How To Play a Poker Hand?

Poker is a game which takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. This article will outline the basic objectives and rules of the game for beginning players. We will base this on the most popular form of poker – Texas Holdem – later articles will cover different variations and formats.

While it is possible to learn poker simply by reading we actually recommend that you learn how to play poker by trying one of the many ‘fun money’ games available online. We suggest you download Poker Stars – which is the world’s most popular online poker site – and sit down at one of their play money tables. Their software is easy to use (you’ll be prompted and shown your choices when it is your turn to act) and the explanation below will be far clearer while you are playing!

How To Play Poker – What Are The Objectives Of Poker Games?

Success at the poker tables is measured in chips or money. While chance has a large role to play in the short-term, the beauty of poker is that skill will always prevail over time. In order to win chips from your opponents you need to do one of two things: Firstly you can show the best ‘poker hand’ at the end of the betting – the rank of hands is explained in our article on What Poker Hands Beat What? Secondly you can make your opponents fold their hands before betting is completed… you then win the money in the middle as the last player standing in the hand.

How To Play Poker – Walking Through A Texas Holdem Hand

In order to show you the flow of the game we will walk through a hand of Texas Holdem, showing you the basic order of events from before the cards are dealt to the ‘showdown’ at the end of the hand.

Pre Deal: One player is assigned as the dealer (defined by the position of a ‘button’ on the table) and the 2 players to the left of the dealer put some money into the pot. This money is known as the ‘blinds’ and makes up the initial pot before each hand. The player 2 to the left of the dealer is the ‘Big Blind’ and must put 1 bet into the pot, the player one to the left of the dealer is the ‘Small Blind’ and must put half of one bet into the pot.

The Deal: Each player is then dealt 2 cards, these are known as a players ‘Hole Cards’ and are visible only to the individual players.

Betting Round #1: Starting with the player to the left of the Big Blind, each player must decide whether to raise, call (bet an amount equal to the amount of the big blind or last raise) or to fold. Going clockwise around the table each player must match the last bet or raise themselves to stay in the hand. The betting closes when every player has reacted to the last bet – the exact amounts you can bet will vary and are discussed in our No-Limit, Pot-Limit and Fixed Limit Betting article.

Note: If you are reading this without playing we strongly recommend you download the play money games at Poker Stars now – it will speed up learning Texas Holdem considerably!

Community Cards: Texas Holdem is a game of ‘community cards’, there are a total of 5 cards dealt face-up in the middle of the table during each hand. Players must make the best poker hand possible using any combination of 5 cards from their own 2 cards and the 5 community cards, see the ‘showdown’ section below.

The Flop: After the first betting round 3 of the total of 5 community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. This will give players a good idea of the eventual strength of their hand. A second round of betting then commences – this time the player to the immediate left of the dealer button must act first. At this point it is also possible to ‘check’, this is effectively a bet of zero and simply passes the action to the next player. This betting round closes when the last bet is called, when all but one player has folded or if every player still in the hand chooses to ‘check’.

The Turn: One more community card is now dealt face up in the middle of the table, known as the ‘turn’ card. Once again a round of betting commences.

The River: The final community card is known as the ‘river’ and marks start of the final betting round.

Showdown: If there is more than one player left in the hand after the river betting then players must show their hands to determine who is the winner. The best 5 card poker hand wins the pot. This 5 card hand can involve any combination of a players own 2 cards and those on the community card board. If the best possible hand for both players is showing on the 5 community cards then the pot will be split. More common combinations include 1 ‘hole card’ with 4 ‘community card’ or a 2 and 3 combination. When hands are tied the highest side-cards can determine the winner, this is explained on our Poker Hand Rankings Explained article.

Further Reading:

Best Texas Holdem Bonuses – Your Guide To The Best Texas Holdem Bonuses Online

Are Online Poker Cash Games Getting Harder?