Poker is a family of card games that combines gambling, strategy, and skill. While numerous variations exist, most poker games share a common set of fundamental rules. This comprehensive Poker Guide will walk you through the essential elements, from hand rankings to betting structures and popular game types like Texas Hold’em and Omaha. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refine your knowledge, this guide provides everything you need to understand and enjoy the game of poker.
Understanding Poker Hand Rankings
A crucial aspect of poker is understanding hand rankings. In most poker games, the objective is to make the best possible five-card hand. Knowing the hierarchy of poker hands is essential to determine the winner at showdown.
Standard Poker Hand Rankings (Highest to Lowest):
It’s important to note that these rankings generally apply across most poker variants, excluding a few games that utilize lowball hand rankings. Strong hands like royal flushes, straight flushes, four of a kind, full houses, flushes, and straights are often decisive at the showdown.
Poker Hand Ranking Chart
Download the Poker Hand Rankings Chart
Blinds and Antes: The Forced Bets
Blinds and antes are mandatory bets that are fundamental to many poker variations, creating initial action and a pot to play for. Texas Hold’em and Omaha, the world’s two most popular poker games, both utilize a blind system.
Blinds:
In games with blinds, each hand starts with the big blind positioned directly to the left of the small blind. These positions require players to place predetermined bets before any cards are dealt. The small blind is always located immediately to the left of the dealer button, a marker that rotates clockwise around the table after each hand, indicating the dealer position.
The small blind is typically half the amount of the big blind, or very close to it. These blind amounts are usually specified in cash games. For instance, in a “$1/$2” cash game at a casino, the small blind is $1, and the big blind is $2. In most poker games, the minimum bet allowed in any betting round is equivalent to the big blind amount.
Antes:
Antes are mandatory bets that are sometimes required from all players at the table, or in some formats, only from the big blind. When antes are in play, every player must contribute the ante amount to the pot before the hand begins. The dealer then collects the antes into the pot before dealing the cards. For example, a “$5/$10” cash game with a “$1” ante requires each player to put $1 into the pot before each hand, in addition to the blinds. Antes increase the starting pot size compared to games without them, encouraging more aggressive play.
Limit vs. No-Limit Betting Structures
Poker games are often categorized by their betting structures, primarily limit and no-limit. These structures significantly impact game dynamics and strategy.
No-Limit Poker
The term “no-limit” is straightforward: in any no-limit poker game, players have the freedom to bet their entire chip stack at any point in the hand. Most no-limit games employ a system of blinds and a dealer button.
Consider a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em cash game with six players, each starting with $200. The small blind posts $1, and the big blind posts $2. After cards are dealt, the player to the left of the big blind initiates the preflop betting round. In subsequent rounds, the small blind, or the first player to their left still in the hand, begins the betting action.
In a no-limit game, any player can bet any amount up to their entire stack. Betting all of one’s chips is known as going “all-in.” The maximum all-in bet is limited to the chips a player has at the start of the hand.
Limit Poker
Many poker variations, such as stud poker, are predominantly played with limit betting rules. However, any poker game can be structured with limit betting.
In a $2/$4 Limit Texas Hold’em game, the blinds are typically $1/$2. Limit games use a “small bet” and a “big bet.” The big blind is usually equal to the small bet. In many limit games, the maximum bet or raise is equal to the small bet in early betting rounds and increases to the big bet amount in later rounds. Betting is often “capped” at three raises per round, after which players can only call.
Poker Actions: Call, Raise, Fold, Check
In every poker hand, the active player must choose one of four fundamental actions:
- Call: Matching the current bet or raise amount to continue in the hand.
- Raise: Increasing the current bet or raise, requiring subsequent players to at least call the new amount to stay in.
- Fold: Discarding their cards, forfeiting any chance to win the hand.
- Check: Passing the action to the next player without betting. Checking is only permissible when there is no existing bet or raise in the current betting round.
Table Stakes: Cash Games and Tournaments
Poker games are played in various formats, primarily cash games and tournaments, each with distinct stake structures.
Cash Game Stakes
In poker rooms, cash games are typically listed with notations like “$1/$2 NL Hold’em” or “$4/$8 Limit Hold’em.” “$1/$2 NL Hold’em” signifies a No-Limit Texas Hold’em game with a $1 small blind and $2 big blind. “NL” indicates a no-limit betting structure. “$4/$8 Limit Hold’em” denotes a Limit Texas Hold’em game with a $4 small bet and $8 big bet, played with limit betting rules.
A standard buy-in for a no-limit cash game is generally 100 times the big blind. For a $1/$2 NL game, the standard buy-in would be $200. Notation like “200NL” also refers to a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em game with a maximum buy-in of $200, indicating a game where the maximum buy-in is 100 big blinds.
