How to Play Poker for Beginners, a Guide Helping You Get Started

If you are interested in playing card games online, you probably have been met with a barrier to entry. Most sites that allow players to play card games do not have detailed instructions on how to play these games. As a result, you need to do your own research, or you will be going in blind. One of the most popular games to play on these sites is poker. Poker is an incredibly fun and complex card game that has many variations. However, despite its complexity, it is a very simple game at its core. As a result, you can learn the basics very quickly. Here is our guide for how to play poker for beginners.

The Basics

Before we get into the best strategies to perform at a high level in poker, you will need to learn the basics. This is an essential section in our guide for how to play poker for beginners. The basics we will look at here will apply to most poker variations. That being said, we will be using Texas Hold'em as an example as it is the most popular version of poker by far.

At the start of a round, every player is dealt two cards which they keep themselves. Players are free to look at these cards and they should not reveal these cards to anyone. The players are dealt by a dealer, but one player is assigned the role of dealer each round. It then shifts to the left every hand. Cards are dealt around the table twice, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Also at this stage, the blinds are put in. The blinds refer to a number of chips that must be put in at the start of each round. There is a small and a big blind and they rotate with the dealer so that every player pays the blinds. The small blind is directly to the left of the dealer, and the big blind is to the left of the big blinds. The blinds force players to play hands or they will eventually be blinded out of the game.

Once players have their cards there is around of betting. Players can check, bet, call, raise, or fold. Checking is when you do not put in any money. You can only do this if no one has made a bet. If there is a bet, you must match it or raise it. If you are not willing to do these things, you can fold your hand, eliminating yourself from the round. Once everyone has either matched the highest bet or folded, communal cards are put in play. Three cards are dealt face up, and this is referred to as the flop. There is then another round of betting. The turn is then dealt, which is one card face up. Then there is another round of betting before the river is dealt. The river is the fifth and final communal card. There is then a final round of betting. If two players are still in the hand, they show down their hands to see who has the best hand.

Hand Values

Now that you know how a hand is played out, you need to learn the hand values. The biggest mistake beginners make is thinking one hand is better than another when it is not. This is very important when learning how to play poker for beginners. Here is a list of hands in order of value.

• Royal Flush (the highest straight flush, from 10 to ace)
• Straight Flush (five cards in sequence with the same suit)
• Four of a Kind (four cards of the same value)
• Full House (three of a kind and a pair)
• Flush (five cards of the same suit)
• Straight (a sequence of five cards)
• Three of a Kind (three cards of the same value)
• Two Pair (two sets of two cards of the same value)
• Pair (two cards of the same value)
• High Card (highest value card)

There are a few common mistakes with hand values that new players make. Firstly, it is common for people to mistake the value of straights and flushes. Remember that flushes are worth more than straights. You also need to remember that three of a kind beats two pairs. Finally, overall card strength does not matter. The high card is always the most important thing when you have two hands of the same value. For example, if two people have a flush, the tie breaker is the highest card in your flush. So, if you have the ace high flush, you have the best flush.

Do Not Get Discouraged by Losses

The most important thing we can tell you in our guide on how to play poker for beginners is that you should not get discouraged by losses. Poker is a game that takes a long time to learn and even longer to master. High level players have spent years studying and practicing the game, so you cannot expect to compete on that level immediately. That being said, on a micro level, you should not be discouraged by losing individual hands. Poker is a skill based game in large sample sizes, but it is possible to have good and bad luck on individual hands. You will have bad beats, and you will get lucky. Do not let the results of hands that were influenced by luck influence how you play as a whole.

After reading, we hope you understand the basics of poker and you are comfortable playing the game with your friends or online. Poker is one of the most interesting games in the world. Despite being a simple game to learn, it has so many layers. There are so many interesting strategies to learn, and it is fun whether you have played for an hour or 1000 hours.