 HOW TO PLAY POKER
HOW TO WIN POKER
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Poker Rules! |
Poker, has an enormous amount of varying forms, however is mostly played with a typical deck of 52 cards. On some occasions the game may call for more of less cards -- the most common distinction is the inclusion of wild cards, such as jokers. The deck consists of 4 suits -- clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. Each suit includes 13 cards, ranked from highest to lowest as: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Remember in some games, the ace may in fact be ranked as the lowest card instead of the highest. In others, it may be both the lowest and highest ranked card. Wild cards, which will probably be only used in home games, may be substituted for whatever suit and rank you want them to be. Most time is commenced with some sort of forced bet, such as an ante. Then each player is dealt his starting cards; the number of which, varies in each game. Whether the cards are dealt down, so they are not visable to any other, or up, so that they can be seen by all, also varies depending on the game. Players then lay bets into a combined pot. Once all bets are placed, more cards are then dealt, either replacing or adding to those that have already been dealt. Another betting round occurs, followed by more cards dealt, and so on, until all betting rounds are over. The remaining players (assuming everyone hasn't folded) show their cards and the best hand wins the pot. Poker Rules - Objective Ultimately, the objective, is of course, to win more money than you lose. In order to do this, firstly you must take down individual pots. There are two ways you may achieve this. Either bet more than your opponents are prepared to call, thus winning the pot unchallenged, without the need to show your cards, or you may triumph by having the best hand (see poker hands) after all the betting rounds are completed. Poker Rules - Forced Bets A large amount of hands in poker begin by some form of forced betting. The reason for this is to make sure that there is action with every hand. The two most well-known types of forced bets are the ante, and blinds. Ante An ante requires every player to place a specific sum of money in the pot before commencement of each hand. The ante does not tally toward any future bets. Blinds Games with blinds normally have two blinds – these are either the big blind, or the small blind. Often these are a replacement for an ante, although sometimes they can accompany it. The small blind is equivalent to 1/2 of the low limit bet size, and the big blind is equal to the low limit bet size. Before the hand gets underway, the player to the immediate left of the dealer button is forced to post the small blind, and the player to the left of that person is forced to post the big blind. These bets count towards that player's first round bet, and are considered live, meaning the player may choose to raise even if nobody else has. The number of betting rounds can vary depending on which game is being played. The bet sizes, whether a fixed limit (you're only allowed to be specific amounts - no higher, and no lower), spread limit (you may bet any amount between a specified low amount and a specified high amount), or no limit (you may be any amount between a specified low amount all the way up to everything you have in front of you), can also differ depending on the game being played. In just about all poker games, the play starts in a clockwise motion, commencing with the player on the dealer's left. When your turn comes around, you have five options available to you for each betting round: 1. Fold - You may lay down your hand meaning you give up any chance of winning the pot. 2. Check - If nobody has bet, you may choose to check, which means to neither bet nor fold. It then becomes up to the player on your left to bet, check, or fold. 3. Bet - If nobody has bet, you may choose to do so by placing money into the pot. 4. Call - If there is already a bet in the pot, you may choose to call by matching that bet. 5. Raise - If there is already a bet in the pot, you may choose to increase the bet by raising. Showdown - Anyone who has not folded after the last round of betting will now have the opportunity of showing their hand and possibly winning the pot. The person who laid their bet last, shows their hand first, and then it proceeds clockwise from there, with each remaining player either choosing to show their hand, or muck it. It is not uncommon for a player to muck their hand if they feel they will not win the pot, and don't want their opponents to see what they played.  |
