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How To Play Poker: Online Poker rules

Before we get started, you'll know the obvious. There is no substitute for knowing the rules of poker. No magic shortcuts, well-kept secrets in videos and expert articles all over the internet.

You don't want to lose all your chips to another player once you start learning how to play poker. You only have to misjudge that your straight beats his flush, for example, to get off on the wrong foot. As such, it is essential to get to know the rules of poker before you even venture to the gaming table.

If you have no reason to take the next step, you can start right now to discover the rules of poker and prepare yourself in the best way for the next challenge of this fantastic online game!

The Basic Rules in poker

The individual value of each card in online poker is not as important as in many other card games. You should focus more on the ranking of your’ hand ' and also the likely evolution of it throughout the game while you are learning how to play poker.

Review with time the ranking of hands online poker on our website. It will help you decide which hands of cards to play and which ones to keep. Knowing the basic poker rules beforehand is half the way to success.

We can thus assume that some of the most frequent moves in online poker are:

Fold . If you don't like your hand, you can fold, abandoning the cards and no longer participating in the hand.
Call and Raise . Let's assume you want to continue with your hand after another player has bet. In that case, you can pay ( Call ) with the same amount, or increase (Rise) the bet amount.
Bet and Check. If there have been no bets in this round yet, you have the option to bet or check ( Check ). When you are satisfied with your hand (or choose to bluff), you can decide to bet. If you decide to pass instead, you defer your betting rights for the time being.

How to play and win at online poker

The winner of a poker hand is the player who holds the highest value hand when all the cards are shown at the end – known as a “showdown”. This can also be the player who makes the last bet, thus winning without having to reach a confrontation.

While Luck can favor the winner of any poker Hand, good players know that there is a strong strategic element to the game. Players who know and apply a good strategy can make more money in the long run than those who make random decisions.

Here are some strategic points to consider while learning how to play poker:

Focus on the other players. Check how many chips they have, what cards they may have in their possession, and what hand is possible with the community cards on the table.
Be consistent . Poker is a long-term game. You need time to find the game and strategy that works best for you.
If you don't have enough experience to evaluate different situations, you better get back to practicing with the free games.

Start playing

Usually poker games start with a mandatory bet, such as the Small Blind and the Big Blind in Hold'em or Omaha. These mandatory bets constitute the starting pot in any poker hand, and are the first incentive players have to win the hand. Bets in the course of the following rounds increase the size of the pot.

Dealing cards and placing bets

Depending on the rules of poker, different variants have different betting rounds. Texas Hold'em and Omaha are the two most popular poker games in the world and have identical betting structures, with four betting rounds known as preflop , flop , turn and river .

The betting round preflop it begins as soon as all players receive their two hole cards, before any community cards have been dealt;
The bets on flop occur after the first three community cards are dealt;
In turn , after the fourth Community Charter;
In river , after the fifth and final Community Charter.

Each player can usually perform one of the following actions when it is their turn to play:

Fold , Call , Raise , Bet , or Check

In each round betting continues until each player has matched the bets placed or folded (if no bets are placed, the round is complete when all players fold Check ). When the betting round is completed, the next distribution / betting round begins or the hand is complete.

Confrontation

As soon as the last bet or raise is paid out during the final betting round, a showdown . The remaining active players must show or’ declare ' their hands, and the player(s) with the Best Hand(s) wins the pot. Multiple players can share a single pot, with the pot split differently depending on the rules of the poker in question and how each player's hand ranks relative to their opponents.

Betting limits

Betting limits are important in poker rules and refer to the amount players can bet or raise. Typically, in poker games are of the following types:

poker No Limit . In poker games with a no-limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise any amount including their full stack (total number of chips they have at any given time) on any betting round, whenever it is their turn to play.

poker Pot Limit . With a pot limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise any amount up to the value of the pot at that time.

poker Fixed limit. With a fixed limit betting structure, each player can choose between calling, betting or raising, but only for a fixed amount. The fixed amount for any betting round is set in advance.

Once you get to this point, you will already have some basics of poker rules and how to apply them in a real game. Practice makes perfect and the next step is to discover the poker strategies more relevant to take your forward more often.

Are you ready now that you know a little more about how to play poker? Come with us and don't forget to play smart!