Poker Rules: How to Play Poker

Poker is a widely popular card game across the world, with major tournaments like WSOP (World Series of Poker) taking place in Vegas. But, the origins of poker as a game is a little less defined. In the early 16th century, the Germans played a bluffing game called ‘Pochen’, which was later developed by the French into another version called ‘Poque’. 

During the Civil War, a key rule was added to the game of poker – drawing cards to improve one’s hand. Thus, the ‘Stud Poker’ variation came into play during that time. Currently there are many variants of poker played both online, and offline across the world for real cash prizes.

The most popular, and widely played variation of poker is Texas Hold’em. But, the different forms of poker share several underlying characteristics and rules. The importance here is to understand the hand rankings, to know which hand wins. Also it is critical to understand the betting structures applied in different variants like – no-limit, pot-limit, and fixed-limit.

Basic Poker Rules

Poker is played with a standard 52-card deck, and usually in all its variants only one such pack is used. 2-6 players can play at a time with one standard deck of cards. The printed joker cards are not used, and are kept aside at the time of dealing.

In almost all poker games, the players have to make the best five card poker hand using the standard poker hand rankings. The following hand rankings apply to most poker variants, except the ‘Lowball Poker’ variant. The best poker hand is the ‘Royal Flush’, with the second strongest hand being the ‘Straight Flush’ and so on. The lowest hand in the standard rankings is the ‘High Card’.

How to Play Poker

Poker is an incredibly popular card game that is easy enough to learn for beginners, but difficult to master. In this ‘How to play poker?’, we will simplify the poker rules for beginners in a step-by-step format to get you started.

Let us understand a few common poker terms first, before going into the structure of the game, and how it is played:

1. Blinds – These are forced bets made by players to the left of the dealer button in poker games that involve a ‘Flop’ style. Usually there is a small, and a big blind, but the number of blinds can range from two to three.
2. Ante – In a game of poker this is the amount of money that a player puts in the pot before the hand begins. These are usually mandatory bets posted by all players at the table.
3. Check – This generally means that a player refrains from betting when it is their turn. Performing this action will pass the turn to the next player.
4. Fold – If a player feels that they do not possess a strong enough starting hand to win the pot, they can choose to ‘Fold’. Folding means you put your cards down for the current round, and forfeit the pot.
5. Call – To perform this action means calling the previous bet made by the last player. Basically matching the previous bet, and continuing in the round without making a raise.
6. Raise – This is an action you take if you want to increase the opening bet or the ongoing bet amount, and challenge other players to either match it or re-raise.

Other important poker terms:

• Continuation Bet aka C-bet - A continuation bet, or c-bet, is a post-flop bet made by the pre-flop aggressor in poker. This is to force opponents into believing that you have a strong hand, regardless of what cards you hold.
• Straddle - In poker, a straddle is an optional blind bet made before the cards are dealt, typically by the player to the left of the big blind. It effectively doubles the bet and increases the pot size.
• All-In - Going ‘All-In’ in poker means a player bets all their remaining chips or money on a single hand. They can win based on the strength of their cards, or simply by forcing the opponent to fold.
• Bankroll - Bankroll is the specific amount of money that a player sets aside to play poker games. It’s crucial to pre-plan your bankroll to avoid significant losses.
• Buy-In - In poker, the ‘buy-in’ is the predetermined amount that a player must pay to enter a cash table or tournament. It also determines the player’s initial chips, and varies depending on the stakes.
• Community Cards - Community Cards in poker are shared cards placed on the center of the table face-up. This is available to all players to use in combination with their hole cards to make their strongest hand combination.
• Hole Cards - These are two private cards dealt face-down to each player at the poker table. Only the player can see these cards, and have to use them to form the best possible poker hand along with the five community cards.

