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By the end of this poker primer you will
have a good basic understanding of the game and be ready to join in the fun.
Although the varieties of poker may seem a little complex, it is really a lot
easier than it may first appear. All the different poker games (Texas Hold’em,
Seven Card Stud, etc) share some basic elements in common:
The goal of poker is to win money from the other players by placing bets on the
strength of the cards that have been dealt to you.
Poker follows this basic format:
Players are dealt cards (a “hand”), some or all of which are concealed.
Bets are made on the strength of the cards in rounds of betting.
The hands develop as more cards are dealt.
Finally the strongest hand wins a showdown or all players but one have folded.
Whichever kind of poker you play, it is essential to know is the ranking of the
hands. The rankings are the same in all poker games.
Texas Hold’em and Omaha have from 2 to 10 players, while Seven Card Stud games
have 2 to 8 players.
A standard pack of 52 cards is used, with no jokers. The ace is the high card,
however in hi/lo games it can be ranked as either high or low, at either end of
a sequence. A new pack of cards is randomly generated before each game, using an
RNG (Random Number Generator) to shuffle the deck.
The game moves around the table clockwise, including the placing of bets and the
dealing of cards. Each player must act in turn. There is a theoretical “dealer”
(represented by a “button” or small disc) which also rotates around the
table clockwise with each hand. When you are in the dealer position (or “on
the button” as it is sometimes called), you do not actually deal the cards
yourself, rather you are the last player to receive your cards, and the two
players to your left post the blind bets that get the pot going. In this way
each player’s relative position rotates with each hand.
Position is important in poker, and especially important in Texas Hold’em. The
later you act on your hand, the more information you can collect about the
relative strengths of other players’ hands. Since it is preferable to be in
“late position”, the dealer button rotates around the table with each hand.
This ensures that each player has equal opportunities to be in late position…and
to post the blind bets.
With each turn to act, you have the option to fold, or depending on what has
happened before you, to check, bet, call or raise. (There is a lot of
specialized lingo in poker; make sure to spend some time studying our full poker
glossary, or simply refer to it as you learn.)
Blind bets start the pot. This gets everyone interested in how the hand turns
out; the two that posted the blind bets have their own money at stake even
before the first cards are dealt, and everyone else is faced with a small (but
potentially growing) pot that someone is going to win.
Betting rounds take place to equalize the amount of money that each active
player has in the pot…those that fold along the way relinquish their claim to
the pot. Additional cards are dealt at each round of betting as well, which add
further intrigue to the betting, and will inevitably force the weak-handed (or
those not interested in bluffing!) to fold. As active players raise the bets,
the other players who wish to remain in the hand must call to equalize each
players stake in the pot…or they can choose to re-raise. There are a set
number of raises allowed in each round of betting (except in no-limit poker
which is just like it sounds…no limit on either the number or the amount of
raises, as long as you’re not raising yourself. Start learning with limit
games…you can graduate to no-limit games once you master limit).
Players are only allowed to use the chips in play at the beginning of a hand.
You are not allowed to get extra funds in the middle of a hand. You are however
free to get more chips between hands.
The specifics of what happens at each betting round are detailed in the
individual poker game rules. With different numbers of “hole” cards (the
secret cards you hold) and community cards (those cards shared by everyone at
the table), each poker game requires different strategies and different
strengths. This is what makes poker fun for everyone…and challenging to fully
master! Remember though, you don’t have to be a poker whiz to win; you only
have to be better than those against whom you are playing. Start in the low
limits to ensure that you are fairly matched. Then, as your skills improve, you
can go to higher and higher stakes, and win the big bucks.
Bluffing is misleading your opponents into thinking that you have a hand
different and usually stronger than the one you actually hold. This is a vital
part of poker. If the best hand always won, then poker would be a simple game of
chance. The keys to being a winning poker player are strategy and bluffing …knowing
when to play hands to begin with, and using your judgment to gauge when to push
ahead with a less than ideal hand to bluff the other players out of the pot.
Once you understand the basics of this primer, check out the complete rules of
poker to get all the details on how each game is played. We suggest you start
with Texas Hold’em, the most popular form of poker. Other games are variations
on the basics of Texas Hold’em, so it’s a great place to start. Good luck
and happy playing! |
