Play Poker

Poker is currently undergoing a surge in popularity, due in part to its prominence on television and popularity with celebrities. Want to join the fun? It's easy to get started. Here's an approachable overview of how to play 5 Card Draw, Texas Hold'em, and some basic strategies you can use. Once you get the hang of it, you can easily adapt to playing other variations (described below) and improve your poker skills through practice. Play with knowledge and strategies, then it is not only luck that matters.

Steps

  1. Learn the ten basic, five-card hands of poker: (1) "Royal flush" or called "Ace-high straight flush"), (2) "Straight flush", (3) "Four of a kind", (4) "Full house", (5) "Flush", (6) "Straight", (7) "Three of a kind", (8) "Two pair", (9) "Pair", (10) "High card".
    • Click here for the "Poker Hands Cheat Sheet" - a list by "Hand" and "Description/Example".
    • See also the "Play-Poker" -- a list of poker hands described in detail with examples and color pictures of hands in a subsection above the "Tips" section near the bottom of the article.
  2. See the subsections . See the "Poker Help" section immediately below here:
  3. Find kinds of poker information just above the "Tips" section near the bottom of the article the following:
    • See the various kinds of poker Play-Poker - names and a description of each of some differing kinds of poker.
    • "Types of Poker Games" - click to enlarge a table/chart showing "Game, Rules, Betting, Examples" in the "Poker Help" section below.

Poker Help

  1. Choose a miniature of a help sheet and click. To exit a help sheet use the "Back Button".

Doc:Poker Hands Cheat Sheet,Ways to Improve at Poker,Types of Poker Games ~ When you are ready to exit a help sheet use the "Back Button".

