Online Poker
How to play online poker
Master the basics of a typical game with our how to play poker guide. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or already a big poker fan, it’s always a good idea to brush up on the rules. There are numerous different variants of this popular card game, but you only need to know one or two of these before you can start playing online. In this guide, we’ll be covering:
- Poker rules, and step by step information on how to play a hand
- An overview of poker hand rankings, as well as what makes up the best poker hands
- Some key poker terminology, like limits and pot odds, and what it all means
How does poker work?
The reality is that each variation of the game, from HORSE to Omaha, has its own poker rules and gameplay quirks. Despite this, learning how to play basic poker is pretty simple. In almost every case, the aim of the game is the same: put together a stronger poker hand than your opponents.
Let’s take a look at how to play Texas Hold‘Em poker, one of the simplest and most popular variants. The five basic steps are as follows:
- Players are dealt their cards, and initial bets are placed
- Community cards are dealt, followed by a round of betting
- Fourth card is dealt, then another betting round
- Final card is dealt, then one more round of betting
- During the showdown, players still in the game reveal their hands
How to play poker step-by-step
We’ll now take you through a more detailed version of how to play poker for beginners, again based on a game of Texas Hold ‘Em. The following steps can be applied to most poker variants, but make sure you always check for any variant-specific rules before you start playing.
STEP 1
Place your bets
Before the cards are dealt, players will place their bets. These can include ante bets, where all players put in an equal amount of money, and blinds, where the player immediately to the left of the dealer places a small bet and the player to the left of them places a larger one.
Players then receive two hole (face down) cards each. At this point, players must decide if they’re going to check (decline the opportunity to start the betting), bet/call any bets (match another player’s bet), or fold if they have a weak hand. Each time a player decides to check, the opportunity to bet or check is passed on clockwise to the next player. Once a player makes the first bet, all remaining players must call, to match that amount.
STEP 2
The community cards
Once betting has concluded, the flop (three face up cards) is dealt. Players can now get a better idea of their hand strength, and another round of betting takes place.
STEP 3
Time for the turn
Next, the turn (a fourth face up card) is dealt and can be used by players to build a better hand. Bear in mind that a hand consists of only five cards. This then is followed by another round of betting.
STEP 4
Hands Are Finalized
The river (a fifth face up card) is dealt, and players who are still in can see the actual strength of their hand. Before the showdown, it’s time for one final round of betting.
STEP 5
The Winner is revealed
Now it’s time for the showdown, when players reveal their poker hands to see who has won the pot. A kicker, the highest card, may be used to break ties.
What are some basic poker rules?
Once you’re familiar with how the game is played, there are still some poker rules that you should know about before you start to play for real money in an online casino. The exact details of the rules listed below may differ between variants, but these are the typical things you should be aware of:
Blinds
Most forms of poker have big and small blinds. These are sums of money that must be paid by two players each hand, to boost the value of each pot. This is totally normal and isn’t something you can avoid; just hope you have a good hand when it’s your turn to pay blinds.
Decks
In virtually all forms of poker, a single deck of cards is used. This is to prevent bizarre hands like 5 or 6 of a kind emerging. Measures like shuffling and burning mean that players still can’t accurately predict what cards will come out next.
Rake
When playing in a land-based venue or in an online casino, the house will take a certain percentage of the pot or the tournament buy-in to generate profits. This figure could be anywhere between 3-10% and is completely above board and difficult to avoid.
Chips
The number of chips you get when you sit down at an online poker table can vary hugely. It will depend on things like table limits and whether you’re playing at a tournament or not. Check this out in advance so you don’t end up feeling like a fish out of water.
People
How many people can play varies slightly from casino to casino. In theory, 20+ people could play at a single Texas Hold ‘Em table. In practice, most casino/online poker sites limit tables to around 10. Any more than 10 or 12 players at a table and hands simply take too long to play out.
Cards
How many cards you get, and whether they’re face up or face down, varies widely depending on the poker variant you’re playing. Make sure, before you start playing, that you understand all the rules of your chosen variant.
Poker Hand Rankings - Poker Hands Ranked In Order
A Royal Flush is the best hand in poker and is made up of an ace, king, queen, jack and ten of all the same suit. An example of a Royal Flush is A♦K♦Q♦J♦10♦, but it can be any suit, as long as all five cards are the same suit and the hand is made up of these value cards. Most people have heard of the pinnacle of poker hands – a Royal Flush. In movies, it’s been popularised for its glamour and its prestige is justified. You CANNOT beat a Royal Flush in poker, it is the best hand. As such, it’s extremely rare and most recreational players only ever get a handful of Royal Flushes in their lifetime (playing Texas Hold’em).
Not quite as prestigious and nowhere near as rare as a Royal, a Straight Flush is the next best hand in poker. A Straight Flush involves five of the same-suited cards but they don’t have to be the ace, king, queen, jack and ten. For this reason, they are far more common than Royals, but are still rare. A Straight Flush is the second best hand in poker and can only be beaten by a Royal Flush (or a higher Straight Flush).
Four-of-a-kind, also known as ‘Quads’ is the third best hand in poker. It consists of four of the same value card, for instance four aces. It is a very strong hand and can only be beaten by Royal or Straight Flushes (or a higher four-of-a-kind).
A Full House is a strong hand in poker, and consists of three-of-a-kind and a pair. It doesn’t matter which way round it is (E.g. you could have two aces and three kings or three aces and two kings), either is a Full House. However, if two players both have a Full House, the one with the highest 3-of-a-kind wins. For example, A♥A♦A♠K♥K♦ is a stronger Full House than A♣A♠K♠K♣K♥ because the 3-of-a-kind is higher. If both 3-of-a-kinds within the Full House are equal, the winning hand will then be decided by the pair in the hand.
A Flush in poker is five cards that all have the same suit. It doesn’t matter which suit it is as all suits are equal, but if you have five cards that are all the same suit, for instance five diamonds, then you have a Flush. The strength of the Flush is determined by its highest card, followed by its second highest and so on. This comes into play if two or more players have a Flush.
A Straight in poker is five cards that have consecutive numeric values – for instance 2♣3♠4♥5♠6♦. Suit is irrelevant (unless all five cards are the same suit, in which case the hand becomes a Straight Flush), as long as five cards are in consecutive order. If the are two Straights in a hand, then the one with the highest cards wins.
In poker, 3-of-a-kind is three cards of the same value with two other random cards, for instance three kings, a two and a five. Three-of-a-kind is a decent poker hand in poker. If two hands have 3-of-a-kind, the highest numeric value of the 3-of-a-kind wins.
Two Pair in poker is two different numeric pairs and one other unpaired card. If two hands have Two Pair, then the winner is determined by the higher pair. If those are equal, it goes to the highest value of the second pair. If those are also equal, the tiebreaker is the kicker (the fifth, unpaired card).
One Pair in poker is two cards of equal value combined with three unrelated cards. In matchups involving One Pair hands, the highest pair wins. If pairs match, the highest unpaired cards, or kickers, are compared.
When none of the above hands are formed, the hand is valued at its highest single card, making an Ace-high the strongest High Card hand. This is the most common hand and often the least likely to win in a showdown. The worst possible five-card hand in poker is 2♣3♠4♦5x7♣ (any suit). This hand is just seven high with the lowest possible kickers that don’t make a better hand.
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