A Breakdown of a hand – Poker rules
Mastering poker requires a clear understanding of poker rules and how the game is played. Below you will find a step-by-step breakdown of a standard round of poker. Since there are many variations of this game, we have selected Texas hold’em as our reference.
Learn the rules of poker
As we stated before, you must first understand poker rules before you can play this game effectively. This includes understanding the objective of the game, poker hand ranking, limit variations, and general rules among other concepts.
Fund your balance
After you are comfortable with the rules, it’s time to fund your account. But a word of warning – this must be done with the utmost care. Make sure you are playing with money you are comfortable losing.
Blinds post the minimum bet
Now is when the game starts in earnest, with the player to the left of the dealer posting a small blind. This is a small wager required, usually half the minimum bet required to get things going. The next player to the left is also required to place a big blind (minimum bet) before any cards are dealt.
The dealer deals a first round – hole cards
Each player then gets two cards (hole cards) face down and then decides how they want to play the game.
Pre-flop betting round: Decision time
The are several decisions to make in a game of poker. Your action will depend on the potential your hand shows to become a good one. But as we have seen before, some players can bluff their way to winning with a relatively weak hand.
Here are some of the decisions you can make
- Bet: adding a wager to the pot
- Raise: increasing the wager from the previous bet
- All in: wagering all your chips
- Fold: surrender the hand
First 3 cards aka The Flop
After the first round of betting and decision-making, the dealer deals three community cards. This is referred to as the flop. The cards are dealt face-up and visible to all players.
Post-flop betting round
Another round of betting commences where players are again called upon to make decisions. These are whether to check, bet, or fold.
The fourth card aka The Turn
Following the post-flop betting round, the dealer deals a fourth community card. This is called the turn.
Post-turn betting
The same sequence ensues, where players must again make decisions to bet, check, or fold.
The fifth card aka The River
The fifth and final community card is dealt after the post-turn betting round. This is called the river.
The showdown – The final betting round
The last round of betting happens at this stage. Players face off in a showdown to see who has the best hand or courage to take the game to the end.
Winner takes all
If two or more players are still in the game after the showdown, players must reveal their cards for the dealer to determine the best hand. Here the winner takes all and the game starts over.
All Poker Rules
Now that you can picture what a standard poker round looks like, let’s look at some of the most common rules you will come across when you play this game. Here we will discuss the objective of the game, hand rankings, blinds, and more.
The objective
The whole idea behind poker (the objective) is to win the pot. You can do this in a variety of ways. These include:
- Having the best hand
- Being the last player standing after other players fold and fail to call your bet
Poker hand ranking
This is one of the most important aspects of the game. Luckily, poker hand rankings are straightforward. Check out our table below.
| Hand Rank | Name | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A, K, Q, J,10 – same suit |
| 2 | Straight flush | 5 consecutive cards – same suit |
| 3 | Four of a kind | 4 cards of same rank + one other card |
| 4 | Full house | 3 cards of same rank + 2 cards of another rank |
| 5 | Flush | Any 5 cards – same suit |
| 6 | Straight | Any 5 consecutive cards |
| 7 | Three of a kind | 3 cards of same rank + any 2 other cards |
| 8 | Two pair | 2 cards of one rank + 2 cards of another rank + any other card |
| 9 | One pair | 2 cards of one rank + 3 cards of different ranks |
| 10 | High card | Highest ranking card |
Turn, Flop, River
Even if you only understand the most basic poker rules, you must familiarize yourself with the following terms.
- Turn – the 4th community card
- Flop – the first 3 community cards dealt at the center of the table
- River – the last and 5th community card before the showdown
Dealer button
The dealer button shows the player who is acting as the dealer. It is important for 2 main reasons. First, it allows you to easily see the order of play, and it also sets wagers by players to the immediate left of the dealer as small and big blinds.
Big and small blinds
Texas hold’em poker rules dictate that 2 players must kick off a round of betting by placing a stake in the pot. These mandatory bets are called big and small blinds and are required from players sitting on the immediate left-hand side of the dealer.
