Poker Rules

Poker Rules

There are many forms of poker available in online casinos and poker rooms. Still, the original game of poker remains the same and you will find that the differences between the variants are small. If you are completely new to poker it could be a good idea to start with video poker where you won’t have to consider any other players around the table. Once you get the hang of hand ranking and poker odds you will do just fine by the multi-player tables and in tournaments.

How to Play
According to the most basic poker rules you need to build the highest ranking hand out of five cards. What differs is how many cards you have on your hand and how many are communal cards on the table. The more you know about the cards in the game the easier it is to decide if you should take a new card, stand on the hand you have or surrender. It is common to make a bet after each round in a poker game. This let you know how the other players are doing since making a bet indicates that you have reasons to stay in the game.

Hand Ranking
Hand rankings are the same in all poker but some poker games will ask you to complete the lowest hand to win. It is best to start out with a regular poker game where the best hand is a Royal Flush (a straight from 10 to Ace of the same suit). This is followed by the Straight Flush (a straight with any 5 cards of the same suit) and the list continues down to a hand with one single pair.

Video Poker
In video poker you play against the computer and you don’t have to worry about the time you take for your choices. You also don’t have to think about keeping a poker face since no other players will read your cards by your moves. In this type of poker each hand is worth a certain amount of points. In the end of the game you will get the points your hand is worth minus the number of moves you made and based on this you are awarded a set pay out.

Making Bets
There are poker games where the bets can become very high. A good poker player with a solid bankroll could very well enter a poker game where the level is set high right from the start. You should always look at the bets and buy-ins in relation to your bankroll as the amount you could end up betting towards the end of the game must match what you have. The smaller stakes are safer but they won’t let you win as much money. You make the bet based on your hand and the moves of the other players. If the other players keep raising their bets and you sit with a mediocre hand you should probably just stand than risk losing a lot of money.

Playing with Rakeback
If you play with Rakeback it means that you will get a part of the rake fee back even if you didn’t win the game. This is a good and economic choice for any player no matter what his level of play is.