How To Play Poker?

How To Play Poker?

What Is Poker?

Poker is a card game and quite actually a family of card games because there are different types of poker games and variations where players bet real money or chips against other player’s cards or better said “hands” and the winner is whoever has the higher ranking hand of cards.

Most types and variations of poker can be placed in three main categories:

  • draw poker;
  • stud poker;
  • community card poker.

Order Of Hands In Poker

The objective is to arrange your cards to make a winning hand. There are certain combinations of cards with each one being more prestigious than the last.

The order of high hands in poker is:

High Card

High card is your highest card. In some cases a player can win by having a higher card than his opponent.

High Card Poker

One Pair

One pair is any two cards of the same kind. By the same kind it means the same number or letter.

One Pair Poker

Two Pairs

Two pairs are any two sets of pair cards, each pair with cards of the same kind.

Two Pairs Poker

Three Of A Kind

Three of a kind is any three cards of the same kind.

Three Of A Kind Poker

Straight

Straight is a series of 5 cards ascending in order and not from the same suit. By same suit it means the same color.

Straight Poker

Flush

Flush is when all five cards are from the same suit.

Flush Poker

Full House

A full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair.

Full House Poker

Four Of A Kind

Four of a kind is when the hand is composed of 4 cards of the same kind and another random card.

Four Of A Kind Poker

Straight Flush

Straight flush is composed of a straight and all the cards forming the straight to be from the same suit.

Straight Flush Poker

Royal Flush

Royal flush is the best hand in poker and is composed of a straight flush from 10 to ace.

Royal Flush Poker

Dealer Button

Dealer Button

The dealer button is a round plastic object, usually white in color with black writing on it the word “dealer”. This dealer button is placed clockwise from player to player each round of poker. The button indicates the last player to act in that poker round.

Small And Big Blind

The small blind is half of the big blind value. The player sitting in the left of the dealer starts as the small blind and bets half of the minimum bet for that table. The big blind is the second player to the left of the dealer and bets the entire bet for that table.

The blinds introduce a regular cost for the players to take part in the game otherwise players can abuse and fold the hand without placing a bet.

Small And Big Blind

Types Of Poker

There are three main types of poker:

Draw Poker

Draw Poker

Once the most popular type of poker, draw poker is probably the one a lot of people are familiar with.

You are dealt a predetermined number of cards, usually five.

There are three rounds of betting and one of drawing. In between the first rounds of betting, players throw away cards they don’t want and are dealt the same amount back to form a winning hand.

Stud Poker

Stud Poker

This is where poker gets a little more interesting.

Some of your cards will be visible to your opponents in this variation.

Stud poker is played with either 5 or 7 cards per player with a certain number of cards being face up, available for the opponent to see. The ability to see some of your opponent’s cards adds another layer of skill to the game.

Community Card Poker

Community card poker is any type of poker game where players share the same cards which are dealt face up on the poker table.

The cards are dealt in this order:

  1. 3 cards dealt in the same time, one after another, this is called the flop;
  2. 1 card dealt after the flop, this is called the turn;
  3. 1 card dealt after the turn, this is called the river.
Flop Turn River Poker

Additional Variations Of Poker

In addition to these types of poker, certain modifiers can be added to the game to drastically change the way the game is played.

The most popular of these types of variations is lowball.

Lowball is played exactly the same way as a normal game of poker except the low hand wins. Sometimes straights count, resulting in a bad hand, sometimes straights do not count, meaning ace through five will be the best hand possible.

High-low split is another variation, meaning the highest hand and the lowest hand split wins the pot. It’s even possible for a single player to be able to make the highest hand and the lowest hand in games like Omaha and 7-Card Stud.

Poker Terminology

Hole Cards

The hole cards are the cards dealt to the player.

Door Card

The door card is specific to Stud Poker and it’s referred to the card facing up, visible to other players.

Pot Limit

A pot limit allows a player to bet only between the minimum bet of the table and the current size of the pot.

Fixed Limit

A fixed limit poker game has only two betting levels, a small bet and the big bet.

No Limit

A no limit game allows players to bet or raise any amount.

Ante

Ante is a forced bet where all players have to put an equal amount of chips or money in the pot before the cards are dealt.

Pre Flop

The pre flop is the initial betting round where the small and big blinds place their bets and the dealer starts to distribute the cards to the players.