Playing Three-card Draw

  1. Learn the basics of poker using 5-card hands. Using the standard 4-suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades in no order or rank), 52-card deck with or without jokers/wild-cards, etc. -- so there are many variations of games agreed upon before the first card is dealt. For example, the ace normally plays high, but you can sometimes agree: "aces high and low" (to be used as either the highest or the "one-card" in the hand, otherwise 2 is the low card). A joker or other wild card(s) may be agreed upon. At the end of each hand there can be a showdown if more than one has not folded/discarded or mucked cards, if so then those players still remaining in that one hand compare their cards according to the hand rankings and card values (explained below). "Suited" (of a certain suit) cards are not used to break ties but if all 5 cards are of one, same suit (a flush) that beats the "unsuited" hand, nor are cards beyond the fifth (don't draw to break the tie); only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. In the case of a tie, the pot is split equally among the tied-winning hands.
    • Wild cards introduce an additional hand, "five of a kind," which normally ranks between a "straight flush" and the Royal Flush (ace-high straight-flush). When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as (1) an ace or to (2) complete a straight or flush as needed. So, it is not used as a true wild card for any and every hand.
  2. Print or write out a ranking of the poker hands and memorize the hands. Become familiar with the names and meanings of poker hands and their variations by value of cards that form it (like a pair of Ks beats a pair of Qs or lower). The person who wins is the person with the highest-valued hand. You can't win, if you don't know which hand beats another to take the pot. If two players have hands with the same name (e.g. two "full houses" [FH]) or no one has an obviously winning hand, then the player with the highest differing value card in their hand wins (Ace is normally the highest [Ace-high beats King-high]).
  3. Chip in. Place the "ante" (pronounced ant-ee), the agreed "token bet", "pay to play," to prime the pot (usually a spot at the center of the table, although you can use a container/pot, if you wish), using whatever your agreed currency (poker chips, coins, bills, items of agreed value,...). If it is not a cash game, then there is a banker who sell the chips and keeps the cash safe to pay the winner.
    • "No limit. Buy-in" -- Whoever wins takes it all and you can "go all-in" (no limit to your size of bet, up to your whole stack). Players continue until they "leave it all on the table" and then one wins it all.
    • "Limit. No buy-in" -- Limited-size means: no one can "go all-in" and you can start with unequal chips, then people also can buy more/or cash-out chips at any time to "take your winnings" or to "cut your losses".
  4. Choose the first dealer. Then the Dealer/Button position passes to the next player to the left after each hand. But, if the dealer is the same person at-all-times, then the button passes instead of the dealer position. A hand can have several rounds of betting, until there are no options. After shuffling ("showing off"), the dealer distributes the cards face down, starting with the player to his or her/or the button's immediate left and continuing clockwise -- one card at a time until everyone has five cards -- dealer or button gets each card dealt last in turn. The remaining deck becomes the "draw-pool" and is placed face down in the middle of the table.
  5. Look at your cards. Keep them "close to the vest"/secret (if you muck or reveal your cards, before the end of the hand, you are out of the hand). No one has to show cards if there is not a showdown. Some people like to put them in order while looking at them, then remember them. This is the time to evaluate how strong your hand is. Players often show the strength of their hand with an involuntary "tell". Some tells include if only for a moment or two: shallow breathing, gasping/sighing, changing amount of talk, lack of eye contact or more than usual, facial muscle flexes (to relax for covering-up a smile or frown), neck tension, flushing, eye watering, blinking, tonguing/licking, smacking, rapid pulse seen in the neck or temple, etc. Trying to deduce/catch these will give you a better chance to know who seems thrilled or disappointed when reacting to cards, others' words or bets. Keep your usual "poker face"; don't show a response -- or instead be shifty, unpredictable, changing faces, smiling, laughing continually, acting differently. Some players wear large sunshades, a hat pulled low, a neck scarf to cover muscle tension, and try to have deadpan facial expressions and to conceal reactionary breathing.
  6. Take turns shuffling and dealing, unless the house furnishes the dealer. The person to get to start the round is usually the player on the dealer's/button's left (or the person who was dealt the first card). That player can decide to:
    • Open - Place the first bet. Or, "check" and so pass the chance to open to the next player. If everyone checks, then it is time to draw replacement cards (explained below). But, once the pot is opened, by a bet (e.g. placing a nickel in the pot), then all of the players, including those who already had their turns have three new options, at their next turn:
    • Fold - Quit the game by pushing your cards face-down on the table toward the discards, to avoid putting more into the pot; whatever you have put in the pot "stays in the pot".
    • See/call - Stay in the game by betting the current running amount into the pot. To call and pay in the current amount as previously bet. After they've made their choices in the first round, everyone who hasn't folded may still have those options plus whatever else comes next, in progress of the game.
    • Check - Means "I'm staying with the bet already paid into the pot in this hand by myself in the previous round and/or earlier in this round, and not paying more, until someone raises in their turn".
    • Raise - Betting and "sweetening the pot" instead of merely "calling", by putting in more than the last person put in the pot (to get the others to pay-in that much going around the table or to fold). "After the open, call or a raise", all players still in the hand will have their turn in order to decide whether to (1) call (match and pay that same amount into the pot) or (2) fold, then the next person has his or her turn to take those options.
  7. Draw [replacement] cards. Once everyone has had a turn and the first round completed with no raise to match (or if everyone checked) get rid of up to three cards (turned face down onto the table and pushed toward the middle), or keep them all. Discard ones you don't think will help, and have them replaced by the dealer, clockwise in turn. Be sure no one can see what you had/have (you can not get a card back, if a drawn card is unwanted).
  8. Go through another round of betting after the draw. As before, the first player can either open/bet or check, and the checking can continue until someone opens, after which players can see/call, raise or fold. Players will start folding once they realize their weak hand isn't worth the additional bet.
  9. Showdown: Expose your cards only when there is no more reason to bet. Everyone who has not folded turns their cards over to see who has the winning hand. Winner takes all, unless there is an absolute tie, then split the pot.

