How to Play Poker: Basic Poker Rules for New Players
All poker games revolve around nhà cái 188bet betting, and it’s important to understand how betting poker rules work before getting into the game, no matter what poker variation you’re playing.
Many poker variations use the same betting structure and table positions. Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and many limit poker games all use a system involving the small blind, big blind, and dealer button, with all other table positions relative to those three spots.
The small blind is always seated to the left of the dealer button, and the big blind to the left of the small blind.
Betting Order Poker Rules
In games that use a blinds system, the first round of betting usually starts with the player to the left of the big blind. After that player acts, the action moves clockwise around the table, until all players have the chance to act.
Some games use a system of antes (a forced bet put in by every player at the table) and a bring-in. The bring-in system usually designates the player with the weakest face up card as the first player to act. After that, the action moves clockwise around the table.
Virtually all poker games allow the active player to choose from four different betting actions when they’re the bettor:
The Actions Poker Rules
- Call (matching the amount of the previous bet or raise).
- Raise (increase the amount of the current open bet or raise, which any subsequent players must at least match to stay in. Raising when a player in front of you has already raised is known as a re-raise).
- Fold (pushing their cards into the middle and surrendering any chance to win the hand).
- Check (pass the action to the next player without betting anything. Checking can only be used when there’s no open bet or raise in front of you.
Blinds and Antes
Just about all poker games use some kind of forced bet, which automatically puts money in the main pot before each hand. Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and many other poker variations use a small blind and big blind as the forced bets.
Let’s say you’re playing online poker and see a cash game listed as a $1/$2 NLHE game. The $1/$2 listing means the game uses $1 as the small blind amount and $2 as the amount of the big blind.
In most poker games, the minimum bet allowed at any given time is equivalent to the amount of the big blind.
Antes are sometimes included in games that use blinds, but some games are ante-only. Antes generally function as small forced bets that go in from every player, or sometimes only the big blind player.
Buy-ins and Poker Chips
In poker cash games, players buy-in with cash and get an equivalent amount of poker chips to use as currency in the poker game. Cash game chips do carry cash value inside a casino.
Tournament chips, on the other hand, have no cash value. A tournament buy-in allots a pre-determined amount of tournament chips, and the tournament ends when one player collects all of the chips in play.
Hole Cards and Community Cards
The only time hole cards are exposed is at showdown, when players turn their cards face up to determine which player has the best hand.
Main Pot and Side Pots – Poker Rules
Blinds and antes go into the main pot before a hand begins. Every time an active player bets, those chips go in the middle and increase the size of the pot.
The main pot can only increase if participating players still have more chips they can put in the pot. When three or more players are in a hand, and at least one player is all-in, the remaining players then start competing for the side pot.
If an all-in player can’t put chips in the side pot, they can’t win that pot, even if they hold the best hand at showdown. Whichever player has the best hand out of the remaining players wins the side pot.
No-Limit Hold’em Example Hand
Let’s take a look at an example from a nine-handed $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em cash game. The $1/$2 notation means the small blind must post a forced bet of $1 before each hand, and the big blind must put in $2.
The under-the-gun player is the first player to act, and can either call (match the amount of the big blind), raise (increase the amount of the active bet), or fold (push his/her hole cards to the middle and forfeit the hand).
After the under-the-gun player acts, the action moves clockwise around the table, with each player getting the same opportunity to call, raise, or fold. The player in the big blind is last to act unless further action needs to close behind the big blind.
For example, let’s say the under-the-gun player raises to $6 in our theoretical $1/$2 game. The action then moves one player to the left, and that player has the option of either calling (matching the $6 bet), raising (increasing the amount of the bet), or folding.
In this case, our active player folds, and the next three players also fold. This brings the action to the player in the cutoff position, one seat to the right of the button. The cutoff player decides to call, and the action moves to the button, who folds.
The small blind, one position to the left of the dealer, also folds, forfeiting their $1 forced bet. The big blind, already with $2 in the pot, can choose to call, putting $4 more in the pot to match the $6 raise. The big blind can also raise, increasing the amount of the bet, or fold, sending his $2 forced bet into the pot.
In our example Poker Rules, the big blind calls, and the first round of betting is complete. Three players (in the under-the-gun, cutoff, and big blind positions) all put $6 in the pot, and the total pot is $17 when the small blind’s forfeited $1 is added.
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