It is not only essential to indulge in the proper poker rules, but it is also mandatory that you make your poker game profitable and quick. Poker has by now become one of the most played, entertaining, and fun casino games. Also, it is one of the oldest and most primitive casino games that has been entertaining casino players since time immemorial. With the advent of technology, offline casinos turned online, but the hype for poker remained unchanged. Poker is undoubtedly one of the best ways to gamble. But, here is a word of caution for amateur players – poker is not as easy as you may think. So, it can take some time and a lot of understanding of the game to actually land some profits.
Basics About Poker Arrangement
Before we dive deeper into the hard-core poker rules, here is the ultimate poker hand ranking guide that you should understand
- Straight Flush – Same suit sequence like 8-7-6-5-4
- Royal Flush – All the same suit, the sequence can be like A-K-Q-J-T and so on
- Full House – Three similar one-kind cards and a pair of cards
- Four of a Kind – Four same-value cards such as J-J-J-J
- Three of a Kind – Three same-value cards such as A-A-A
- High Card – The highest value card that a player holds
- Pair – Any pair card like 3-3 or Q-Q
- Straight – A basic card sequence like 5-4-3-2-A
These are your winning hands. Memorize these hand rankings so that you truly know when it is your winning rank and when it is not.
Now that you are done with the hand rankings, it is time to understand the Poker positions at the table. Traditionally a game of poker can be playable by any number of players ranging from 2 to 10. Single table seating arrangements with these numbers of players pose their unique advantages and disadvantages. The poker positions at any gaming table rapidly change with respect to the buttons and blinds, but in a nutshell, it is something like this one
- Seat 1: Big Blind
- Seat 2: Small Blind
- Seat 3: The Button
- Seat 4: The Cut Off
- Seat 5: The Hijack
- Seat 6: The LoJack
- Seat 7: Early Position
- Seat 8: UTG + 1
- Seat 9: UTG
Guide to Poker Game
Now you are well equipped with the basic knowledge of poker games and poker rules and that is enough to understand more about the gameplay.
Step 1: The game starts with the first stage which is Pre-Flop. The player sitting left to the dealer will start by putting in the small blind and the player sitting on the left of the small blind will put in the big blind. After both players have forced bets the cards will be dealt in front of them. All the players will get two face-down cards. Now the players can either call, fold, or raise their stakes.
Step 2: Now step into the next stage of the game. This is called the Flop stage. In this round, three community cards in their Facebook position are dealt in the table. Any player can use any of these community cards in addition to the cards that they have to make the five-card combo for the best poker hand that will help them win.
Step 3: The next step is the Turn phase. It is almost similar to the previous stage, just that in this phase 4 community cards are dealt in the face-up position. After the 4th card is dealt, the 3rd betting round in the game starts.
Step 4: This one is almost the last phase of the game. The stage is called River. It reveals the 5th community card. In this stage, the players make the final decision of whether they will proceed to the showdown phase or not.
After the last betting round is over, it is time for the Poker showdown. All the cards will go to the table and the player with the best 5 poker cards hands will declare as the game winner.
Final Thoughts
Poker is pretty easy to understand but it takes plenty of time, understanding, and practice to master the art of winning the game. There is so much more to poker rules. But you can easily practice the game with the various poker online platforms. Poker is almost a universal game by all the popular online casinos and gambling sites. The idea is to play more, win big, and most importantly lose less.