How to Play Texas Holdem Poker

Now that we have the basic terms out of the way, let’s get down to the rounds in a standard game of Hold’em poker, the most popular variant:

• Dealing: The player with the dealer button has the responsibility of dealing out two hole cards face down to each player at the start of each hand.
• Posting Blinds: The two players to the immediate left of the dealer put in the small blind and big blind amount respectively.
• Pre-Flop Betting: Once all players have put in their blind amounts, every player has the opportunity to make a pre-flop bet based on the strength of their hole cards alone. If a bet is made by one of the players, then all others must match that bet to open the ‘Flop’.
• Flop: After the blinds are put in, and the pre-flop betting is over, the first three community cards are opened face up on the table. All players can use these community cards to start forming their hands, and another round of betting follows.
• Turn: This is the fourth community card that is opened face up on the table. By this round, all players know if they have strong hands forming or if they should fold to save their money. Another round of betting takes place, where the remaining players can check, call, raise or fold.
• River: The fifth and last community card is opened face up. A final round of betting takes place. The player to raise the bet first is known as the aggressor here, and must show his hand first at showdown. The others must match that bet to stay in the game, and for showdown to happen.
• Showdown: All remaining players show their hole cards face up, and the player with the best five card hand combination along with the community cards, wins the pot.

Poker Hand Rankings

In most of the popularly played variants of poker, players have to make their best possible hand using standard poker hand rankings or poker rules chart. The following poker hand rankings apply to most poker games, except the lowball poker variant.

1. Royal Flush:

Royal Flush is the highest and the strongest ranked poker hand sequence comprising 10-J-Q-K-A of any of the four but same suit. Example: (A♦ K♦ Q♦ J♦ 10♦)

2. Straight Flush:

Straight Flush is the second-highest poker hand, with 9-10-J-Q-K being the highest while A-2-3-4-5 being the lowest straight flush. Example: (10♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠)

3. Four of a Kind:

Four of a Kind consists of four cards of the same rank, each in a different suit.
Example: (K♣ K♦ K♥ K♠ Q♥).

4. Full House:

Three cards of one rank (three of a kind) and two cards of another rank (two pair) form a Full House. Example: (A♠ A♥ A♣ K♣ K♦)

5. Flush:

Five cards of the same suit in any order form a Flush.
Example: (3♦ 5♦ 8♦ J♦ K♦).

6. Straight:

A Straight consists of five cards in sequential order from any suits. Example: (5♦ 6♣ 7♦ 8♠ 9♣).

7. Three of a kind:

Three cards of the same rank in different suits and two unrelated side cards form a Three of a kind. Example: (8♣ 8♦ 8♠ 7♣ k♦)

8. Two pair:

A Two Pair hand consists of two sets of pairs, with each pair made up of two cards of the same rank. Example: (7♦ 7♠ Q♦ Q♥ 6♣).

9. One Pair:

A One Pair hand consists of two cards of the same rank in different suits. In case of a tie, the highest pair wins. Example: (J♦ J♠ 4♠ 8♦ 10♣).

10. High Card:

High Card is the lowest-ranked poker hand, determined by the highest card in the hand when no other hand ranks are present. Example: (A♣ 8♥ 7♦ J♦ K♠).

Popular Poker Variants and Their Rules

Here we will discuss the most popular variants of poker that are played across the world, and in major tournaments.

Texas Hold’em Rules

Texas Hold’em is the most popular variant of poker, and is played in most private games, tournaments, as well as in online cash games.

Every player in a game of Texas Hold’em gets dealt two hole cards that are placed face down, and five community cards open up on the table, which is common to all. The main objective is to make the best five card hand combination with the two hole cards, and three of the five community cards. The best five card hand wins according to the poker hand rankings rule.

