Poker is a fun and exciting game. It has been around for hundreds of years and is one of the most popular card games. Learning how to play poker is not difficult.
To understand why the game is so popular, all you need is a full guide for beginners. However, to become a pro, you will require more than a simple beginner’s guide. You need years of practice and several rounds of betting.
If you want to learn the basics of poker, then start with Texas Hold’em. This is one of the simplest poker rules to learn. Apart from that, it is challenging and enjoyable. Also, Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker game. This means that it would be easy for you to find people to play with.
Apart from Texas Hold’em, there are other variations of poker. But each of these variations has the same basic gameplay.
The major objective of the game of poker is to create the best five-card hand possible from the cards you are dealt. You can also try to convince other players that you have the best hand, even when you don’t.
How to Play Poker: The Basic Hand Rankings
Before we start to learn how to play poker, the first thing to know is the basic hand rankings of poker. The most common mistake that beginners make is thinking they have a winning poker hand when they don’t.
The cards in a deck have rankings from top to bottom like this: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. When you want to create the best five-card hand, you are looking to create any of the following:
Royal Flush – The same suit with sequences A, K, Q, J, 10.
Straight Flush – Any sequence from the same suit e.g. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.
Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same value e.g. A, A, A, A.
Full House – Three of a kind and a pair.
Flush – All five cards from the same suit.
Straight – Basic sequence e.g. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Three of a Kind – Three cards with the same value e.g. 5, 5, 5.
Two-Pair – Two pairs e.g. 9, 9 and 5, 5.
Pair – Any pair e.g. 2, 2.
High Card – Your highest card.
Step–by–Step Guide on How To Play Texas Hold’em
Here is a quick 8-step guide on how to play Texas Hold’em which is the most popular type of poker.
The dealer shuffles the deck of cards and distributes cards to all the players at the table.
After dealing the cards, there is a Pre-Flop, which is the first stage in the game. You can decide to fold, call, raise, or re-raise. It depends on what you get from the dealt cards.
The next stage is the Flop, where the first three community cards are dealt face up. Any player can combine their cards and the community cards to create their best five-card hand. You have to start thinking about building your full hand. However, you can choose to fold if you do not have a good hand.
Then, there is the Turn stage where another community card is dealt face up. So, there are four cards face up on the table. Just like before, you can check, fold, call, or raise. You also have an idea of how your full hand will look.
The final stage is called River. The final community card is placed face up on the table. You now know what you are holding and you can place your bet confidently or bluff.
In the Post-River stage, you have to use the cards in your hand together with some of the community cards to build the best hand.
You have to choose whether you want to enter the Showdown with your hand. If you are in the showdown, you have to call out the remaining players to show their hands, or someone will call you out.
The player with the best hand is the winner. When it is time to show the cards, sometimes bluffing might help, and other times it would not.
Omaha Poker
After Texas Hold’em, the second most popular poker game is Pot Limit Omaha. If you want to, you can learn how to play poker by learning the Omaha poker rules. However, most poker players start by learning how to play Texas Hold’em before moving on to Omaha poker.
The major difference between Texas Holds ’em and Omaha poker is that the dealer deals 2 cards in Texas Hold’em and 4 in Omaha poker. Players must make their best five-card hand by using two-hole cards and three of the five community cards.
There are several variations of Omaha poker, but the most common one is Pot Limit Omaha. The game has pot limit rules, i.e., the maximum bet amount depends on the amount in the pot. So, unlike No Limit Hold’em, you might not be able to stake all your chips.
More Information On How To Play Poker
You should know that the dealer will deal two cards to all players at the table. He/She will start from the player on his/her left and will end up on him/herself. The first person to play is the player on the dealer’s left, and the player can either:
Bet (They can bet any amount they want in No-Limit Hold’em)
Check (Do nothing)
When a player bets, the remaining players will have to:
Call (Match the amount in the pot)
Fold (Give up their hand and put all their chips in the pot)
Raise (Put more chips in the pot)
This will continue until all the players call, or all the chips are in the middle.
How to Play Poker: Basic Rules
The aim of poker is to have the strongest hand or to convince the other players that you have the strongest hand. When it is your turn, you can either bet, call, raise, or fold. When you fold, you slide your cards away face-down and you no longer play in that hand.
You can choose to fold at any time as long as it is your turn to bet. When there is more than one player after the final betting round, there is a ‘showdown’. The players reveal their cards, and the winner is the player that has the strongest hand.
However, if all the other players fold their cards when you bet or raise, then you are the winner. You can do this by ‘bluffing.’ Clever players will act as if their hand is stronger than it actually is. They are trying to get all the other players to fold before the showdown.
How to Bet in Poker
To win consistently in poker, you must have confidence that you can build a winning hand. Even when you are not able to build a winning hand, you must be able to try a bluff.
The game goes around in rounds, so you can look at your hand and try to assume the cards the other players have and what they are trying to build. When it is your turn to bet, you can do any of the following:
Check: Until a player makes the first bet, you can ‘check’. When you check, you do nothing until it is your turn again.
Open: This is the first bet and all the players must take an action after this bet.
Fold: If it seems as if your hand is too weak, then you can choose to fold. However, you will lose everything you have put in the pot.
