The rise of online poker has contributed to it becoming one the most popular card games in the world, but ⚽️ there are so many different types of poker that it can seem daunting to the beginner.
Here, Telegraph Betting introduces you ⚽️ to the broad concepts that unite all forms of poker and shows you how they fit together to play one ⚽️ of the game’s most popular variants, Texas Holdem.
We’ll also discuss the four main types of poker under which all poker ⚽️ games can be categorised.
Then, once you’ve got to grips with the basics, you’ll find our guides to the specifics of ⚽️ how to play the most popular types of poker at the bottom of this piece.
How to play poker: concepts common ⚽️ to most types of poker
Poker-hand rankings
All games of poker are based around common poker-hand rankings which are used to decide ⚽️ which player’s hand wins in a game of poker.
Some poker game types will use the common hand ranking in different ⚽️ ways, such as making the lowest value hand the most desirable (low-ball poker).
Learn the order of strength of poker hands ⚽️ on our poker-hand rankings page.
Bluffing
It’s possible to win poker hands without holding the best hand by bluffing your opponents.
Bluffing usually ⚽️ involves projecting confidence in your hand by betting in a manner that suggests your hand is better than it is, ⚽️ in the hope that your opponents will believe you and fold rather than risk taking you on in the showdown.
Forced ⚽️ bets
Most forms of poker require some form of compulsory bet at the beginning of a hand usually referred to as ⚽️ the ‘ante’ or ‘blind’. Many forms of the game feature a small blind and a big blind, with the latter ⚽️ generally twice the size of the former.
The dealer
Whether you’re playing physical poker at home, at a bricks-and-mortar casino, or an ⚽️ online casino the role of the dealer determines the order in which the blinds are put up and players make ⚽️ their bets. The game usually unfolds in a clockwise direction starting with the dealer.
In both physical and online casinos the ⚽️ dealer is generally not one of the players so a token denotes which player is nominally the dealer for each ⚽️ hand. This then rotates clockwise from one hand to the next.
Betting options
Following the forced bets, the first round of betting ⚽️ begins. Players usually have the following betting options to use depending on their confidence in their hand.
Call — Matching another ⚽️ player’s bet or raise
— Matching another player’s bet or raise Raise — Increasing the size of your existing bet in ⚽️ the same round of betting
— Increasing the size of your existing bet in the same round of betting Fold — ⚽️ To withdraw from the hand, sacrificing any bets already made.
— To withdraw from the hand, sacrificing any bets already made. ⚽️ Check — Until the first bet in a round of betting is placed, players can choose to check (decline to ⚽️ make a bet while reserving the right to bet later in the round).
— Until the first bet in a round ⚽️ of betting is placed, players can choose to check (decline to make a bet while reserving the right to bet ⚽️ later in the round). All in — When a player doesn’t have enough chips left to call a bet they ⚽️ can play all their remaining chips. Subsequent betting takes place in a side pot and the all-in player can only ⚽️ win the amount of chips in the pot when they went all-in in any subsequent showdown.
Rounds of betting
In poker, each ⚽️ round of betting offers a chance to utilise the betting options outlined in the previous section, based on your confidence ⚽️ in your hand and your perception of the quality of your opponents’ hands. The latter can chiefly be gauged by ⚽️ seeing how much they are betting or raising.
All types of poker feature at least one round of betting, while the ⚽️ vast majority feature at least two.
These rounds usually take place before and after game events such as the dealing of ⚽️ the flop in Texas Holdem and allow for degrees of strategizing by players as the hand progresses. Texas Holdem and ⚽️ Omaha, which are so called ‘community card’ games, can feature up to four rounds of betting.
How to play in a ⚽️ poker in a nutshell: a game in brief
Here we illustrate how to play a game of poker in a nutshell. ⚽️ This is how to play the world’s current most popular type of poker, Texas Holdem.
Dealer deals each player two cards ⚽️ The small blind is placed, followed by the big blind. The first round of betting ensues, players bet according to ⚽️ confidence in their hand Dealer deals three ‘community cards’ face up. The second round of betting begins Dealer deals the ⚽️ fourth community card, also known as the turn The third round of betting begins Dealer deals the fifth community card, ⚽️ also known as the river The final round of betting ensues. If two or more players still haven’t folded, all ⚽️ remaining players show their cards. The winner is the one with the best hand according to the poker hand rankings.
Betting ⚽️ structure/limits
There are various different ways in which betting can be structured in poker. The three structures below are the most ⚽️ common in online poker and are usually listed alongside the type of poker in online poker lobbies.
Pot limit (PL) — ⚽️ A player may bet or raise any amount up to the size of the total pot.
Fixed limit (FL) — Betting ⚽️ and raising must be done by fixed amounts.
No limit (NL) — A player can bet all of their chips any ⚽️ time it’s their turn to bet
The four main poker variations
The many different types of poker can generally be classified as ⚽️ falling into one of the following four categories:
Community card poker
Players are dealt a number of cards less than a complete ⚽️ five-card poker hand. A number of face-up community cards are then dealt with the objective that the players make the ⚽️ best possible five-card hand with some combination of their own cards and the community cards.
Famous varieties include: Texas Holdem, Omaha
Straight ⚽️ poker
The earliest form of poker, each player is dealt a full hand of five cards. A round of betting ensues ⚽️ in which players can raise and reraise until the game concludes.
Famous varieties include: five-card brag, three-card brag
Draw poker
Another poker variation ⚽️ in which players receive all five cards at the beginning of the game, draw poker then allows them to attempt ⚽️ to improve their hand by discarding cards and being dealt replacements.
Famous varieties include: five-card draw
Stud poker
In stud-poker games, players are ⚽️ dealt their cards one by one in a specified combination of face-up and face-down cards, typically with a round of ⚽️ betting between each card being dealt.
Famous varieties include: seven-card stud, razz
Learn how to play popular types of poker and the ⚽️ rules specific to each game
Want to know the rules specific to popular types of poker? Check out the links below.
Ready ⚽️ to start playing online poker in the UK?
Take a look at our painstakingly researched list of the best poker bonus ⚽️ sign-up offers for UK players.