There are four rounds of betting in Texas Hold’em, as described in order below:

• Pre-Flop: After the two hole cards have been dealt to each player, and they have placed the mandatory blinds in the pot, some players might choose to bet an amount higher than the big blind based on the strength of their hole cards. This is known as Pre-Flop betting.
  • A strong pre-flop hand, like the pocket Aces (A♠ A♦), gives a player high odds of winning the round. Typically, the player would raise big to build the pot and also reduce the number of opponents. A player should be aggressive with a hand like that to maximize play.
• Flop: Once the previous round of betting has been done, three community cards open up on the table, known as the Flop. Players can see these cards, and choose to do either of these actions – check, call, raise or fold.
  • Example: Suppose Player 1 has A♠ J♠ and a flop of 10♠ K♠ 5♣ opens up. Player 1 has three options to consider:
  • Bet or Raise: Player 1 can go for an aggressive bet or raise with the possibility of a strong straight or flush draw available. This might scare the opponents into folding weaker hands.
  • Check: Player 1 will keep checking to continue building the pot slowly, while hiding the strength of their own hand. But, this can result in exposure to aggressive players who like to keep betting big.
  • Call: If an opponent keeps betting big, then calling might be a good choice if Player 1 believes in hitting that straight or flush draw.
• Turn: After a round of betting, a fourth card opens on the table, known as the Turn. By now players can judge their own strength, and compare it with their opponents, based on betting patterns. Another round of checking, calling, raising, or folding takes place among the remaining players.
  • Example: If Player 1 has A♠ J♠ as their hole cards and the board shows 10♠ K♠ 5♣ so far on the Flop. The turn card opens and it is a 2♠. With an Ace-high flush on the turn, Player 1 can take the following actions:
  • Check: If they were the first to act, then they can check in the hope that the opponent will bet or raise.
  • Bet: Betting is also a possibility to keep raising the pot size, and eliminate opponents with weaker hands.
  • Call: If an opponent has bet, Player 1 can choose to call. This can be done to keep the opponent in the game, with the possibility of them adding more to the pot.
  • Raise: If another player has bet, raising can be a good option to tempt the opponent to match, and extract maximum value from the pot.
  • All-In: If Player 1 wants to apply maximum pressure, they could go All-In. This is extremely effective against opponents who are staying in the game thinking they have strong hands, but it is weak compared to Player 1’s hand.
• River: This is the fifth and final card that opens up. Players now know the type of hands they have. They can choose to either fold or call another player who has bet. Once everyone has completed their action, Showdown happens, with all remaining players showing their hands. The winner is always the player with the strongest possible hand according to the poker rules sheet.
  • Example: If Player 1 has Q♠ J♠ as their hole cards and the board shows 10♠ K♠ 2♦ 7♠ on the Turn. The River card reveals A♦. With the A♦ on the River, Player 1 completes a Queen-high straight (10-J-Q-K-A).
  • Check: Player 1 is confident of hitting the straight, but wants to check what other players are still playing for.
  • Bet: Player 1 can reasonably bet to 50% - 75% of the pot size to build the pot and extract value from weaker hands.
  • Raise: If there was a bet previously, then Player 1 can raise to keep the pressure on the opponent.
  • Fold: This is highly unlikely, since Player 1 has a pretty strong hand and will likely see out the hand.
  • Since Player 1 holds a strong Queen-high straight, this puts them in a very favorable position. The key thing is to check and bet effectively to maximize the pot, while understanding what cards the opponents might hold if they are still in the game.

Texas Holdem Poker

Omaha Poker Rules

Omaha poker, also known as Pot Limit Omaha or Omaha Hold’em, plays out just like Texas Hold’em, but with a few differences in rules. The main objective though is still the same, where the player has to make the best possible five card hand combination, using the hole cards and community cards.

In Omaha however, the players are dealt four, five or six hole cards depending on whether PLO4, 5 or 6 is being played. The difference with Texas Hold’em is the number of hole cards that are dealt out. Players still have to use two out of four, five or six hole cards, and combine with three community cards out of five to make their best hand.

Omaha Hi is usually played with either pot limit or limit betting rules. PLO is the second most popular variant of poker after Texas Hold’em.

Omaha Poker

Seven Card Stud Rules

Stud variant of poker is almost always played with limit betting rules. Unlike Hold’em or Omaha, where two players to the left of the dealer have to start with the small blind and big blind, in Stud the rule is that all players have to put the Ante into the pot. This is usually 5% of the big blind, and is placed in the pot at the start of the hand.

