Poker is a game of skill, strategy and luck. It’s one of the most popular card games in the world and is enjoyed by people from all over the world.
The Rules of Poker
In all variants of poker, players are dealt a hand of cards and must use those cards to create the best possible five-card hand. Each player must then decide whether to call (match) or raise (add money to the pot) each bet made by other players in turn, and if so how much to add.
Betting rounds are held between the initial deal and each subsequent hand of cards, alternating between blinds or antes, depending on the specific version being played. Once the betting rounds have been completed, a showdown is held, in which the players must reveal their cards one by one and decide which of them has the best hand.
Getting Started in Poker
A good place to start is with Texas Hold’Em, which is the most common type of poker. To play Texas Hold’Em, each player must first bet an ante – usually a small amount of money like $1 or $5.
The dealer shuffles the deck and then deals the cards to the players one at a time. Often there are several betting rounds between each deal, in which the players develop their hands in some way by combining the cards they were dealt with those already held.
A winning poker strategy is to bet and raise as aggressively as possible on your strong value hands – pocket pairs, suited aces, broadway hands and best suited connectors make up about 25% of the starting range for most players. This will allow you to build a good stack early on, before you’re forced to play defensively.
