Basic how to play poker:
Poker is not at all hard to play but extremely hard to
master. The game begins with the player to the immediate left of the dealer
button* putting the small blind** in the pot and then the player to the
immediate left of that puts the big blind in. Each player at the table is then
dealt two cards called ‘hold’ cards. These cards are for your eyes only. Next
you have a round of betting. The first to act is the person immediately left of
the big blind. They can either match the big blind, raise or fold. Each player
then has there turn. Now the dealer puts one card face down, this is known as a
burn*** card. They then turn over 3 cards and place them face up in the middle
of the table. These are known as the flop and are community cards. In other
words everyone can use these cards along with their two ‘hold’ cards to make
the best hand possible. Another round of betting ensues with the person to the
immediate left of the dealer button acting first. The dealer then ‘burns’
another card and then turns over the 4th community card known as the
‘turn’. Again, another round of betting follows. Then finally the last
community card is dealt after a final card is ‘burnt’. This is called the
‘river’. A final betting round caps off the hand. Each player still in the hand
then turns over his or her cards and the winning five card hand**** collects
the pot.
Betting, raising and folding:
If an opponent raises you can call, fold or re-raise. When
re-raising the minimum you can re-raise has to equal the amount your opponent
raised.
Calling:
Calling is simply putting the same amount that your opponent
raised into the pot. You are not raising you are just matching your opponent.
Checking:
Checking is what you do when you do not want to raise and
when your opponents haven’t raised therefore you do not have to fold and can
just ‘simmer’ until the next card.
All-in:
Going all-in means you bet all of your money/chips. In no
limit Texas Hold’em you can do this at any time during the game as long as it’s
your turn. If a player calls you with more chips than yourself you can only win
double what you put in. If an opponent raises more than what you have you can
go all-in, however you can only win back double what you went all-in with. Of
course if you’re up against 2 opponents you can win triple that and so on.
* Dealer button: This is a small white chip from which the
dealer begins to deal to the player immediately left of this. It is also from
the immediate left of this point that each betting round begins.
**Blinds: Blinds are like antes. In order for a player to
see the flop they must at least match the big blind unless they are all-in. The
big blind is twice as big as the small blind.
***Burn card: A burn card is a card that is discarded and is
played with in anyway. The reason it is discarded is to stop players from
identifying the next card by noticing a distinguished mark on that card. If for
example a player were to slightly crease an ace in a corner when they were last
dealt it they would be able to recognise it coming were it not for the top card
always being discarded. This doesn’t happen with online play however as you
cannot alter the cards in anyway.
****Hands: The hands below range from the worst to the best.
High card - -Simply a card on its own.
Pair - - Two card that are the same value, e.g. 8 8,
King king.
Two Pair - - Same as a pair but two of them, e.g. 8 8 and
King King, or 6 6 and 3 3.
Three of a kind - - Three cards that are the same value,
e.g. 9 9 9.
Straight - - 5 cards in a numerical row, e.g. 2
3 4 5 6 or
10 J
Q K A. Bear in mind that you cannot go from
Q K
A 2 3. Ace can be either high or low but it
cannot be both at the same time.
Flush - - 5 cards of the same suit, e.g. 2 6
8 9 K, all
of spades.
Full house - - Three of a kind plus a pair, e.g. 5 5
5 J J.
Four of a kind - - Four cards that have the same value, e.g.
2 2
2 2.
Straight flush - -5 cards in numerical order and of the same
suit, e.g. 5 6 7
8 9, all of hearts.
A royal flush is the highest type of straight flush going
from 10 to ace.