There are no community cards in Stud poker, instead each player receives seven cards. In the first deal each player receives two face down cards, and one card face up. The second and three more rounds of betting take place with each player given one card after each round.

After all seven cards have been dealt out, all players will have three cards face down, and four cards face up. After the final round of betting, there will be a showdown where the player with the best hand wins.

7 Card Stud Poker

Betting Rules in Poker

Betting is the key to poker as a game. In the course of a hand there will be one or more rounds of betting. Minimizing losses with bad hands, and maximizing gains with good hands is the best skill a poker player can master.

• Bet: To ‘Bet’ is to put more money into the pot which is at a higher value than the big blind. Usually done by players who know they have a good hand, or they are bluffing.
• Call: Once a player has made a higher bet, all other players have to ‘Call’ to match that bet and keep the game flowing or basically stay in the game.
• Raise: Once someone has made a bet, another player can choose to raise that particular bet to an even higher amount. This is called a ‘Raise’, usually done by players who know that someone is bluffing or they themselves have better cards.
• Fold: This action is performed to drop out of the current hand, if a player feels that they don’t have a good enough hand to continue betting. This is best when you want to cut your losses.

To stop players with a lot of bankroll or money from gaining an unfair advantage in poker rooms or tournaments, betting limits are set. Once a limit is set, it has to remain unaltered until all players unanimously agree to raise the stakes.

Betting Limits in Poker:

Knowing the betting limits in poker is important because it impacts strategy and bankroll management. Familiarity helps players to understand how much to bet or raise during a game. It helps to minimize the risk of going broke, while trying to maximize profits.

• No-Limit Betting: As the name suggests, there is no cap on the amount a player can bet in one round itself. Players can go all-in and grab the entire pot or lose all their chips in a single hand.
• Pros of No-Limit Betting:
• Players can win significant amounts, due to no restriction on betting limits.
• Freedom to bet any amount allows for more complex strategies like aggressive play or bluffing.
• No-Limit allows for diverse playing styles, and varied betting patterns.
• Cons of No-Limit Betting:
• Players can lose large amounts of money very quickly and become bankrupt.
• The ability to bet any amount can lead to heightened emotions, leading to poor decision making.
• Newer players might find the learning curve in a no-limit game very steep, considering the varied betting styles, bluffing, and aggressive players.
• Pot-Limit Betting: This is a betting limit imposed in poker, where no bet amount can go above the total amount already in the pot at the time.
• Pros of Pot-Limit Betting:
• Pot-Limit brings in more strategy because players have to think about their bet sizes, creating more complex decisions.
• It allows for managing risk better, since players can only bet up to the pot size.
• Larger pots incentivize players to play more or enter more hands, leading to dynamic gameplay.
• Cons of Pot-Limit Betting:
• New players might have trouble understanding optimal bet sizing in regards to the pot.
• While the style can be exciting, it can still lead to large swings in bankroll, especially in cash tournaments.
• Aggressive betting strategies are limited, as players cannot go all-in.
• Fixed-Limit Betting: In most games that play on Fixed-Limit rules, players cannot raise or bet more than the pre-decided limit. This is usually when blinds come into play, with small and big blinds as fixed limits for each new hand.
• Pros of Fixed-Limit Betting:
• In this type of betting, the outcomes are more predictable, making it easier for players to manage their bankroll.
• Players can focus more on hand selection and position, as betting limits are fixed.
• With fixed bet sizes, players can quickly figure out pot odds and make informed decisions.
• Cons of Fixed-Limit Betting:
• The strict limit on betting restricts a player’s chances to maximize winnings.
• The fixed structure doesn’t support high stakes play, so the excitement is less dynamic.
• Inexperienced players might struggle against pros in a fixed-limit betting structure.

Player Positions and Their Importance in Poker

Position in poker plays a crucial role as it affects the information available to the player, which in turn impacts strategy and outcomes. Here’s how it plays out across early, middle, and late positions:

Early Position (EP):

Players in early positions (like under the gun or UTG) are at a slight disadvantage as they have to act first in a round of betting. Since EP players have little to no information on opponents' hands, they need to use a conservative strategy, playing only strong hands and folding weaker ones.