Call: You can decide to match the highest bet that a player has made at the table.
Raise: You can also increase the highest bet. A ‘check-raise’ is when you check and then raise in the next round. While a ‘re-raise’ is when you raise a raise.
Although you can call out what you are doing, there are non-verbal signals that you can use to communicate with other players.
When you tap the table, it means that you ‘check’. Giving your cards face-down to the dealer means that you ‘fold’.
If you want to bet, then slide your chips forward so that other players and the dealer can confirm the amount. Then the dealer will add them to the pot.
Playing Online Poker
One of the fun parts of poker is trying to read the other players through their behaviors and emotions. When you play online, you will not be able to do that. However, playing online is still exciting and enjoyable. It is also convenient and easy to get started. All you have to do is join an online poker casino, register, and join a table.
Best Poker Strategies for Beginners
Since you now have a basic understanding of how to play poker, it is time to start playing. Learning how to play is easy, but for you to become a master at poker, you must build your strategy. Also, it is important for you to play consistently, as you need constant practice.
In this guide, we will also provide some poker strategies that will help you as you take to the tables to start playing.
Understand the hand rankings
To become a good poker player, you must understand the rankings of five-card hands. This is very important as it will help you to be able to choose your best hand whenever you are playing.
Begin with low-stakes tables
You will not find pro poker players at the low-stakes tables, but as a beginner, it is better to start at these tables. It will prevent you from risking a large amount of money while you are still learning. You will also be playing against other beginner players, so you will stay longer in the game and develop your skills. It will also improve your confidence.
Use bonuses and promotions
Most online poker casinos provide bonuses and promotions to their customers. Using these will allow you to practice without risking your money.
Play only good hands
When playing poker, it is important to choose the hands you play carefully. Good hands do not come often, so stick to those and ignore the bad and intermediate hands.
The best starting hands for poker are:
A, A
K, K
Q, Q
J, J
A, K (same suit)
A, Q (same suit)
A, J (same suit)
K, Q (same suit)
These combinations will help you start well. So, you will be able to stay in the game and raise later.
Aggressively take risks
Whenever you have premium hands, it is advisable to take risks and make large bets on those hands. This will give you the opportunity to get large rewards. Sometimes, betting aggressively will scare the other players and make them fold.
Learn the art of bluffing
While learning how to play poker, you should also learn how to bluff. Experienced poker players know how to bluff, and they use this to make other players fold. If you master the poker face, your opponents will not know whether you have a good hand or not.
Do not bluff all the time
You can make bluffing part of your poker strategy, but if you do it all the time, it will no longer be effective. Once the other players catch you pulling many bluffs, they will find out your tactics and will be able to use it against you.
Know when to fold
As a beginner, you would usually want to hold on to several hands. However, you must know that learning when to fold is important in poker. If you are not sure when to fold or not, remember: when passive players that always fold start to raise, then you should fold even if you have a good five-card hand.
Gamble responsibly
Although poker requires skill and strategy, it is still gambling and therefore not a sure way to make money. As such, always manage your bankroll properly. Also, spend your winnings smartly; this will help you to build your finances so that you can increase your bets.
Is Poker a Game of Luck or Skill?
There have been several debates about whether you need luck or skill to win in poker. In poker, you need a bit of both, and most of the time, it doesn’t matter which one helps you to win.
You will need luck on occasions when you are playing against better players. But you also need to be skillful enough to win consistently. The result of any round depends partly on the cards dealt and how other players decide to play their hands.
Poker is a fun and exciting game. It has been around for hundreds of years and is one of the most popular card games. Learning how to play poker is not difficult.
To understand why the game is so popular, all you need is a full guide for beginners. However, to become a pro, you will require more than a simple beginner’s guide. You need years of practice and several rounds of betting.
If you want to learn the basics of poker, then start with Texas Hold’em. This is one of the simplest poker rules to learn. Apart from that, it is challenging and enjoyable. Also, Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker game. This means that it would be easy for you to find people to play with.
Apart from Texas Hold’em, there are other variations of poker. But each of these variations has the same basic gameplay.
The major objective of the game of poker is to create the best five-card hand possible from the cards you are dealt. You can also try to convince other players that you have the best hand, even when you don’t.
Before we start to learn how to play poker, the first thing to know is the basic hand rankings of poker. The most common mistake that beginners make is thinking they have a winning poker hand when they don’t.
The cards in a deck have rankings from top to bottom like this: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. When you want to create the best five-card hand, you are looking to create any of the following:
Here is a quick 8-step guide on how to play Texas Hold’em which is the most popular type of poker.
To win consistently in poker, you must have confidence that you can build a winning hand. Even when you are not able to build a winning hand, you must be able to try a bluff.
The game goes around in rounds, so you can look at your hand and try to assume the cards the other players have and what they are trying to build. When it is your turn to bet, you can do any of the following:
There have been several debates about whether you need luck or skill to win in poker. In poker, you need a bit of both, and most of the time, it doesn’t matter which one helps you to win.
You will need luck on occasions when you are playing against better players. But you also need to be skillful enough to win consistently. The result of any round depends partly on the cards dealt and how other players decide to play their hands. 