Flop

The flop is the second betting round after the dealer places 3 cards face up on the table.

Turn

The turn is the third betting round after the dealer places 1 card face up on the table.

River

The river is the last betting round after the dealer places the last card face up on the table.

Showdown

The showdown is when the remaining players in the poker game show their cards and the winner is the player with the best hand of poker.

Stand

“Stand” is specific to draw poker and it means the player doesn’t want to discard any cards and it’s comfortable with the hand.

Check

A check is when a player simply passes the action to the next player.

Call

A call is when a player places a bet equal with the big blind or with the highest bet placed before them to continue with the hand.

Raise

A raise is when a player bets more than the highest bet placed before them.

Fold

A fold is when a player is not comfortable with the hand and doesn’t want to continue the poker round.

Bring In Bet

A bring in bet is a bet specific to Stud Poker and is a forced bet made by the player with the lowest card.

How To Play Poker?

In this guide we will explain how to play the most popular poker games like Draw Poker, Stud Poker and community poker: Omaha and Texas Hold’em,

Poker Table Order

Poker Table Order

Draw Poker

Draw Poker

Draw poker is the classic poker game where each player gets dealt 5 cards with the option to discard and replace them to compose a stronger hand.

Steps How To Play Draw Poker

  1. After the blinds placed the bet, every player is dealt 5 cards visible only to them and the first round of betting is played.
  2. After the first round of bets, the players left at the table will announce how many cards they want to discard and replace with new ones. If a player is comfortable with their cards and don’t want to discard any of them they say “stand”.
  3. Once the drawing round is complete, another round of betting occurs after which the players left in the game will have to show their cards.
  4. The winner is the player with the best hand.

Stud Poker

7 Card Stud Poker

In Stud Poker, players receive a mix of face up and face down cards dealt in multiple betting rounds.

Steps How To Play Stud Poker

  1. The round starts with every player placing their ante.
  2. After each player placed their ante, they get dealt three cards: two of them dealt face down known as the “hole cards” and another one dealt face up known as the “door card”.
  3. The player with the lowest “door card” can place a “bring in” bet in order to start the initial betting and has the option to “complete” the bet which will be considered as a raise and the next players will have the option to call, raise or fold. If no player executes the “bring in” bet, the player with the highest face up card can begin the next round of betting.
  4. After all players had the chance to call, raise or fold, a 4th card face up is dealt, also known as the 4th street card.
  5. Because there is no dealer button in Stud Poker, the player with the highest face up cards will be the one to act first, if there are two players with the same highest face up cards then the suit rule will apply.
  6. After all players had the chance to call, raise or fold, a 5th card is dealt, face up, also known as the 5th street.
  7. After all players had the chance to call, raise or fold, a 6th card is dealt, face up, also known as the 6th street.
  8. After all players had the chance to call, raise or fold, the 7th card is dealt, face down, also known as the 7th street and the last betting round occurs followed by the showdown where players show their cards.
  9. The best five card poker hand wins.

Omaha

Omaha

Omaha is played by using only three of the community cards along with only two from the total of four cards in the hand in order to make the best five card poker hand.

Steps How To Play Omaha Poker

  1. Pre flop: in the initial betting round the small and big blinds place their bets while the other players can decide if they want to call, raise or fold after the dealer distributes four cards to each player all face down. The first player to act is the one at the left of the big blind and the action goes clockwise until it reaches the big blind.
  2. Flop: in the second betting round the players left in the game decide if they want to check, call, raise or fold after the dealer places the three flop cards on the table.
  3. Turn: in the third betting round the players left in the game decide if they want to check, call, raise or fold after the dealer places the next card called the “turn” on the table.
  4. River: in the last betting round the players left in the game decide if they want to check, call, raise or fold after the dealer places the last card called the “river” on the table.
  5. Showdown: the players left in the game reveal their cards and the winner is whoever has the best hand of poker.

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold'em

Each player gets dealt only two cards in their hand, visible only to them, compared to Omaha where players gets dealt 4 cards or 5 cards in five card Omaha.