Tournament Stakes
Tournament stakes are determined by the buy-in amount required to enter the tournament. Any poker game, including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, and Draw poker, can be played in a tournament format.
Unlike cash games where blinds remain constant, poker tournaments utilize increasing blind levels at regular intervals. For example, in the World Series of Poker Main Event, Level 1 might start with 100/200 blinds. Levels typically last a set duration, and blinds increase at the start of each new level. Tournament chips have no cash value; the tournament buy-ins contribute to the prize pool.
Basic Texas Hold’em Rules
Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker game globally, played in countless cash games, tournaments, and home games.
In Texas Hold’em, each player receives two private “hole cards,” and five “community cards” are dealt face-up in the center of the table. The goal is to make the best five-card poker hand using any combination of your two hole cards and the five community cards.
The game begins with the dealer distributing hole cards, one at a time, starting with the player in the small blind position. Hole cards are kept concealed from other players. After each player has two hole cards, the first of four betting rounds commences. These rounds are named preflop, flop, turn, and river.
Following the preflop betting round, the dealer deals three community cards face-up, known as the “flop.” After a betting round, a fourth community card, the “turn,” is dealt, followed by another betting round. Finally, the fifth community card, the “river,” is dealt, and the last betting round occurs. After the final betting round, if more than one player remains, a “showdown” takes place. Remaining players reveal their hole cards, and the player with the best five-card hand, according to poker hand rankings, wins the pot.
Basic Omaha Poker Rules
Omaha Hold’em, or simply Omaha, is similar to Texas Hold’em but with key distinctions. Like Hold’em, the objective is to make the best five-card hand using hole cards and community cards.
However, in Omaha, players are dealt four hole cards and must use exactly two of their hole cards in combination with exactly three community cards to form their five-card hand. This differs from Texas Hold’em, where players can use any combination of zero to two hole cards with the community cards.
Two common Omaha variations are regular Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha Eight-or-Better). Omaha Hi is typically played with pot-limit or limit betting structures. Pot Limit Omaha (“PLO”) is the second most popular poker game after Texas Hold’em.
Exploring Other Poker Game Rules
Beyond Hold’em and Omaha, numerous other poker variants offer diverse gameplay experiences.
Seven Card Stud
Seven Card Stud is almost always played with limit betting rules. Unlike Hold’em and Omaha, Stud does not use blinds. Instead, each player antes before the hand. The player with the lowest-ranking “door card” (the first face-up card dealt) posts a forced “bring-in” bet, typically a fraction of the small bet. This player also has the option to “complete the bet” by betting the full small bet amount.
In Seven Card Stud, each player receives seven unique cards, but there are no community cards. The first dealing round consists of two down cards and one face-up card to each player. Subsequent rounds involve dealing additional face-up cards, followed by betting rounds. By the end, each player has three down cards and four up cards. The player with the best five-card hand wins at showdown.
Razz
Razz is a variant of Stud with nearly identical gameplay, but hand rankings are reversed. Razz uses Ace-to-5 lowball hand rankings. In Razz, there are no high hands, and no hand “qualifies” as low. The lowest hand wins, even if it contains pairs or a Queen-high, as long as it is lower than opponents’ hands.
Hi-Lo Games
Hi-Lo games, also known as split-pot games or “eight or better,” divide the pot between the best high hand and the best low hand. The low hand must “qualify” by containing five cards ranked eight or lower to win the low half of the pot. Ace-to-5 lowball rankings are used for low hands, and straights and flushes do not penalize a low hand. A player can “scoop” the pot by winning both the high and low portions. If no qualifying low hand exists, the best high hand wins the entire pot. Omaha 8 is an example of an Omaha poker game played with hi-lo rules.
Short Deck Poker
Short Deck Hold’em, also called 6 Plus Hold’em, is a fast-paced action game similar to Texas Hold’em, but played with a 36-card deck (2s through 5s are removed). A key hand ranking change in Short Deck is that a flush beats a full house due to the reduced number of cards of each suit. In some Short Deck versions, three-of-a-kind can even beat a straight, although straights are statistically more common in short deck. However, the more prevalent Short Deck version maintains straights ranking above three-of-a-kind. Always confirm the hand rankings specific to the Short Deck game you are playing.
Conclusion: Mastering the Basics of Poker
This poker guide has provided a comprehensive overview of the fundamental rules, hand rankings, betting structures, and popular variations of poker. Understanding these core elements is the first step to enjoying and succeeding in the world of poker. As you continue to learn and play, you’ll delve deeper into strategy, game theory, and the nuances of each poker variant. Whether you aim to play casually or competitively, mastering these basics is essential for any aspiring poker player.
