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HOW TO PLAY POKER
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The game of Poker has surged to outstanding heights over the past few years and there’s no sign of it stopping anytime soon. If you’ve watched Poker on TV, you’ve most likely been watching Texas Hold’Em Poker, which is the most popular version of Poker today. Texas Hold’Em Poker is a game that can be learned in minutes. Let’s dive into some of the basics, which hold true whether you are playing online or in a real poker room.
Hand Chart
Here’s a quick listing of how hands rank so you know which hands are better.
High Card: If you had an Ace in your hand, you would have an Ace high hand.
One Pair: Two cards of the same rank.
Two Pair: Two sets of cards of the same rank.
Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank.
Straight: Five cards in sequential order—suit does not matter.
Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
Full House: Three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank.
Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank.
Straight Flush: Five cards in sequential order and of the same suit.
Royal Flush: 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit.
Pre-Flop
The game of Texas Hold’Em Poker begins with each player receiving two cards, which are called your hole cards. In every hand, only two players are forced to put money in—the small blind and big blind. Some tournaments have forced antes, but a regular game doesn’t. In this round, you must decide if you wish to play the hand or not. If you are the big blind and no one raises, you can simply check (pass) to see the flop. If you are not on the big blind, you can call, raise or fold. If you call, you are matching the current bet. If you fold, the hand is over and raising should be self-explanatory.
Flop
After the pre-flop betting ends, the dealer deals three community cards to the board, which is known as the flop. You will use the community cards to make the best five-card hand possible. Once the cards are dealt, another round of betting begins. In this round, you can check, call, raise or fold. If the action is to you and no one has bet for the round, you can check (pass). The rest of the bets work the same way as discussed earlier. The player on or closest to the “button” is the last to act and that’s why this position is the best in poker. The button position moves one seat over after each hand is complete.
The Turn
After the flop betting ends, the dealer deals one more card—called fourth street or the turn card. Since there’s only one more card to come, players begin to know how their hands are going to play out. As before, another round of betting takes place. You now have six total cards to work with—so do all your opponents too.
The River
The final card is called fifth street or the river card. It is infamous for killing good hands and making weak ones. The River is a chaser’s delight. It is the last card to be dealt. Once the river card is dealt, a final round of betting begins—the Showdown. There’s nowhere to go from here. You either have it or you don’t. If you don’t have it and someone bets, you can choose to fold or try and bluff your way to collecting the pot.
We have just discussed the basic flow of a poker hand for Texas Hold’em Poker. There’s a lot more information that one needs to learn to be a constant winner. One of the best ways to get better is to practice. The Internet is filled with free online poker rooms that will allow you to play against others with play money. This is a great way to learn the feel of the game. There’s also poker on TV and watching it can help you pick up tips from the professional players.