Poker is super easy to learn, but difficult to master. You’ll find different variations of poker with
Texas Hold’em still considered the most popular. And while the rules will vary game to game,
the basics remain the same. This guide will help break down, step-by-step, giving you the tools
to develop a strategy and to master the game of poker. We’ll walk you through all the essential
rules and tricks to take you from a beginner to a poker pro.
The first step of mastering the game of poker, you need to understand how to rank the 5-card
hands of this game. To start, you have to familiarize yourself with the different hands, and study
what hand beats what.
A good tip may include printing a ‘cheat sheet’ so you can recognize the
hands from highest to lowest.
Royal Flush:
This is the highest-ranked hand in poker. This includes 10, Jack, Queen, King,
and Ace of the same suit. It can only be tied by a royal flush of another suit, but not beaten.
Straight Flush: This is made up of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. Can only be beaten
by a royal flush.
Four of a Kind: This is four cards of the same rank, with a fifth card of any rank. Four aces is
the highest ‘four of a kind’ and can only be beaten by a straight or royal flush.
Full House: This contains three 3 matching cards of 1 rank and 2 matching cards of another
rank. Three kings and two queens is a full house and can only be beaten by a full house that
includes three aces.
Straight: Five 5 cards of consecutive rank but from more than one suit.
3 of a Kind: This means you have three cards of the same rank, and then two unmatched
cards.
Two Pairs: Just like it sounds, two cards of one rank, plus two cards of another rank and one
unmatched card. Two jacks, two 10s and an ace make up ‘two pairs.’
Pair: You have two cards of the same rank, and 3 other unmatched cards.
High Card: is the lowest ranking hand in poker, also called ‘nothing.’ The highest high card
hand would be an ace.
In poker, bets are placed at the beginning of the game in one of 2 ways. In Texas Hold’em, the
player next to the dealer (the button) places the ‘small blind’ which is half of the usual minimum
bet, while the player that person’s left, is the ‘big blind’ – the full minimum bet. Another option is
the ‘ante up’ which means everyone places a minimum starting bet into the pot. There are other
variations of poker that use the ‘ante up’ system too.
The dealer, which is rotated around the table, will shuffle the deck, and then deal the cards.
– Dealer starts with player to the left
– Deal one card face down to each player, rotating clockwise around the table
– Repeat until each player has two cards
Tip for Players: Don’t show your cards to any other players before other cards are dealt. Even
if a player has folded, it’s best to keep your cards private as you don’t want to accidentally
reveal value of your cards
Dealing in Texas Hold’em:
In Texas Hold’em, after you are dealt your two starting cards, the dealer will provide five
community cards face up in three stages, and you will try to make the best hand using your
cards, and then the communal cards.
The Flop: Three cards are dealt face up.
The Turn: After a card is ‘burned’ – a fourth card is dealt face up.
The River: Another burnt card, then the fifth and final card is dealt face up
After each round of dealing, there is a round of betting.
The betting rounds are known as
preflop, flop, turn, and river.
Players can bet, call, raise or fold after each round of betting.
Every
time the dealer puts down new cards, you can make a wager.
First Round of Betting: After you get your two cards, betting takes place. You can call the
amount, raise it to a higher wager, or simply fold if the cost is too rich for your blood.
Betting After Flop: After the ‘flop’ another round of betting takes place.
Following the same
procedure. The person who has the first choice to bet, can either wager, or check, meaning,
they don’t bet, and now the next person has the same options.
If someone makes a bet, the others, in order clockwise, have the option to ‘call’ – match the bet,
‘raise’ – add more to the bet, or simply fold.
You say ‘fold’ if someone has made a bet that you don’t want to match. If you fold, you turn your
cards to the dealer, face-down to avoid showing others what you had, which could give them
advantages.
