In the beginning, two cards are dealt face down to each player; these cards are known as “hole cards”. This is followed by a round of betting. In Texas Holdem, the betting starts with a small blind, to the left of the dealer that is followed by a big blind. These are compulsory or forced bets that must be made before seeing one’s cards. Play runs clockwise starting from the blinds, with each player having the option to fold, call, or raise. The blinds are “live”, meaning that they may raise their bets when the action gets back around to them.
Again the next 3 cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table; this is called the “flop”. A round of betting follows, with action starting from the first blind, i.e. immediately to the dealers left. Another card is dealt face up (called the “Turn”), followed by another round of betting, again beginning to the dealer’s left. Then the final card (the “River”) is dealt which is followed by the final round of betting.
Bets around 1/2 the pot can be quite profitable when you have a strong hand. The two most common mistakes in bet sizing is 'under' and 'over' betting. An 'under' bet is betting an insanely small amount in relation to the pot size, which does not achieve anything. Never put a big blind bet on the table when there is a big pot.
Texas Holdem is played for high cards only, and each player makes the best five-card combination to win the pot. Players may or may not use both their hole cards to make their best hand. A player may even choose to use all the 5 cards on the table i.e. “play the board” & use no hole cards at all. For Poker Hands Ranking, please click on the Poker Hands Ranking link.
Note: This information is provided to just give you an overview of the game; to understand and master the game completely, it is advisable that you browse articles about how to play poker on the internet and watch some poker videos which might help you to improve your game. If you are new to online poker, then we suggest you to start playing online poker with play-money so that you have some hands on experience with online poker before you start playing with real money.
Blinds are designed to induce player participation and betting by forcing players to have a monetary stake in the game. Otherwise, there would be no financial motivation for players to collect more chips in a timely manner. Over the course of a game or tournament the blinds periodically increase in amount in order to compensate for the increased size of chip stacks. By manipulating the size of the big blind or the amount of time between increases it's possible to control the duration and stakes of a poker game.
The small blind is placed by the player to the left of the dealer button and the big blind is then posted by the next player to the left. The one exception is when there are only two players (a 'heads-up' game), when the player on the button is the small blind, and the other player is the big blind. (Both the player and the bet may be referred to as big or small blind.)
Generally, the 'big blind' is equal to the minimum bet. The 'small blind' is normally half the big blind.
After all the players receive their hole cards, the pre flop betting round starts. After seeing their hole cards, each player has the option to play their hand by calling, folding or raising. Action starts from the left of the big blind and then proceeds clockwise around the table. If the big blind(also the live bet on the table) was 1€, it would cost 1€ to call, or at least 2€ to raise. Each player is given the option to fold, call the bet of the previous player or raise. If the previous player raised, the call amount is adjusted accordingly. Betting continues on each betting round until all the active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
Note: Big blinds and small blinds will also get their chance to call/raise since their first bets were only blinds. Betting continues till all active players(those who have not folded) have put in equal amounts in the pot.
After the pre-flop betting round is complete, the flop is dealt face up on the table which is the first three community cards available to all the active players. Betting for the flop round begins after the cards are opened on the table. The rules of the flop betting round are the same as the preflop, with two small exceptions: the first player to act is the active player immediately clockwise to the button. This is the big blind position but in case he has folded then the next player in the clockwise direction starts the betting round.
After the betting round is complete for the flop, the turn is dealt face up on the table. The turn is the fourth community card in an Omaha game. Once the turn card has been dealt, the turn betting round starts. Betting starts with the active player immediately clockwise to the button.
After the turn betting round is complete, the river is dealt face up on the table. It is the fifth and final card on the table. The betting is identical to the betting round on the turn and also starts with the active player clockwise to the button.
After the betting rounds are complete, all the players left in the game will show their cards in what is also referred to as a showdown. The cards of all the players in the showdown are displayed on the table simultaneously. The player with the best five card poker hand using two of their hole cards and three of the community cards is declared as the winner in this poker game. If two players have identical hands then both are winners and the pot is divided equally between them.
Before you start playing the game, it is best to learn the game and acquaint yourself with the game rules.
We bring you the culmination of poker hand rankings to help you out in making the best out of the game and win real money in it. Poker hands consist of five cards where the player having the highest rank hand is chosen as the winner.
Poker’s most famous hand, a royal flush, cannot be beaten. It consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a single suit.
Five cards in sequence, of the same suit. In the event of a tie, the highest rank at the top of the sequence wins.
Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest side card (‘kicker’) wins.
Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank. In the event of a tie, the highest three matching cards wins.
Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. In the event of a tie, the player holding the highest ranked card wins.
Five non-suited cards in sequence. In the event of a tie, the highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins.
Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest, and if necessary, second-highest side card (‘kicker’) wins.
Two cards of matching rank, two cards of different matching rank, and one kicker. If both players have an identical Two Pair, the highest kicker wins.
Two cards of matching rank, and three unrelated side cards. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest, and if necessary, second or third-highest side card wins.
Any hand that does not qualify under the categories listed. In the event of a tie, the highest card wins, such as ‘ace-high’.