Poker guide: Part 1: The Basics

We give you JOE's four-part poker guide. We kick off with a how-to for Texas Hold'em newbies.

The basics of the game

Texas Hold'em is now the most popular form of poker, and is also the easiest to learn. If you are new to the game, the following guide should provide a good introduction to get you started.

In Texas Hold'em, the player who acts as the Dealer is called the "button", and play proceeds clockwise from the button.

The player to the immediate left of the button must post the "small blind" which is half a "small bet". The next player on the left is the "big blind", and must post a whole "small bet". The two blinds are forced bets which make sure there's money in the pot on every hand.

Dealer

Initially, the Dealer shuffles up a standard deck of 52 playing cards and each player is dealt two private cards face down - these are called your "hole" cards or "pocket" cards. A round of betting is then started with the player to the left of the blinds. This is the pre-flop betting round and like most games of poker, players can call, raise or fold.

After this betting round ends, the Dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a "burn" card and is done to prevent cheating. The Dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. This is called the “flop”. These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.

The player to the left of the Dealer starts another betting round and after the betting concludes, the Dealer burns again then flips another communal card onto the table. This is called the “turn”. The player to the left of the Dealer begins another round of betting and once again, the Dealer burns a card and places a final card face up on the table. This is called the “river”. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five card poker hand.

There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the Dealer and following that we have the “showdown”. All of the players who haven’t already folded have to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call.

Pocket

Players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to form a five card poker hand and the player who shows the best hand wins, unless more than one player have hands of equal value,  in which case they split the pot.

Texas Hold’Em is all about chips. You start with some chips and your goal is to take your opponents’ chips. When you play a Texas Hold’em tournament, the chips in play have a nominal value and the winner is the person who outlasts all other players and accumulates all of the chips that are in play.

When you play in a cash game, the chips in play will have a cash value and you can join or leave a table game at any stage.

Hold'em is either No Limit or Pot Limit. No Limit means that at any time you may bet or raise any amount of your chips - from the minimum bet to your whole stack. In Pot Limit games, you may only bet or raise as much as is in the pot at any given time.

Poker hand guide

Royal Flush: Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of the same suit.

Straight Flush: Straight with all five cards in the same suit.

Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same number or face value (“quads”).

Full House: Three cards of one number or face value and two cards of another number or face value. If more than one player has a full house, the full house with the highest ranking three of a kind (“trips”) wins.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit. If there is more than one flush, the hand with the highest card(s) wins.

Straight: Five cards in sequence. Cards can be in any suit. An Ace can be used in the highest straight (10, J, Q, K, A) and the lowest straight (A, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same number or face value (“trips”).

Two Pair: If two players have two pair, the hand with the highest pair wins. If they have the same high pair, whoever has the second highest pair wins. If they have the same two pair, whoever has the highest fifth card (“kicker”) wins.

One Pair: Two cards of the same number or face value. If two players have the same pair, the highest outside card(s) wins.

High Card: The hand with the highest card(s) wins.