How to Play Poker

How To Play Poker

Playing Poker is relatively easy even though there are many different Poker games. The common things to remember about all Poker games when playing any of them are the value of the cards, the value of the hands, and how to bet.

The 52 cards of the deck rank from low to high as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and the Ace. The hands rank from low to high as: the highest card in a hand wins in case of none of the following; a pair; two pairs (the highest pair wins in case of two or more two-pair hands); three cards of a kind; straight (five cards with consecutive values, the straight with the highest card wins in case of two or more straight hands); flush (five cards of the same suit, the flush with the highest card wins in case of two or more flush hands); full house (three cards of a kind and a pair, the full house with the highest three cards of a kind win in case of two or more full house hands); four cards of a kind; straight flush (a straight and a flush at the same time); royal flush (a straight flush to the Ace). Remember that there could also be “wild” cards (replacing other cards, a Joker usually) and special hands such as the skip straight (a straight of five cards with consecutive values, differing by two points; it ranks just below the straight), the round-the-corner straight (a special straight as if the cards were in a circle, a J-Q-K-A-2 hand for instance; it ranks above the skip straight and below the regular straight), and the bobtail (a flush of four cards or a four-card straight with both ends open to continue; it ranks just below the single pair).

A betting round in a Poker game is also similar in all Poker games. There is usually an “ante” to pay to enter the game, a small amount paid by all the players, or a blind, paid by some of the players in certain (community) games in turn. These are not betting rounds. A player has the following choices in a betting round when it is his turn:

• To check – if there is no bet in the pot yet, the player bets nothing and passes.

• To bet – make the first bet.

• To call – if there is a bet, the player matches it.

• To raise – to pay the bet by matching it and betting more over it.

• To fold – not to call or raise, but surrender the cards instead.

Poker games differ a lot in terms of how the cards are dealt and the number of betting rounds. Basically there are community games, in which there are cards to be used by all players, draw games, in which betting starts after the players receive all their cards and they can also replace some of them, and stud games, in which the players receive cards both face down and face up. You must always get to know in detail the rules of the game you are going to play.

Learning how to play Poker is obviously not hard, learning how to play it successfully takes years however. Here are some quick tips:

• If you have poor first cards, do not expect that they will improve much in the next rounds. Do not be scared to fold.

• Try to give no clues to the other players how good or bad your cards are. Keep a “poker” face.

• Do not drink alcohol when playing Poker.

• Try to play it for fun, you are much more likely to lose a lot than win a lot at Poker unless of course you are a hardened professional.