Types of poker

There are a lot of variants of poker around the world including Texas Hold’em, Stud and Draw. The most popular by far is Texas Hold’em so we will give you a quick breakdown of gameplay.

Texas Hold’em gameplay

Small blind and big blind place their bets.

Small blind puts in half the ante, while big blind responds with the full ante.

The cards are shuffled and each player is dealt two cards face down.

Players may look at their cards and then decide whether they want to continue or not.

If they think their cards are bad, they can choose to fold. If they think their cards are good or want to see what cards
are revealed in the community cards, they must place their bet to continue.

Three cards are dealt face up on the table. These cards (called the flop) are community cards that can be used by everybody to make up their best hand of five cards.

Players decide whether to fold or play. If they decide to play, they can choose to check (carry on without betting any more money) or raise (increase the size of their bet).

Note: If any player decided to raise then all the players must match the raise or fold.

A fourth card (the street) is place face up on the table.

Players decide whether to fold or play. If they decide to play, they can choose to check (carry on without betting any more money) or raise (increase the size of their bet).

Note: If any player decides to raise then all the players must match the raise or fold.

A fifth and final card (the river) is placed face up on the table.

Players decide whether to fold or play. If they decide to play, they can choose to check (carry on without betting any more money) or raise (increase the size of their bet).

Note: If any player decides to raise then all the players must match the raise or fold.

The remaining players reveal their hands. The highest combination hand wins the pot.

Differences between live poker and online poker

The only real difference between live poker (as explained in gameplay above) and online poker is that, in online poker, you play against a machine rather than a group of other players. The basics of gameplay remain essentially the same. Remember to always check the rules of the game you are about to play before making any bets.

Poker hand rankings

Each poker hand is made up of five cards. Players have two cards in their hand (hole cards) and five community cards. They can use any five of these seven cards to create a winning hand. Below is the ranking for every poker hand, from lowest to highest.

High card – a single card with the highest value (ace is the most valuable card in poker)

Pair – two cards of the same value, e.g. 2x Kings

Two pair – two pairs of two cards of the same value, e.g. 2x Kings and 2x sevens

Three of a kind – three cards of the same value, e.g. 3x fours

Straight – five consecutive cards of any suit, e.g. two, three, four, five, six of different suits

Flush – five cards of the same suit, e.g. three, six, seven, Jack, King of clubs

Full house – three cards of the same value plus two cards of another same value, e.g. 3x eights plus 2x Queens

Four of a kind – four cards of the same value, e.g. 4x nines

Straight flush – five consecutive cards of the same suit, e.g. eight, nine, ten, Jack, Queen of diamonds

Royal Flush – five consecutive cards from ten to Ace in the same suit, e.g. ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of spades

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