How To Play Poker

To become a successful poker player it’s essential that you commit the various hands and their rankings to memory, critical in knowing how to play poker intelligently. This is absolutely fundamental – not knowing that a Four of a kind beats a Full House for instance would completely undermine the chances of even the most talented bluffer. Have at look at our Poker Hands page for a comprehensive summary of all the hands and their values.

Once you feel confident that you know your straights from your flushes you’ll need to get to grips with betting. The first thing to take on board is that there are a multitude of poker variations and each will have subtly different betting rules, there might also be some degree of variation depending on where you’re playing.

A couple of poker betting terms you’re likely to encounter however are “ante” and “blind”. An ante is forced bet that requires every player to put a set amount into the pot before the deal. A blind bet is also an obligatory bet which, if the rule is being played, means that one or more players have to place a bet before the deal. Most commonly there would be two blinds, a small blind and a big blind. At the start of the game the small blind, is posted by the player to the left of the dealer and the big blind by the player left of them this will rotate around the table after each hand. The big blind will generally be the amount of the minimum bet in that game and the small blind will be half of that.

Of course, the best way to learn how to play poker will always be by playing a few games, perhaps without placing bets until you feel comfortable with the rules. Good luck!