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Online Poker Basics.
So You Want to Learn How to Play Poker? (Beginner)
 Never played poker
before? Well this is a great place to start your online poker training. Everyone had to start from the beginning at one time or another, even the world championship poker players that we may or may not have grown to admire over the years.
Once you have looked over this section on the basics of playing poker, come check
out our poker school
section with lots of free poker tips and advice to take you to the next
level. Have a question about poker or if you just want to share a poker story
with us come and join our poker
forum and lets talk!
Poker is easy to learn and difficult to master. It will not take you
long to learn poker to a point where you can play the game and have loads of
fun. However becoming a master at poker takes a live time and requires a deep
knowledge of the game, odds and the psychology of poker players.
This section has been created to help introduce you to the game to de-mystify the planet's most popular card game. Whether it's a friendly
local poker game with close personal acquaintances around the kitchen table or at the final table
in your favorite online poker room or even better perhaps at the World Championship of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas this game we know as poker has been enjoyed for longer than recorded history.
Of the myriad of games available for our enjoyment "Five Card Draw" provides us with the opportunity to learn the basics on which all other poker games are based.
However you will find the most played poker game online and locally these days
is No Limit Holdem.
Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
The Tools of the Trade
A standard 52-card poker deck or any other card deck used to play a variety of games including Bridge and a sleeve or carousel of betting chips. A table and chairs will also come in handy.
Dealer and Participants
Dealer: gathers, doles out, and handles the cards at all times throughout the round.
In your local home poker games this responsibility will be shared by all players
as the deal gets passed and online the poker room will do all the work.
Players: generally any number is possible but a comfortable game consists of between 2 and 10 players.
In online poker you will find that you can find tables of all different amounts
of players. Try them all and see which one you like best.
Aim of the Game
Each card has its own rank (explained below). Your goal in poker is to obtain the highest possible 5-card combination of cards within the parameters of the type of game being played.
Card Ranking Made Easy (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and Ace. Aces can either be high or low. (I'll take the high ace and you take the low ace and I'll be
doublin' the pot before ya)
Suits of Cards: There is no discrimination between the suits. Spades, Diamonds, Clubs, and Hearts are all created equal in the eyes of God and the Poker Room Manager.
However there is actual suit ranking in some instances but no need to worry
about that right now as far as the poker room is concerned all are equal.
Rules, What Rules?
Just like any other game poker has rules to follow, but
no need to worry they aren't to bad.
Most of the games you will play require you to "Ante up." This is done before any cards are dealt by placing a predetermined amount of your chips in the pot in the center of the playing surface. The cards are shuffled then dealt clockwise to each participating player one card at a time. A round of betting follows after each player has had the opportunity to examine their cards. At this point, a player has the chance to fold, call, or raise.
What Do You Mean, Fold, Call, or Raise?
Fold
You fold when the cards that you hold are so lousy that to remain in the game would spell certain doom. Correct way to fold: You gently place your cards in front of you face down on the table. Incorrect way to fold: You launch into a string of superlatives and demonstrably throw your cards into the air while pushing yourself away from the table in tears.
At this point you have no further monetary commitment to the hand, your cards are never revealed and the hand is never spoken of again in polite company.
Call
In order to "call" you are required to contribute the equivalent amount of chips as the other players since your last bet. The player to the left of the dealer has the ability to "check" because the value of the pot has not been established. This is applicable on the first round of betting.
Raise
Similar to a "call" except this time you get to increase the value of your bet when the chance to do so arises since the last time you bet. This is a good strategy if you feel that you have a strong hand or want to see who's
"bluffing" (explained later) and who's not. There is generally a maximum limit that you can raise per round.
All right, so far so good. You've folded, called or raised and are now ready to "discard" or replace a pre-determined amount of cards in an attempt to better your hand.
Another round of betting begins once you have received the new (and hopefully better) cards.
The player with the highest hand value wins the pot. But before this can happen, all players are required to either "fold" or "call" during that particular round of betting. Now if someone was to "raise" during the round then we are required to start all over again. When the cycle is finally complete, all the players must reveal their cards.
Poker Hand Rankings
You can read this below or follow this link to see a more visual breakdown of hand
rankings
Poker would be a pretty weird game if at the end of each hand we exposed our hands and decided at that time which cards beat which and in what order. So in order to maintain harmony in the card playing universe hand rankings where invented.
Below are the universally excepted hand rankings from high to low.
Five of a Kind
This occurs when all five cards have the same value. In order to hold five of a kind a wild card must be used. Some poker purists' poo poo the idea of using wild cards, however we would be remiss if we omitted this possible combination.
Royal/Straight Flush
Aw, the Royal Flush. The King of all hands. The one we all strive for but seldom achieve. It's the reason we play the game.
The Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of any suit. I like the sound of it. How possible is it to achieve this poker nadir? I'm glad you asked. You have 1 chance in 650,000 hands dealt to reach the Holy Grail of hands.
Five cards of the same suit in ascending order. This would constitute a Straight Flush. Not unlike a regular straight, an ace counts as either a high/low card.
Four of a Kind
It's the same as saying four cards of the same rank e.g. a jack of spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts. In the unlikely event that two players have a "four of a kind" hand, the hand with the highest value set of cards wins. I should however mention at this time that there are
some forms of poker that involve wild cards. In the event of a tie during a wild card game, the player with the highest fifth card would be declared the winner.
Full House
A full house is three of a kind and a pair, not a bad sit-com starring Bob
Saget.
The player with the higher value first three of a kind wins in the event of a tie.
Flush
The thought of flushing is what first enters a player's head as He/She view their first five cards. Resist the temptation. A Flush simply means that your hand contains cards of all the same suit. If two players have the same hand the winner is the player holding the highest valued cards. For example, if the highest card in your hand is a ten and the other players' highest card is an eight, you're the winner.
WooHoo!
Straight
A Straight is five cards of any suit in ascending order. The ace can be either high or low and the high straight wins the tie.
Three of a Kind
An example of a Three of a Kind would be: 9 of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds, and a 9 of Spades. The other two cards are used in the event of a tie. This is provided that "wild cards" are used. The highest remaining two cards would be used to establish a winner.
Two Pair
Two sets of pairs. Ex: (4,4,Q,Q). The highest pairs take the pot in case of a tie.
Pair
One pair of cards in your hand. K,K or 4,4.
High Card
Highest card takes all in the event of a complete breakdown of the above hands.
Now its time to go and play some poker to get
some experience under your belt. I recommend you play some form of Texas Holdem
whether its pot limit, limit, 3/6/12 or my favorite No Limit Holdem. No Limit Holdem
poker is generally played in two different ways in a cash game or ring game
style. this is where real money value is placed on the chips. In this style you can
leave the table anytime you are not in a hand and cash out. The other way of
playing Holdem is tournament style. This is perhaps the cheaper way to learn. In
our poker room you can join in and play in smaller buy in tournaments and get
some practice in then step up to the next level.
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