Steps How To Play Texas Hold’em Poker

  1. Pre flop: in the initial betting round the small and big blinds place their bets while the other players can decide if they want to call, raise or fold after the dealer distributes two cards to each player all face down. The first player to act is the one at the left of the big blind and the action goes clockwise until it reaches the big blind.
  2. Flop: in the second betting round the players left in the game decide if they want to check, call, raise or fold after the dealer places the three flop cards on the table.
  3. Turn: in the third betting round the players left in the game decide if they want to check, call, raise or fold after the dealer places the next card called the “turn” on the table.
  4. River: in the last betting round the players left in the game decide if they want to check, call, raise or fold after the dealer places the last card called the “river” on the table.
  5. Showdown: the players left in the game reveal their cards and the winner is whoever has the best hand of poker.

How To Place Poker Bets?

Bets are placed at certain intervals during gameplay. First, an ante or blind is posted by certain players on the table. This is the cost to get in on the hand.

Next, your initial cards are delt to you and another round of betting takes place. Additional card deals or draw rounds happen – each round being followed by a round of betting. This continues until all cards are delt or all draws are completed.

Some games, like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, have no-limit betting variations. There is still a minimum and maximum buy-in amount at these games; however, you could bet your entire stack of chips in one betting round if you wish.

Games like draw and stud typically have a limit on the minimum and maximum you can bet per round, making bluffing a more difficult task.

Pot limit is another way to bet during a poker game and is a popular betting variation for Omaha. Bets can never amount to more than the total already in the pot at any given time.

How To Play Poker For Real Money?

Assuming you want to play somewhere other than a friendly game at home, there are two ways to play poker for real money.

You can play online, or you can play at a land based casino. Both types of play have their advantages and disadvantages.

Casinos can be far away, meaning you’ll have to make special trips to visit the location. However, casinos do offer better opportunities to read your opponents.

In order to play poker for real money at a land based casino or online casino you will need to deposit real money or change them into chips at the cashier, find a table where you can sit and you are ready to bet and play poker.

How To Play Poker At A Land Based Casino?

How To Play Poker At A Land Based Casino?

Casinos will often have an entire floor devoted to poker, some even having entire floors reserved for a specific type of poker.

This means it’s pretty easy to find a table to sit down at. There are usually a wide variety of buy-in amounts available too.

In order to play poker at a land based casino you need to exchange real money into chips, at the cashier, find a table where you can sit and finally start betting on poker.

How To Play Poker At An Online Casino?

How To Play Poker At An Online Casino?

Playing poker online is as simple as finding the right casino to play on. Some jurisdictions limit you to playing on websites that are exclusively operated within your state. An online casino, like a physical location, will likely have a wide variety of minimum buy-ins for tables. It’s also a lot easier to get into a tournament with online play.

To play poker at an online casino you need to register for an account, make a deposit, find a table and start betting on poker.

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Poker Strategies

Draw poker is simple, throughout three rounds of draws try to make the best hand. Stud and Texas Hold’em are a bit more nuanced and could take years of constant play to develop a winning strategy.

However, a strategy that is widely accepted no matter the type of poker is to get in early if you have a good hand. For example, in Texas Hold’em it is considered common practice to start the game with a bet three-times the big blind when you have a hand with a high chance of winning. This signals strength to the others at the table, getting weaker hands that might get lucky against you out of the way. Best of all, this gets people who do call to invest more, making the most out of your hand if you do end up winning.

Poker is a game of both skill and luck.

Another strategy that is universal amongst all types of poker is trying to read your opponent. During your time at the table pay attention to betting patterns and physical actions. Generally speaking, betting patterns are easier to learn than physical tells. You may be able to learn exactly when to get out of a hand based on how someone bets.

How To Play Poker And Win?

Being a consistent winner in the poker room will take years of hard work. There are great books written by legendary figures in the poker world available to read. However, there is no way to get better than to play the game as much as possible. You’ll learn tricks along the way too. You’ll learn how to trap an opponent into betting into you. You’ll learn exactly when to lay a losing hand down. You’ll even learn how to play your position at the table, no matter where you are in comparison to the dealer.

How To Become A Poker Dealer?

Becoming a poker dealer typically relies on attending a class to learn the standard procedures required.

A dealer will learn how to shuffle cards without revealing the bottom card to any of the players, they will learn how to utilize a cut-card and they will learn the ins-and-outs of the game to perfection during this class.

Some casinos offer a free class course for new employees at their site, others will pay for the class after hiring you. You can even sign up for a class to become a dealer before having a job lined up, but it will cost you out of your pocket.


Frequently Asked Questions


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