Poker Basics - Free Poker Game Tutorial

Lets take a look at the basics of Texas Hold’em poker, Texas Hold'em is played with a minimum of 2 players and a maximum of 9, all seated around one table. A Texas Hold'em game usually falls within 2 types, the first being a 'cash game' this simply means you sit down at a table with the aim of winning cash from the other players, you can join and leave a cash game at any time - the second type of game is 'tournament game' to play in a tournament game you must pay the 'buy-in' to join a tournament. The 'buy-in' will get you an equal amount of chips as everyone else in the tournament (usually around 2000) the aim of tournament poker is to win all the chips of the other players. If you lose all your chips then you're knocked out of the tournament. The last person standing then wins the prize (normally cash) which is offered by the organizers. So you know a little about the different types poker game available it's time to take a look at the basics of how a poker game is played.

THE AIM OF THE GAME

In Texas Hold’em, all players get two down cards (cards that you can see and no-one else can) plus five community cards (cards dealt face up in the middle of the table). The aim of the game is to make the best 5 card hand using any combination of the cards on the table and your 2 cards. Pretty simple really!

HOW A GAME UNFOLDS

In Texas Hold'em there is 4 acts to each game or hand. The first act is when you get dealt your 2 private cards. Good private or starting cards would be Ace/Ace or King/King, bad down cards would be 7/4 or 8/2. So you must now decide if you are going to play your cards or fold them. Remember in poker you don't have to play your cards if you don't want too. In fact the biggest mistake new players make is playing too many hands! Now lets take a look at how a game develops. You have been dealt the following hand, a pair of Aces (shown below) pretty nice!

YOUR CARDS

To get the action going at a poker table there are always 2 compulsory bets known as the 'blinds'. Each player at a table takes a turn at making these bets 'paying the blinds' - The blinds ensure that there is always a pot of money to be won at each hand. So lets say the blinds are $1 and $2 in this game. It comes to your turn to act, you have decided not to fold your cards (throw them away) so you must at least match the bet of the blinds to continue in this particular hand. Matching the bet of the blinds is called a 'call' you could also 'raise' the blinds, but we won't get into that just now. So you have 'called' the blinds and now the 'FLOP' happens! wow, what's a flop I hear you ask? The flop is the name given to the first 3 cards dealt face up on the table.

THE FLOP

So now you have 3 of a kind Aces! other players in the hand could be holding a pair of fives or 3 of a kind tens - still you have the best hand at the table and you'd be a fool not to carry on playing. After the flop there is another round of betting when players can 'check' (make no bet) 'call' (match a bet made before them) 'raise' (increase a bet made before them) or fold (throw away cards). Remember, if at any stage a player at the table bets, you must at least match that bet to continue in the hand. Once every player has acted then comes the 'turn'! wow what's a turn I hear you ask? The turn is the name given to the fourth card dealt face up on the table.

THE TURN

THE RIVER

The river card sails down and it's the 8 of Hearts. The last opponent still in the hand with you goes 'all-in' with massive bet of $100! you 'call' him and you win the game. You're opponent had a 'flush' five cards all the same suit (hearts) which was a great hand, but not good enough to beat 4 of a kind aces! You can check out my hand ranking guide for the best and worst poker hands - click here. or continue to a more detailed tutorial on how to play poker.

END OF THE GAME

So you won your first game, that was easy! you could also win a game if all the players at the table fold and you are the last player standing. lots of poker games never reach the river stage. Large bets will often force other players to fold hands well before the last card is dealt.

That concludes my basic poker overview. You can learn more about the finer points of playing online by reading my 'how to play poker' guide, it'll give you a more detailed overview of playing poker online. If you'd rather jump straight in and start playing now - just check out my 'where to play poker' section first, it'll show you the best deals available to new players.