Playing Texas Hold’em

  1. Understand the basics of draw poker. Learn the "Texas-rules" (Texas Hold’em). Each player will be dealt 2 secret cards (called your "hold" or "hole" cards). Then 5 shared community cards will be placed on the middle of the table in front of the dealer, for all to see -- dealt face up in 3 stages. Players try to make the best 5-card hand possible out of their 7 cards.
  2. Deal. Each player takes a turn being the dealer/or button, unless the house furnishes the dealer. If so, then the button-position is passed around the table to the left, clockwise. In Texas Hold’em, an amount called the "blind" (minimum bet), takes the place of the ante on each new hand, as the "big blind-amount" is the minimum initial bet for the hand.
    • The dealer assures that 1/2 the minimum is paid into the pot by the player immediately to the left of the button-position. That person is called the "small blind" for the hand, and the next person toward the left who is the "big blind" pays the full minimum before the deal of the cards. The dealer then deals each player 2 cards face down, one at a time, starting with player to the left of the big blind position back to the button and the blinds last. The other players can choose to fold rather than pay the blind-amount or to begin the wagering after looking at their 2 hold cards.
    • Neither blind gets to wager on their hold cards until the rest of the table get to decide and wager or fold going clockwise, and then it comes back around to the blinds to bet after the button gets to bet.
  3. Begin the first round. It is called playing the "pre-flop" round. Play begins with the first player to the left of the big blind. That player either "calls" and pays in the big blind (the minimum bet), or raises and pays the blind plus more, or folds/discards/mucks the hold cards face down pushing them toward the center of the table.
    • Play continues around the table, with each player having to match the previous bet, raise, or fold. If no one raises, the big blind can check or raise before the next round.
  4. See the flop. After the first round of betting has been settled, the dealer reveals the first 3 of the 5 cards placed face up on the board, called the flop. First the dealer places the top card off the deck face-down (called the burn card, placed in the discards). The next three cards from the deck are displayed face-up side by see, so you can all see them. Each player now has 2 cards in their hold (personal hand) and 3 community cards to consider to bet upon. Another round of betting begins, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
  5. See the turn (4th card). After the second round of betting, the dealer burns (discards) the next top card and deals the next card of the hand to the table display, called the 'turn" or "4th-street". The remaining players bet again, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
  6. See the 5th card. After the third round of betting, the dealer burns the next card and then reveals the 5th and final card of the hand called the "river" or "5th-street". Players bet on their hands as usual for the round, and the winner takes the pot. If a player bets, but the rest fold rather than risk more into the pot, then the winning player does not need to show his or her hand/hold, but may show either card or both for effect. As if to say, "See, I play good cards; oh, but sometimes I bet to see whether I can get lucky."

Essential Strategies

  1. Know your starting hands. When you’re starting your initial round of betting, it’s important to know whether or not the hand you have is worth playing. In Texas Hold’em, you have two cards to start, and you’ll need to decide if you should play them or fold.
    • Hands to raise: Pairs of tens, face cards or Aces are almost always a good hand to raise with. An Ace and a King or an Ace and a Queen are strong hands as well. If you have these hands, bet before the flop to raise the value of the pot.
    • Hands to call pre-flop: An Ace with a face card, or two consecutive face cards of a different suit are strong hands to call with. Two consecutive non-face or face cards of the same suit can work in your favor. Low pairs should call to see the flop to see you luck to make two pair, a high kicker, or a full house, but not raise (they give less value, less likely to win, on average than higher pairs).
  2. Know when to hold and when to fold. The key to being successful at poker is knowing when to fold your hand and accept a smaller loss, or when to hold onto it and risk a larger loss knowing that you have a good chance to win the pot. If the flop comes and you’re holding a hand that doesn’t play, check and fold. You don’t want to keep betting money at a hand that won’t win. If the flop comes and you have a strong hand, bet at it. This will force weaker hands out and raise the value of your pot.
    • If your hand could play if the right cards come up, then you’ll want to determine if it’s worth holding out for them. Calculating pot odds can go a long way towards helping you make these decisions.
    • Pot odds are calculated by determining the percentage chance that you have to draw the card you need. To calculate them, count the number of outs you have. These are cards that will improve your hand. Multiply the number of cards times two, then add 1 to get the percentage. For example, if there are 10 cards in the deck that could improve your hand, you have about a 21% (10 x 2 + 1) chance of getting a card you need.
    • Next, you’ll need to determine if it is worth betting. Calculate the pot+bet, which is the pot total plus the bet to call. So if the pot is $120, and the bet to call is $20, then the pot+bet is $140. Multiply your percentage of your outs with the pot+bet. In the previous example, a 21% chance with a pot+bet of $140 would look like 0.21 x 140 = 29.4. This means you should call bets lower than %29 of the pot, or around $40. [1]
    • Working out the pot odds is only a guideline and doesn’t take a lot of variables into account. Use it as a basis to judge the worthiness of a hand.
  3. Understand the psychology. Playing your opponent is arguably more important than playing your cards in poker. You have to be able to read what your opponent is doing, as well as trick them into not knowing your plan.
    • Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. You will lose hands, it’s guaranteed. Don’t let setbacks affect your attitude and playstyle.
    • Change up your pace. If you’ve been playing your cards close, and not betting wildly, start bluffing a bit more. If you’ve been bluffing, go back to playing tighter. Switching often will keep opponents from being able to predict your actions and guess your cards.
    • Read your opponent. Adjust your playstyle to your opponents’. Look for players that are betting carelessly, and try to trap them. Learn to see the tells, which can give you an estimation of their hand. Some basic tells: a hand over the mouth is usually concealing a smile; shaking hands is nervous, but that could be a good nervous or bad nervous; if a player glances at his or her chips when the flop comes, they probably have a strong hand; if a mediocre player is staring at you, he or she is likely bluffing.
  4. Think on your feet. Don’t get bogged down with systems, react to situations as they arise. Every poker situation is different because of the human factor.
  5. Plan your bankroll accordingly. When you are learning, you should never invest more than what you would consider “fun” to lose. Don’t add to your bankroll after losing everything you’ve invested. Wait until you are comfortable losing that amount again.
    • When you start winning on a regular basis, adjust your bankroll to maximize your earning potential. The general rule of thumb is you should be able to afford to lose 200 bets at the highest limit. So if the limit is $5 bets, then your bankroll should be $1000.
    • Track your wins and losses. This will help you figure out if you are winning or losing in the long run. Also, depending on where you live, you may have to pay taxes on your gambling income.

