Poker is the most played indoor game in the world. It the simplest form of card game which anyone can learn in a few minutes. Although you can start playing poker with the basic understanding of poker rules, mastering this skill game requires certain skills like patience, watchful eye, quick decision-making, and many more. At Online Poker News (OPN), we provide a directory of information on “How To Play Poker” to help poker players to master this game of skill, and rise as champions in the poker world.
Poker Ranking Guide
Royal Flush
All cards of same suit and sequence – A-K-Q-J-10
Straight Flush
All cards of the same suit but any sequence – 9-8-7-6-5
Four of a Kind (Quads)
Four cards of equal rank of any suit – A-A-A-A-8
Full House (Full Boat)
Three of a kind AND a pair – K-K-K-10-10
Flush
Five cards of the same suit – Q-8-6-4-3
Straight
Five cards in sequence e.g. 2-3-4-5-6
Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank – 9-9-9-4-5
Two-pair
Two pairs – 6-6-10-10-K
Pair
Two cards of the same rank – 2-6-8-A-A
High Card
The highest card in rank – K-J-10-6-3
Betting Rounds
The dealer distributes cards to everyone starting with the player on his left and ends with himself.
Betting starts clockwise with the player sitting immediate left to the dealer after hole cards have been dealt with everyone on the table. The player needs to take an action in a betting round on his turn. A round of betting considered complete only when all players have made an equal amount of bets on the table.
Players can make any of the followings moves in pre-flop round of betting:
Call – Match the big blind.
Fold/Drop – Throw cards and leave the pot.
Raise – Increase the bet size.
In “Flop”, dealer dealt 3 community cards on the table. The round ends when each player has bet exactly same chips or everyone folds. Players in the hand can bet, check, raise, or fold.
Check -Not make any bet but pass the action to next player. Only in the situation if no one made a bet before him in the round. Players making the blinds cannot check in the opening round.
In “Turn”, two more cards have been dealt on board and next round of betting starts.
In “River”, the dealer puts the fifth card on the board.
At “Showdown”, every remaining player shows his hand on the table and the best hand wins the pot.
Blinds
The small blind and big blind are forced bets which the players sitting immediate left of the dealer need to put in the pot. The bets are called Blind because players need to make them without seeing their cards. The small blind is usually half the size of the big blind.
ANTE
Forced bet where all players need to put the equal amount of money before playing a hand.
Bluff
Bluff is when a player bets with a weaker hand to make other players with good hands fold their stronger cards.
Betting Styles/Limits
There is a different type of betting styles and game formats you can choose from:
No Limit: Players can bet any amount up to the total stack present on the table. Minimum bet size
Pot Limit: Players can bet any amount but limited to the total size of the pot.
Limit: Players can bet and raise to a limited amount.
Texas Hold’em:
Played with a standard 52-card deck, Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular poker variants in the world.
How To Play
Player needs to form best five-card combination from hole cards (2 dealt cards) and community cards (5 cards displayed face up on the middle of the table).