Middle Position (MP):

In the middle position, players have information about the early position opponents but still have to consider what might come from the later position players. This position offers more flexibility, allowing players to play some speculative hands or suited connectors.

Late Position (LP):

Late positions, especially the player on the button, have a strategic advantage. Acting last provides insight into other players' actions, allowing players to plan their moves. This position is ideal for aggressive play, making big raises or bluffing to catch unaware players off guard.

Poker positions

Poker Etiquette and Tips for Beginners

Basic poker rules for beginners are the following:

1. Understand the risks of your starting hand: Look at your hole cards, and you can judge whether your chances of making a good hand is likely based on:

• Your cards are of the same suit.
• You have two cards of the same rank.
• You have one card which is a face card, and a strong side card like 10.
• You have suited face cards of the same rank.

2. Call the bet if you want to stay in the hand without not so strong cards. In the early rounds where you are unsure of your hole cards, but still want to see the Flop or Turn cards, you can call the bet if the amount is not too high.

3. Raise only if you have a good hand. If you have good hole cards, then you can wait for the flop, so that other players put in their money and then raise the pot. This might tempt other players into calling your raise and further increasing the pot.

4. Fold if the current bet is too high: This is easy enough to understand, if the current bet is way too high and you have poor cards, then just fold to sit out of the round, and avoid losing more money.

5. Set limits on your money: Play with money that you can afford to lose when you are learning the game. During the game, if you have lost all your chips, don’t dive back in immediately with more money, chances are you will lose more trying to win back the previous amount.

What is a Tie in Poker?

A tie occurs when both players have the same hand of equal rank in poker. Example: The table has 10-10-6-6, which means both players have a two-pair open on the community deck, and one player has Ace-King in hand, while the other has Ace-Queen. Since both have Aces, it is a tied hand, but only broken by the kicker card.

What is a Kicker?

A kicker is the highest value unused card that a player holds, which is not part of the original hand combination which is tied. The kickers of two players are compared in the case of a tie, and the player with the highest value kicker card wins the hand.

How Kickers Work in Various Hands:

• One Pair: Player 1 has A♠ A♣ 10♦ 8♠ 4♣, Player 2 has A♥ A♦ 9♠ 7♦ 3♣. Both have an Ace pair, but the 10 kicker for Player 1 outranks the 9 in Player 2’s hand. Hence, Player 1 wins.
• Two Pair: Player 1 has K♠ K♦ Q♠ Q♣ 7♦, Player 2 has K♣ K♥ Q♦ Q♥ 5♠. Both players have the same two pairs; hence the tie is broken by the kicker card. Player 1 wins with a 7 kicker, which outranks the 5 kicker of Player 2.
• Three of a Kind: Player 1 has J♠ J♦ J♣ 9♠ 6♦, Player 2 has J♥ J♠ J♦ 8♣ 4♥. Player 1 wins because their 9 kicker outranks the 8 kicker of Player 2.
• Full House: Player 1 has 9♠ 9♦ 9♣ 5♠ 5♦, Player 2 has 9♥ 9♠ 9♦ 4♣ 4♠. The kicker here is the pair in each player’s hand. Player 1 wins with a higher pair of 5.
• Flush: Player 1 has A♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 2♠, Player 2 has A♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 3♠. The 2 in Player 1’s hand gets outranked by the 3 in Player 2’s. Hence, Player 2 wins this flush tie.

Tie Without Kickers

In poker hands like the Straight, Straight Flush, or Four of a Kind, ties happen but are handled differently:

• Straight: If two players have the same straight - 5-6-7-8-9, then the pot is split, as there is no kicker to decide the tie.
• Straight Flush: If both players have the same straight flush like 7-8-9-10-J of the same suit, there is no kicker to break the tie, resulting in a split pot.
• Four of a Kind: If both players have the same Four of a Kind, then the fifth card is used to break the tie. If the fifth card matches as well, it is a split pot.

FAQs on Poker Rules