How To Play Poker

A GAME OF SKILL

Because the game of poker is played with cards, chips and dealers, it is all too easy to classify it as a game of luck or chance, or in other words, a gambling activity. This could not be further from the truth.
In reality, poker is a complex game of skill, mathematics and psychology, in which the best players will inevitably win in the long run.

This debate has been decisively settled by the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Baxter v United States, in which the judge declared “I find the government’s argument to be ludicrous. I just wish you had some money and could sit down with Mr Baxter and play some poker.” This view has been confirmed by a number of other judicial decisions in various countries over the years.

Poker is now an established part of the social mainstream. In the United States, poker is regularly shown on sports channels such as ESPN, and is the second-most watched sport on TV after the NFL. In Asia, poker has been a regular fixture on TV channels in Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines, and Russia’s Olympic Council has even officially designated the game as an Olympic sport.

Today, poker is played and by millions of people around the globe, including Hollywood stars Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Tilly, professional athletes Michael Phelps, Teddy Sheringham and Yevgeny Kafelnikov as well as US President Barack Obama.

POKER BASICS

When you think of ‘poker’, it is only natural that you think of Texas Hold’em. Described as the ‘Cadillac of Poker’, No Limit Texas Hold’em is the variation of poker that you see on TV most of the time. But many variations of poker exist, all of which share certain basic rules.

All poker games involve betting on the strength of a poker hand, and all poker games feature a “pot” that those bets go into. The player with the strongest hand, or the only player left in the pot after everyone else folds, wins the pot.

All poker games also feature a mandatory bet of some kind. In Hold’em games, this is called a “blind”, and players take turns to post blinds. Other variations of poker have antes instead of blinds.

All poker games feature one or more betting rounds in which the player can make one of the following betting choices:
• Checking
• Betting
• Folding
• Calling
• Raising

When a player has not bet prior to his action, he has the option of checking. To check is to stay in the hand without betting. The person clockwise from the person who checks then gets to act. If everyone checks all around the table, then the betting round is complete, and no money is added to the pot.
Another option a player has when no one else has bet before him is to bet. Every player after the bettor has to choose to fold, call or raise. A player can’t check once someone else at the table has bet into the pot.

Folding means giving up any chance of winning the pot, but it also means the player doesn’t add any money to the pot. A player who folds is out of action until the next hand is dealt.
To call a bet is to put enough money in the pot to match the bettor’s bet. If it’s the final round of betting, the person who bet originally has to show his hand to the caller.

To raise a bet is to put more money into the pot, so that the original bettor has to add more money to the pot to stay in the hand. Someone who bets and is subsequently raised by a player later in the betting round also has the option of folding.

When the betting rounds are complete, if there are multiple players still in the pot, there is a “showdown”, where the remaining players show their hands to each other. The person with the best hand wins the pot. If there is only one person left in the pot at the end of a betting round (i.e. everyone else folds), that person does not have to show his hand, and he automatically wins the pot.

Poker games are almost always played using a tradition called “table stakes”, which means that only the chips that are on the table can be used to bet during a hand. A corollary to this “table stakes” rules is the “all-in” rule, which says that a player doesn’t have to forfeit his stake in a pot just because he doesn’t have enough chips to cover a bet or a raise. If all of a player’s chips are in the pot, he’s considered all-in, and additional bets and raises from other players after he is all in go into a side pot. The all-in player has no stake in the subsequent side pot, but does have a chance to win the pot he has a stake in.

There are hundreds of poker variations that are played both online and off. Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular form of poker, but Pot Limit Omaha is also fast gaining popularity. Each variant of poker has its own rules variations, but the betting basics are essentially the same from game to game.

POKER HAND RANKINGS

Royal Flush: The strongest possible poker hand, a royal flush combines an Ace high straight and a flush. Made up of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten, all of the same suit. If two players hold a royal flush, they split the pot.

Straight Flush: A straight flush is like a royal flush, with five cards forming a straight and flush, but not an Ace high. An example of a straight flush is, a nine, eight, seven, six and five all of the same suit. When two players hold a straight flush, the player whose hand starts with the highest card wins. When both hands contain the same high card, they split the pot.

Four of a Kind: A hand containing four cards of the same rank, like four Aces or four Jacks. When two players each have a four of a kind, the highest ranked hand wins. In the event that both players hold the same four of a kind, the player with the highest fifth card, often called a kicker, wins the pot.

Full House: Three cards of one rank and two of another rank form a full house. Examples of full houses include three Kings and two tens or three fours and two Aces. When two players have a full house, the player with the highest three of a kind wins the pot.

Flush: A flush is a hand with all five cards of the same suit, either five Hearts, Clubs, Spades or Diamonds. When two or more players each have a flush, the hand with the highest card wins. If two hands have the same highest card, the next highest card is compared, and so on, until one hand is determined to be higher than the other.

Straight: Five cards in numerical sequence form a straight, like six, five, four, three and two. When two or more players have a straight, the one with the highest card wins. If two players have straights with the same highest card, they split the pot. Suits do not matter when determining the strength of a straight. An Ace can play as the highest card, in Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, or the low card in five, four, three, two, Ace. The Ace is the only rank that can be used this way.

Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank, like three Jacks or three eights. When two players have three of a kind, the highest ranked three of a kind wins the pot. If two players have the same three of a kind, the player with the highest fourth card wins.

Two Pair: A hand consisting of two cards of the same rank, in combination with two other cards of the same rank, like two tens and two sixes. When two players have two pair, the one with the highest pair wins. If two players have the same highest pair, the highest second pair wins, followed by the highest fifth card, or kicker.

One Pair: Hands that contain only two cards of the same rank, like two Aces or two Jacks, with three unmatched cards have one pair. When two or more players have one pair, the highest pair wins. If two players have the same pair, the highest third card wins.

High card: A hand containing none of the combinations listed above ranks as a high card hand. When two or more players have high card hands, the highest card wins, followed by the second highest card, third highest card, etc. in the case of ties. Hands are ranked from Ace down through two.