In the last few years Poker has become the most popular card game in the world: despite the simplicity of the rules, it is a very deep, thoughtful game. On top, the thrill of the bet is always fascinating. If you’ve never tried playing Poker with your friends, you’re in the right place: in this series of articles I’ll try to explain you the basic rules of some variations of this beautiful game. Yes, there are many variations of the game, and probably the most famous is Texas Hold’em, the variation played by pros you see on tv. But today we’re starting from the basics, with the traditional “5 card draw” Poker; this variant is rarely played in casino or tournaments, but it’s the best for beginners because is very easy to learn; but don’t worry it’s a lot of fun too! Let’s start!
The Deck
In order to play a Poker game, you’ll need a classic 4-suits 52-cards deck. You don’t need Jokers, unless you want to play with wildcards (for now I suggest you to stick with the classic gameplay, until you get used to the basic rules). The only tricky cards are the aces, because they can be played high (after a King) or low (before a two) in a straight, according to the situation. However, is not a big deal, you’ll get used to it pretty fast, don’t worry! And remember: in order to play you also need chips. Those have to be split equally between players at the beginning of the game, and are used to bet during hands.
Ace can be used both high or low in a straight.
Who wins?
Obviously, at the end of the day, the player with the most chips wins. In order to gain more chips, you have to win hands: at the end of every hand, after two bet rounds, the player with the highest-valued hand wins and takes the pot. In order to be sure of how strong is your hand, you should get used to the hand ranking (check it out
here). Misevaluating hands is one of the most common mistakes among new players and you don’t want to lose a hand because you thought your double pair was higher than your opponent’s three of a kind, so be careful!
The game
Now, let’s see the structure of an hand, going on step by step. You should become used to it, so that you don't have to worry about what to do next during the game, and rather remain focused on your game plan and your opponents.
Ante
Before the beginning of the hand, each player must place an “ante” (the minimum bet to play) in the pot. If a player can’t pay the ante, he puts all his remaining chips in the pot, but he can’t win more than the amount of chips he bet from each player. This applies also to a player who goes “all in” (bets all his chips) during a hand. For example, if I bet 10, I can’t win more than 10 from each of my opponents. If the hand goes on and the other players bet more, the rest of the pot will go to the second best hand.
Dealing
After the ante bet, the dealer distribute five cards face down to each player. Usually the dealer starts from the player on his left and proceeds clockwise. After the cards are dealt, is time for the thrill of the game to start: each player looks at his cards and stares at the others, trying to figure out what they have in hand. After this first moment of suspense, the first bet round starts.
Bet round
The player at the left of the dealer goes first: he can either “open” (start with the first bet), “check” (pass the turn to the second player) or “fold” (leave the hand. His cards will go on the bottom of the deck and he won’t be able to play until the next hand.). If the first player “checks” the second player can answer with a second “check” or a “fold”, and so on until the last player. If all the players “check”, the bet round ends. If all player “fold” the last player wins the pot. Any player, during his turn, can decide to “open” (if he’s the first player that bet) or “raise” (if a player already bet, but he bets a higher amount of chips). If a player “opens” or “raises”, the other players must “see” his bet (must bet an amount of chips equal to his bet) in order to play the hand. When all the players have “seen” the highest bet, the first round ends.
Evaluate carefully the situation before betting: always think about the risk you're taking and if it's worth to play, according to the value of the pot and your odds of assembling a good hand.
Replacements
At this points, the players that are still in the game can change up to three cards from their hand. Discard the cards you don’t think are useful for you and draw that much card. Be careful: don’t show the cards you’re replacing to your opponents, you don’t want to give them any hint about what you have in your hand! After replacements are dealt, a second round of bets start (the process is exactly the same as the first round).
Second bet round and showdown
After the bets are over, it’s time to see who wins the hand. The players that didn’t fold show their hands and the player with the highest hand wins and take the pot . In case of tie, the player with the highest cards in hand wins. In case of absolute tie, then the pot is split between the winners.
Congratulations, you finished your first hand of poker! The games goes on, hand after hand, until only one player remains or until you decide to finish. Now you’re ready for the next Poker party. If you’re interested in other variations of the game, stay tuned, other articles are on the way.
Good luck and have fun!
NB: those rules are a meant as a guideline, not an absolute standard. There are a lot of variations of the game and the mechanics may change accordingly. Be sure to ask the rules details before you start betting!
_________________________________________________________________________
Marco Cavallero www.ludocards.com © copyright All rights reserved. You are welcome to use this article in its entirety along with the information about the author and related links.
Author: Marco Cavallero
Ludocards.com helps you create your custom playing cards for your own entertainment, or to innovatively promote your business and services. We guarantee low prices despite our use of the papers of casino quality. Customer support and graphic services are provided for both small and large orders. FREE delivery to 63 countries around the world.
