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Poker Rules

Poker rules are pretty straight forward, especially Texas Holdem poker rules, but don’t let the fact that you can learn the rules in a few minutes trick you into thinking that poker is easy to master. All poker games have a few poker game rules in common. The most important basic elements to appreciate are hand rankings and betting.

Most poker is played with a standard 4 suit, 52 card deck and all poker hands are made up of a combination of five cards. In poker the best hand wins and so the hands are ranked according to their scarcity. The smaller the chance of you getting a particular type of hand the more valuable that hand will be. Learning the ranking of the hands is essential to understanding poker rules. The best hand is the Royal Straight Flush in which a player holds Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten all in the same suit. You can find the full hand rankings in our Learn the Basics section.

Betting is also crucial to poker as poker is all about trying to win your opponents chips. During the game players in turn place bets based upon the strength of their hand into a communal pot. During any betting round players may Check/Call, Bet/Raise or Fold. If you check you put nothing into the pot but indicate that you still want to play, if you call you match the previous players bet in order to stay in the hand. If you bet or raise you place a bet that is greater than any of the previous bets in that round, all following players must match or exceed to stay in the hand. If you decide that you don’t want to risk anymore with the cards you have then you fold.

GETTING STARTED

Learning to play is straightforward; just by reading this small section you can learn enough to start playing immediately or by reading this informational poker rules page. To start a hand of Texas Hold’em, the two players to the left of the player that is considered to be dealing the cards are each required to pay a forced bet called a blind. The player that is acting as the dealer is shown by the use of a marker called a dealer button. After the blinds are paid every player receives two cards face down. These cards are known as pocket cards or hole cards. A round of betting referred to as the pre-flop round then follows.

The dealer then produces the flop which consists of three cards turned face up in the centre of the table and another round of betting occurs. Betting at this stage is known as betting on the flop. Any cards dealt in the middle of the table are known as board-cards. You can use any combination of the board-cards and your hole cards to make your five card hand.

Another board-card, known as the turn, is then dealt and followed by the third round of betting. Betting at this stage is known as betting on the turn. At this stage you have six cards available from which you can make your five card hand. The final board card known as the river is then dealt. For players remaining in the hand the river is a make or break point. All seven of the cards available to you can be seen and you will know what your best hand is. The river is followed by the final round of betting. If more than one player is still in the hand after this final round of betting a showdown takes place, in which all remaining players reveal their hole cards.

Once the winner has been decided the chips stack up in front of him, the dealer button passes one place to the left and another hand begins. The best way to learn is to play, and if you want to play Texas Holdem you’ve come to the right place.

We encourage you to check out MyHoldemTips.com for some great free Texas holdem video tips.

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