Poker Guide
What is the aim of poker?
The aim of poker is to win money by capturing the pot, which contains all the bets made by players during the course of the hand minus the rake collected by the casino if applicable. For example, a player will make a wager believing he has the best hand, or in attempt to make the other players think he has the best hand (bluff) causing them to fold. A good player must know both when to hold and when to fold as money saved is just as important as money won.
How many players can compete?
Typically a game of poker can be played with anywhere from two to ten players.
What type of cards are used?
Most games of poker are played with a standard deck of 52 card.
What are poker chips and do I need to use them?
Poker chips were traditionally made out of clay, but are now mostly made out of durable composites and plastic. Chips vary greatly in designs and patterns for security reasons, but the underlying colour of casino chips generally follow a set of traditional dollar values;
- $1 = white
- $5 = red
- $25 = green
- $100 = black
- $500 = purple
The Basics Of Play
To win money in poker you must win the pots (this is the money wagered during the play of each hand or round), although it is a missconception that you need to win the most pots. You are not playing to win pots, you are playing to win money and this idea will be discussed later. The hand can be won in one of two ways;
- At the showdown you lay down the best hand, (in this context "hand" means the best five cards you have). At the end of all the betting rounds if there are still two or more active players remaining then they must turn their cards face up. The pot wil go to the player with the highest ranking hand.
- All opponents fold their hands. When a player folds his hand he does not match an opponents bet and relenquishes his claim to the pot. It is immaterial whether you have the best hand or not. When all other players relenquish their claim to the pot it is yours.
Most games of poker require ante or blind bets. Antes require each player to post a small ammount of money before he recieves any cards. Blind bets require one or two players to post a bet or a pecentage of a bet before the hand is dealt. The requirement to make blind bets rotates around the table to make it fair on everyone and is normally assisted by the rotation of the dealer button.
Hand Rankings
For a comprehensive list of poker hand rankings and explanations please click here.
Betting
Betting is what makes poker interesting. Through intelligent betting you will be able to maximise your winnings with a good hand and minimize your losses with a bad hand. The first player in a betting round may check or bet. Each player to the left in rotation may either then check if no one to the right has bet, or call, raise or fold if there has been a bet. The first person to make a bet is said to make the opening bet.
The type of game you are playing will deterimine the kind of betting allowed;
- Fixed Limit Game - one may only bet or raise no more than the predetermined table limit. The limit will normally vary with the round of the game. For example in a texas holdem game of $10-20, the limit of the first two betting rounds will be $10 and $20 for the last two.
- Spread Limit Game - a player can wager any ammount within the limits of the game at any time, but a raise must be equal or more than the bet that proceeded it.
- Pot Limit - bets or raises are limited to the ammount of money in the pot at the time the wager is made. A player who calls may count their call as part of the pot.
- No Limit - a player can bet or raise any ammount of chips in their stack at any time.
Common Terms
- Ante - a small sum of money posted by all players before the cards are dealt.
- Bet - a wager of a sum of money by a player (for the different kind of bets allowed see above)
- Blind Bet - a forced bet by one or two players before the cards are dealt. The requirement to post this type of bet rotates around the table to make sure each player pays equally.
- Call - to equal a bet already placed.
- Check - a bet of zero dollars which can be made if no-one in front has bet. If you check you retain the right to call, raise or fold if someone behind you bets.
- Checkraise - to check and then to raise when another player bets after your check.
- Fold - to neither call or raise, but to relinquish all interest in the pot.
- Raise - to increase the the ammount already wagered by an opponent.
For more poker terms please visit our poker glossary. To view the rules for particular variants of poker please use the options below.
Texas Holdem Poker
Related Topics
Poker Hand Rankings
Poker Odds Guide