No limit, pot limit, and limit – explained
The type of online poker you play determines how much you can bet. There are 3 versions here, no limit, pot limit, and limit poker. No-limit poker is pretty self-explanatory, as there are no limits to how much you can wager on each hand. Wagers in pot-limit poker are restricted by the size of the pot, and limit poker has preset controls on how much you can stake.
Rule variations
At the beginning of this guide we stated that this material is based on Texas Hold’em poker rules. It’s important to understand that poker variations have different rules and gameplay. For a complete overview of poker variants available in PA online casinos, visit our poker variants page.
Understanding Poker Terminology
Here is a list of the most important poker casino terminology you must know before you play.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Backdoor | When a player makes a hand with the last two cards dealt. This play is often unintentional. |
| Bad beat | An expression used in poker when a player with a strong hand loses to a player with a weak hand by mere chance or luck of the deal. |
| Bluff / Bluffing | When a player pretends to have a better hand than they do to entice the other player(s) to fold. |
| Community Cards | Community cards are cards that are dealt face up and used by all players. |
| Counterfeit | Counterfeiting is when a player’s hand isn’t improved by the community cards, making it more difficult for them to hold the best hand in the round. |
| Foul | A hand determined by the dealer as one that cannot be played in this round. A player with a foul hand cannot win any portion of the pot of that round. |
| Free Card | A free card occurs when a player does not have to wager more during the action round before the dealer plays the next card. |
| High Card | When there are no matches during the round, the highest card in the round is the winner. If two players have the same high card, they will refer to their next highest card. |
| Kicker | The hole card that helps determine the winner of a round in case of a tie. For example, both players tie on a pair of Aces, the player with the highest hole card in their hand will be the winner of the round. |
| Limp | When a player calls the minimum wager required in order to play in the round. |
| Nuts | When a player has the best hand possible in any point of the game. |
| Off-Suited | When a player is dealt two cards of differing suits. |
| Omaha | A poker variation that involves each player receiving four face-down cards and playing with five community cards. Players attempt to make the best hand possible by using two of their face-down cards to go with three of the community cards on the table. |
| Outrun | Outrun or outdraw refers to when a player draws a better hand than their opponent(s). |
| Over-Pair | When a player has a pocket pair that is higher than any of the community cards on the table. |
| Overcard | A player’s hole card that ranks higher than any of the community cards on the table. |
| Quads | When a player has four of a kind. |
| Side Card | A side card is also referred to as the kicker. This card will help determine the winner of the round in case of a tie. |
| Texas Hold’Em | The most popular and most common poker variation found at casinos. The game is played with each player receiving two hole cards and the dealer displaying five community cards. The players must play both hole cards to create the best hand possible in order to win. |
| Tilt | When a player begins to play poorly due to lack of judgment and their emotions taking over during the game. |
| Under the Gun | This is the person that is first to act in the round of wagering. |
Types of Bets in Poker
Poker is a game of decisions, and the choices you make have a bearing on the outcome of the game. While there are some poker strategies you can employ to manage your game, the overall outcome will depend on how you handle poker bets and options.
Poker bets and options
There are only 5 decisions you can make in a poker game.
Call
When a player matches the last wager made. *NOTE* You must call in order to raise.
Raise
When a player increases the previous bet made.
Fold
When a player gives up on a round and forfeits their wagers in the pot.
All-in
When a player stakes all their chips.
Check
When a player doesn’t add more to the pot but wants to stay in the game. You can only check when another.
Poker Odds and Payouts
If you ask any legit poker player, they will tell you they understand poker odds and payouts, and their impact on the house edge. These help you make better decisions on whether to call, fold, raise, or check depending on what’s left in the deck. Here is an example of what we are talking about.
Poker Rules, Odds, and Payouts – Your starting point to playing like a pro!
When you start learning something new, there is always the risk of diving straight into the deep end without familiarizing yourself with the basics. But as any seasoned craftsman will tell you, a solid foundation built on fundamentals will take you a long way.
Learning poker is no different, that’s why you need to understand rules, odds, and payouts. In this guide, we covered the rules of poker, how to get started, odds and payouts, types of bets, and more. If you have been following from the beginning, you are well on your way to playing like a pro.