Poker: A Beginner’s Guide From Bluffing To Playing Competitively

Although Poker may seem to be an inaccessible game for a lot of people; In reality, the game is as accessible as Baccarat, Black-Jack, Super Mario or even skip rope. However, all beginners are required to learn from the basics, If you wish to learn how to play poker in a short period of time, you’ve come to the right place.

A Short Introduction

Poker is one of the most popular gambling sports widely accepted by all casinos and gaming parlours in the world. With its growing popularity, it has garnered the interest of gambling enthusiasts around the globe and some people are capable of gaining of grand fortune just by playing poker, Just check up the richest poker players around the world and you will be surprised by just how much they earn per day! As the game requires various skills, especially the ability to bluff (more on this later) and utilize various strategies to gain an upper hand from other players. The game makes it possible to be categorized as a game of skill rather than luck.

Of all the types of Poker variants, the single most popular is the Texas Hold’Em. Once a game is known only by outlaws and hustlers of the American Frontier according to the history of poker. And poker has greatly impacted society ever since. With the accessibility provided by just having a deck of cards and a few friends who are looking for a way to pass time, these groups have chosen Poker as the de-facto game for both parties & meetings for both bachelors and bachelorettes.

Inevitably, Poker has rules that must be followed by both enthusiasts and amateurs to ensure that the game goes on smoothly. It is so simple that once you’ve started playing for 10 – 15 rounds, it will be relatively easy for just anyone to understand and remember the rules of the game (which we will move on to the next subject)

Rules & Protocols of the Game

Like all kinds of Poker, Texas Hold’Em are played using a standardized pack of 52 cards. However, each player is dealt two cards face down (which are referred to as hole cards), throughout additional rounds, 5 cards will be dealt in the middle of the table (referred to community cards) in which the player will use them to make a hand of five cards. You can learn more on “The General Rules of Poker”

During the start of any match, two players (which are selected in sequence) are obligated to chip-in an amount (referred to small and big blinds) to a “pot” which will increase as the round proceeds. During these rounds, all players can react with three options:

– Call: Match the amount of money of the big blind

– Raise: Increase the bet within the specific limit of the game

– Fold: throw away your hand

Once all players have chosen an option, the round will proceed as follows:

Ø 1st Round: Pre-Flop (No Cards added to the middle of the table)

Ø 2nd Round: The Flop (3 Cards are added to the middle of the table)

Ø 3rd Round: The Turn (1 card is added to the middle of the table)

Ø Final Round: The River (1 final card is added to the middle of the table)

After all betting options have been exhausted, the remaining players in the hand with the hole-cards must be exposed to determine the winner; This is called the Showdown.

After all remaining players open their hole cards for all players to examine, the dealer will determine the winning hand (5 cards) according to each player’s best combination of the hole-cards & the community cards (total 7 cards).

The winning hand is determined by the traditional Poker Hand Rankings as per below

Hand Name	Definition	Sample
Royal Flush	five cards of the same suit ranked ace through ten;	A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥
Straight Flush	five cards of the same suit and consecutively ranked	9♣8♣7♣6♣5♣
Four of a Kind	four cards of the same rank	Q♣Q♥Q♦Q♠4♦
Full House	three cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank	J♣J♥J♠8♦8♥
Flush	any five cards of the same suit	A♠J♠8♠5♠2♠
Straight	any five cards consecutively ranked	Q♣J♦10♥9♠8♦
Three of a Kind	three cards of the same rank	8♣8♠8♦K♣4♥
Two Pair	two cards of the same rank and two more cards of the same rank	A♠A♣J♦J♣7♠
One Pair	two cards of the same rank	10♥10♣9♥4♦2♦
High Card	five unmatched cards	A♣J♦10♠5♣2♥

An example game is that if the board is showing 9♣5♠K♦3♠A♥, a player with the two hole cards A♦9♠ would have two pair (aces and nines) and would lose to a player who has 9♦9♥ for three of a kind (three nines).

Although it is relatively easy for players to learn how to play Texas Hold-Em, the game itself is very complex due to the possible game situations and also the skill levels of the player. A famous quote on Texas Hold’Em is that “the game takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master”. Because of the complexity that arises with each passing game, players developed various skills related to Poker which we will be sharing below:

More information on Strategies, Guide & Tips

Mike Saxton, a Professional Poker Player & member of the Poker Hall of Fame has once commented “One day a chump, the next day a champion. What a difference a day makes in tournament poker”. This has garnered widespread media attention as Poker is a game that can turn a person who just paid a mere $100 participation fee into the tournament into an instant millionaire in the course of just one night. Jonathan Duhamel, famous for winning the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas took away USD 9 million in prize money for just winning one tournament. Imagine how it must feel for him, a nobody, to be transformed into a famous millionaire in just one night. However, these glories do not come without hard work and a deep-rooted knowledge of the game.

There are various studies conducted by both enthusiasts and amateurs alike. This includes various fields from Psychology (Human Behavioural & Body Language Studies) to Mathematics (Probability & Statistics, & Game Theory), several schools of thoughts have risen the past decade all with the common goal of understanding the game and its mechanics.

With so many items being studied just for one game, it is hard for beginners to scratch the surface on understanding Poker. Therefore, we have compiled a list of pages and articles that can boost your performance during a match so that you will be able to gain an upper hand compared to your opponents.

Game of cards involving various strategies that can include probability & statistics, the game theory and psychology. Although there are different rules towards Poker, the main goal is to get the hand with the most points which are stated in the Poker Hand & Variants list. The game consists of a dealer and players who will utilizing the shared set of cards and as each turn progresses, the pot contributed by the players and dealer will increase. Players can either call a bet, raise the bet limit or even fold if they think their chances are low. If all but one player folds, the remaining player will collect the pot without being required to reveal their hands. However, if more than one player remains after the final betting round, the players are required to reveal their hand with the winner taking the pot.

Read more about Poker in the links below: