so players in the United States should check the current book. Clubs and tournaments can also set conditions of their own.

Where to go next

Start with how polo works, then the positions and the field. If you are watching a handicap match, the handicap calculator works out the starting score. If you want to play, getting started sets out what the governing bodies require before you can take part in sanctioned polo.