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Beginners guide to Poker

Texas Hold’em is the king of all poker games. It is the most popular game and requires skill and strategy to play. But not even the very best player can win without a bit of luck on their side - often a beginner can beat the more experienced players.

Whether you are a new player or a poker master, you can play online to improve your skills. Practice is vital, and there are many Internet poker sites which offer play money tables where you can play for free. Then, when you are ready, you can take your poker further – playing for real! You will find real money games even more exciting than the play money games.

If it’s your first time with real money, start low. If you've won a lot of money on the play money tables you’ve probably got what it takes to become a good real money player. But the games differ a lot - so don't jump into a high stakes real money game expecting to win straight away.

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is a community card game, meaning that some cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table and shared by all players. Each player is dealt two pocket or hole cards which they consider with the five community cards to make the best possible five-card hand. The person who is dealt last is regarded as the dealer and as such is marked with a dealer button. At the end of the hand the button is passed clockwise to the next player.

Variants of Texas Hold’em

There are three variants of Texas Hold’em: No limit, Pot Limit and Limit. In No Limit, there is no limit to how much the players can bet. In Pot Limit, you may bet or raise to the maximum value of the pot on the table. In Limit, the only valid bet/raise is the current limit as determined by the rules of the table. For example, $2 on the first two betting round rounds and doubled in the last two in a $2-$4 Hold’em game.

This is how you play Texas Hold’em

The rules described here are the standard rules. Depending on where you play, the rules can differ slightly. It is therefore important that you always learn the rules at the place where you are playing, whether it’s at a casino, on the Internet or at home with friends.

Blinds placement:

Most hands of poker begin by some form of forced betting. This is to ensure that there is action with every hand. Hold’em is played with two blinds (a bet before the pocket cards are received). The two players to the left of the dealer start with placing blind bets. The small blind is posted by the first player and the big blind by the second. The big blind is always the minimum bet at the table and the small blind is half, e.g. in a $2-$4 game the big blind is $2 and the small blind $1. During a betting round, each player in turn takes one of the four actions: Check; zero bet when a player has already matched the current tabled bet

Bet or raise; a bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed to stay in the hand

Call; a bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains the player’s interest in the pot

Fold; a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another player’s bet

First round – the pre flop, dealing the cards:

When the blind bets are placed, the dealer gives out two cards to each player. The dealer deals clockwise. The two cards are called “hole cards” or “pocket cards”. After this the players choose if they would like to make a bet. The person after the big blind starts. In the first round you cannot call “Check”, but you can do any of the following: Bet, Call, Raise or Fold. Normally you can only raise three times in the first round. All players shall put the same amount in for the game in order to continue. So if one player raises, the other players must either call or re-raise, or fold (drop out of the round).

Second round – the flop

Dealer turns three cards on the table – the flop. These three cards are community cards and can be used in combination with the two hidden cards each player has on his/her hand. The remaining players now start the second round of bidding. The first player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding round. The following calls can now be made: Check, Bet/Raise, Call or Fold. In each round a player can normally raise three times, and all players must put the same amount into the pot, or fold before the round has ended. The same rules apply for both the bidding and the raising in each round from now on.

Third round - the turn

The dealer now turns the fourth community card on the table, so all players now have six cards to play with. A round of betting now takes place.

Fourth and final round – the river

The fifth and last community call on the table is turned. A round of betting now takes place.

The showdown in Texas Holdem Poker

In all, five of the seven cards can be used. That means that each player can form the best possible five card hand out of their two hole cards and the five community cards on the table. The remaining players now show their cards, and the winner is found. If a player shows his/her cards and you are not able to beat these cards, you choose yourself if you want to show your cards or not. If there is a draw, the money is split between the winners.