Poker for Beginners

1. Poker?is a family of?card games?involving?betting?and individual play, whereby the winner is determined by the ranks and combinations of players cards, some of which remain hidden until the end of the game. Poker games vary in the number of cards dealt, the number of shared or community cards, and the number of cards that remain hidden. The betting procedures vary among different poker games in such ways as betting limits and splitting the?pot?be .....

How to Play Poker

2. 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? Its easy to get started. Heres an approachable overview of how to play 5 Card Draw, Texas Holdem, 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 swagger .....

Playing 5 Card Draw and Understand the basics of poker

3. Poker is usually played with a standard 4suit 52card deck. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low. A joker or other wild cards may be added. At the showdown, those players still remaining compare their hands according to the hand rankings. Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; 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 winn .....

Become familiar with poker hand variations

4. The person who wins is the person with the highestvalued hand. You cant win if you dont know which hands will take the pot. If two players have hands with the same value (e.g. two full houses) or no one has a winning hand, then the player with the highest value card in their hand wins (Ace is highest). Print out a ranking of the poker hands and memorize the hands. .....

Chip in

5. Place an ante (pronounced antee) or token bet (pronounced token bet) into the pot (usually a spot at the center of the table, although you can use a pot if you wish). Every player places an equal amount of whatever your currency (poker chips, nickels, bills, car keys...). Whoever wins takes it all. .....

Deal or be dealt with

6. After shuffling (showing off) the dealer distributes the cards face down starting with the player to his or her immediate left and continuing clockwise, one card at a time, until everyone has five cards. The deck is placed in the middle of the table. .....

Look at your cards while everyone else looks at theirs

7. This is the time to evaluate how strong your hand is. Beginner players usually end up showing how strong their hand is with what is known as a tell. Some tells include; shallow breathing, lack of or too much eye contact, facial muscle flexes, etc. Trying to reduce these tells will give you a better chance. Keep your poker face. .....

Take turns

8. The first person to make a call is usually the player on the dealers left (who was dealt the first card). That player canopen(place the first bet) orcheck(pass the decision onto the next player). Once the pot is opened, meaning that a player bets a certain amount (e.g. places a nickel in the pot), all of the people who already had their turns have two options:See or call Stay in the game by putting the equivalent amount in the pot.Fold Quit the .....

Draw

9. Once everyone has had a turn (even if everyone checked) get rid of up to three cards you dont want and have them replaced. This is done in turns, again beginning with the player on the dealers left and going clockwise. Choose the cards that you dont think will help you gain a winning hand. You might get rid of three cards, or you might keep them all. If you do get rid of cards, put them face down on the table so no one sees what you had. .....

Go through another round of betting

10. As before, the first player can either open or check, and the checking can continue until someone opens, after which players can see, raise or fold. More people will start to fold once they realize their weak hand isnt worth the bet. .....

Expose your cards

11. Everyone turns their cards over to see who has the winning hand. Winner takes all .....

Understand the basic rules of Texas Holdem

12. Each player is dealt 2 cards face down, and 5 community cards will be shown face up. Players try to make the best hand possible out of their 7 cards.Each player takes a turn being the dealer. In Texas Holdem, blinds take the place of an ante. The player to the left of the dealer is the small blind, and the next person is the big blind. The big blind is the minimum bet, and the small blind is half of that. .....

Begin play

13. Play begins with the first player to the left of the big blind. That player either calls the big blind (plays the minimum bet), raises, or folds. Play continues around the circle, 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. .....

See the flop

14. After the first round of betting has been settled, the dealer reveals the first 3 cards of the hand, called the flop. The dealer places the top card on the deck facedown. This is referred to as a Burn card. The next three cards from the deck are displayed faceup. Each player now has 2 cards in their personal hand and 3 community cards. Another round of betting begins, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. .....

See the turn

15. After the second round of betting, the dealer burns the next card and then reveals the 4th card of the hand, called the turn. The remaining players bet again, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. .....

See the river

16. After the third round of betting, the dealer burns the next card and then reveals the 5th and final card of the hand. Players bet on their hands, and the winner takes the pot. If a player bets, and the rest fold, then the winning player does not need to show his or her hand. .....

Essential Strategies or Know your starting hands

17. When youre starting your initial round of betting, its important to know whether or not the hand you have is worth playing. In Texas Holdem, you have two cards to start, and youll 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 valu .....

Know when to hold and when to fold

18. 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 youre holding a hand that doesnt play, check and fold. You dont want to keep betting money at a hand that wont 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 yo .....

Understand the psychology

19. 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.Dont let emotions cloud your judgment. You will lose hands, its guaranteed. Dont let setbacks affect your attitude and playstyle.Change up your pace. If youve been playing your cards close, and not betting wildly, start bluffing a bit more. If youve been bluffi .....

Think on your feet

20. Dont get bogged down with systems, react to situations as they arise. Every poker situation is different because of the human factor. .....

Plan your bankroll accordingly

21. When you are learning, you should never invest more than what you would consider funto lose. Dont add to your bankroll after losing everything youve 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 .....

Royal Flush Most valued because its most surprising when received

22. It is a common misconception that this is harder to get than any of the other set of 5 cards. .....

Straight Flush

23. five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit) Cant contain a King and a Two in the same hand .....

Four of a Kind

24. four cards of the same number and any other card .....

Full House

25. three cards with the same number and two cards with the same number) ties are broken by the highest value card in the three of a kind. .....

Flush

26. all five cards from the same suit) Numbers dont matter. .....

Straight

27. all five cards in numerical order) Suit doesnt matter.Cant contain a King and a Two in the same hand (e.g. JQKA2 .....

Three of a Kind

28. three cards with same number, two other random cards) If the other two cards have the same number, its a full house .....

Two Pair

29. two sets with the same numbers plus a random card .....

One Pair

30. two cards with the same number, the rest of the cards are random .....

Variations

31. Below are the variationsStraight poker Five cards are dealt to each player with a round of betting after each. The best hand wins the pot.5card 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 .....

Tips for Poker Game

32. Conservative players only stay in the game when their cards are good. They dont lose as much money, but theyre easily spotted (and bluffed) by more experienced players.Aggressive players will sometimes bet very high early in the game, 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, theyll fold and youll take the pot with a weak hand.Fold if so .....