Poker Hands: Reference Sheet

  1. Royal Flush (10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit) - Most valued because it's most surprising when received. It is a common misconception that this is harder to get than any other set of 5 cards of one suit.
  2. Straight Flush (five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit) - Can't contain a King as high card and a Two as the low number card in the same hand (e.g.: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight, there is actually a big gap). The straight can't wrap around the end of the suit to line up lowest to the highest numbers.
  3. Four of a Kind (four cards of the same number and any other card) - ties are broken by the higher four cards of a kind.
  4. Full House (a three card set with the same number and two card pair with the same number) - ties are broken by the highest value card in the three of a kind.
  5. Flush (all five cards from the same suit) - Numbers and order don't matter except the high card wins if someone else also has a flush.
  6. Straight - (all five cards in numerical order) - Suit doesn't matter. Can't contain a King and a Two in the same hand (e.g. J-Q-K-A-2).
  7. Three of a Kind (three cards with same number, two other random cards) - If the other two cards had the same number, it's a full house (see above).
  8. Two Pair (two pairs with the same numbers plus a random card) -- ties are broken with the highest 5th.
  9. One Pair (two cards with the same number, the rest of the cards are random).

Variations

  1. Below are the variations.
    • Straight poker - Five cards are dealt to each player with a round of betting after each. The best hand wins the pot.
    • 5-card stud - This is similar to straight poker, where you are stuck with the cards that you are dealt except, in this variation, four of the cards are dealt face up for all to see. The person with the best hand wins the pot. The dealing goes as follows: One card is dealt face down (the hole card) to each person, then one card is dealt face up to each player and there is a round of betting; there are three subsequent rounds where another card is dealt face up to all who have not folded and this is followed by a round of bets. Once the final bet is made, the hole card is revealed and the person holding the best hand takes the pot.
    • 7-card stud - Your goal is to make the best 5-card hand possible. In 7-card stud, players are given two face-down cards, then one up before the first round of betting. Another three rounds of one card face up go to each remaining player (who has not folded) with a round of betting after each dealing. The final card goes face-down followed by the final round of betting. In stud, the cards dealt face down are called "hole cards."
    • Lowball - The goal is to get the hand with the lowest value.
    • Omaha - Four pocket cards are dealt face down, betting ensues, and then five community cards are dealt face up. A player must make a winning hand using two of the pocket cards combined with the three community cards.
    • Pineapple - Dealt three hole cards, discard one before the flop, play like Texas Hold'em.
    • Crazy Pineapple - Dealt three hole cards, discard one after the flop, play like Texas Hold'em.
    • Cincinnati - Four hole cards and four community cards with four rounds of betting.
    • Dr. Pepper - Five card draw with 10s, 2s and 4s wild.

Tips

  • Conservative players only stay in the game when their cards are good. They don't lose as much money, but they're easily spotted by more experienced players and bluffed into folding (because of the false idea that anyone betting high has good cards).
  • Aggressive players will sometimes bet very high early in the game, before seeing how the other players are acting/feeling, although this can be risky.
  • You can bluff, or trick the other players into believing you have a powerful hand, by placing high bets. If they fall for it, they'll fold and you'll take the pot with a weak hand.
  • Fold, if some high betting is starting.
  • Don't bet more than you are willing to lose.
  • You can check out of how do other professional poker players do it by watching tournaments. Try to understand the dynamics.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/drawing.php
Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Play_Poker&oldid=282446"