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Basics of Playing
Online Poker
Over the past 5 years poker has
seen a massive boom in terms of both players and prize pools. There
are thousands of people who make very good livings from poker;
however they all started with little to no background knowledge on
the game. This article is going to give you an advantage by going
through some of the basic online poker principles. We will be
looking at; hand rankings, game formats, game structures, poker
bankroll, game improvement tools, rakeback & bonuses, before
looking at some key points.
Hand
rankings
As you start your poker
journey, the most important thing you need to understand is hand
rankings. Each hand will hold a different value to the other and
learning which hand ranks the highest is a key tool to study and
become familiarised with.
With every hand in poker, you
need to make your best 5 card hand from your 2 whole cards and the
5 community cards. You can use as many of each as you wish, but
it’s important to remember that all players can use the 5
community cards also.
- High Cards – This is the
lowest ranking hand. Your hand will comprise of 5 random cards
which will not be co-ordinated in any way, meaning that the highest
card will be the start of your hand. So, Ad, Ks, 6h, 3c, 2d will
result in a hand where your high card plays.
- One Pair – From this we hold
one pair from our 5 card hand which means that two of the cards
match, hence a pair. Example 7d, 7h, As, Kc, 4h
for a pair of sevens.
- Two Pair – We now have two
pairs in our hand. Example, Jc, Jh, 8c, 8s,
Ah.
- Three of a kind – This is
where we have three cards of the same value in our hand. Example,
8h, 8s, 8c, Jh, 2S
- Straight – A straight
consists of 5 cards that that all run in accordance. Example, 2h,
3c, 4h, 5c, 6d. Remember that an Ace can act as a low and a high
card when it comes to making a straight, so A2345 and TJQKA are
both viable straights in poker.
- Flush – a flush is where we
can have 5 cards all of the same suit but in any order. Example,
3h, 6h, 9h, Kh, Ah.
- Full House – A full house is
where we have 3 of one number and two of another. Example, 8h, 8c,
8d, 4s, 4d
- Four of a Kind – This is
where we have all four cards of one number. Example, 5c,
5s, 5h, 5d, As.
- Straight Flush – We now have
a hand where all 5 cards are the same suit and all 5 cards run
accordingly in order. Example, 4h, 5h, 6h, 7h, 8h
- Royal Flush – The same as a
straight flush, however it runs from TJQKA the entire same
suit.
Game
Formats
There are many different game
formats in poker which all have slightly different rules for each
discipline. Often the underlying concepts are all pretty similar,
but the games dynamics can differ greatly.
- Texas
Holdem – The biggest and most popular game,
Texas Holdem is known as the ‘Cadillac of poker’. Before any
cards are dealt, two mandatory bets are made by players in the
small and big blind. These bets are made on each hand and are
rotated in a clockwise fashion. Each player is then dealt two cards
known as the hole cards before a round of betting takes place. Once
this is complete and everyone has had a chance to act, 3 community
cards are dealt face up on the table. Another round of betting
takes place before the fourth community card is dealt face up
called the ‘turn’. A round of betting takes place and the
final card is dealt face up called the ‘river’. One final round
of betting occurs before the final players in the hand declare
their cards.
- Omaha –
Probably the second most popular format of poker, Omaha is very
similar to that of Holdem except from the fact that you are dealt
four cards before the flop. You must use exactly two of your four
cards that are dealt to you to complete your 5 card hand. The
betting rounds remain the same to that of Texas Holdem.
- Other Poker
Games – there are many different games that online poker
rooms offer to online poker players. One of the favourites is seven
card stud where you get two cards dealt to you face down before
four cards are dealt face up, finishing with one final card face
down. Betting rounds occur after you receive each card and the
highest ranking hand wins at the end of the betting. Other poker
games that can be found in online poker rooms include can include
Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, PLO8, 5-card stud, 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo,
5 Card Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw.
Poker
Bankroll
Once you have the basic rules
of each game mastered, it’s time to think about your online poker
bankroll. This basically means how much money you can first afford
to deposit on a site and then look to increase as you
go.
No matter the size of your
bankroll, when starting out its important to play as low as
possible whilst you are learning the rules and regulations of each
game. Playing too high could become an expensive learning curve and
is ill advised.
You should treat your bankroll
with respect and never play above your means. You should be looking
to have at least 40 buy ins (full time players playing at higher
stakes typically need to have even much more than this) for a level
to determine where exactly you should be playing. If your bankroll
increases or decreases then you should adjust your limits
accordingly.
Game Improvement
tools
Since the poker boom a few
years back, there have been a host of sites offering free and paid
software claiming to help you improve. The quality of such software
varies dramatically, but there are some which are simply invaluable
when it comes to improving your game.
The first one is Holdem Manager
(HEM). HEM is tracking software that allows you see stats of not
only your play but also that of your opponents play. It’s a great
way to find leaks in your game but also to track how your game has
improved. Whilst the outlay of around $80 to buy may seem expensive
when you are starting up, if you can afford it, it will more than
pay for itself in a short space of time.
The second is a training site
subscription. Often the best way to get to grips with poker is
trial and error at the tables and whilst this is a very valid point
when first starting, as you become more competent joining a
training site to improve your game can be another invaluable
tool.
Again, they are not the
cheapest with most sites ranging at around $30 per month, but
again, they will simply pay from themselves over time due to the
amount of information you will get from them. Some of the main
sites are Cardrunners, Deuces Cracked and Leggo Poker.
Key
Points
- Get a basic understanding of
poker before jumping into any real money games
- Learn the hand ranking and
make sure you know them religiously
- Try different formats of the
game to see which you find most enjoyable
- Look to actively take steps to
improve your game
- Enjoy playing
poker!
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