If you are one of the frequent visitors of online casinos, then chances are that you have played Poker at least once. Well, if you haven’t, that’s your loss because it’s incredible. But we are here to help you!
We will show you the various rules of playing Poker online as well as how to choose a good online casino to start playing on. Poker can be hard to master, but it is one of the most accessible games when it comes to learning how it works. We are sure that as soon as you try it, then you will not go back to the other table games you like.
How to Choose an Online Poker Casino
The first thing you should look for when searching for a good online casino to play Poker on is the license. If a casino is licensed, it means that it operates legally, and if it is certified as “provably fair” then this is a big plus too.
Trustworthiness and reliability are two things that go together, especially when we talk about online gambling sites. So try to choose a website that has mostly positive reviews throughout the Internet. The better the real players’ feedback is, the better the online casino is.
Also, try learning out if the site has a good support system. It will ensure you will not have any problems in case something goes wrong while playing there.
The last thing you should look for is the bonuses and the transaction system. Try going for high rewards with relatively small wage requirements. You should also choose an online casino that features many transaction ways such as VISA, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller and so on.
The Rules of Playing Poker Online
Either you like it, or not chances are the majority of Poker games you will encounter on online casinos will be of Texas Hold’em variations. It is the single most popular genre of Poker by far. So let’s talk about how to play the game.
It requires at least two players to play, and there can be as many as ten on the table. Just like most other table games, there is someone who is responsible for dealing cards to the players as well as handling all the bets going around the table. Each player is dealt two hands, and then the game is ready to start.
In real life Poker, there are 3 “buttons” usually moving by one player clockwise. These are by order the “dealer button”, the “small blind”, and finally the “big blind”. The dealer button is given to the person who has to deal the other players the cards, but in online casinos, there is only one dealer who works for the “house” and doesn’t place bets.
As for the other two buttons, things are simple. Each table, based on the buy-in amounts, has a specific minimum bet which is mandatory if a player wants to join the round. The big blind is the same bet but doubled. These are used so in each series at least two players on the table will be playing, and the game keeps progressing.
Remember that either you have any of the two “buttons” or don’t you can still fold at any time.
You probably noticed I used the word “fold” which means to not call the bet another player has raised and thus exit the hand losing, though, all the money you may have put into the game until this point.
“Call” means placing the extra amount so that your full bet is equal to the money another player has “raised”, which means bet more money.
Bets can be placed in 4 stages each round has. These stages are the pre-flop, the after flop, the after turn, and finally the after river. They aren’t called “after”, but in this case, we used them in that way for your better understanding.
The “pre-flop” stage takes place just after two cards have been dealt with each player. Each following stage can start as soon as all of the current’s stage bets have been established. The “flop” is when the dealer puts down three face-up cards. The “turn” is the fourth card dealt face up and finally; the river is the fifth and last card that get put down. All five cards are visible both from the dealer and all the players on the table.
These are the basic rules so let’s talk about the things determining which hand wins. In Poker the person winning is the one whose two cards in combination with the five, visible to all, cards consists the strongest hand.
These possible poker hands (provided with examples) can be, ranging from weakest to strongest:
- High Card = when no one has at least a single pair then the person/s with the strongest card wins. Cards in order of descending power are A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1
- One pair = have a combination of two same numbers like two 3s, two 5s and so on
- Two pairs = have two same combinations like both two 3s and 7s
- Three of a kind = have a combination of three same numbers like three 9s
- Straight = have five numbers in a row like A-2-3-4-5 or anything of that sort
- Flush = have five numbers of the same figure, NOT colour, like a 3-6-9-10-K all of which are clubs, hearts, spades, or diamonds
- Full house = have three of a kind and another pair like 2-2-2-4-4
- Four of a kind = have a combination of four same numbers like four As
- Straight Flush = When you have a straight which is a flush at the same time like 3-4-5-6-7 all of them being of the same figure
- Royal Flush = the most powerful possible hand you can have in Texas Hold’em which is a straight flush of 10-J-Q-K-A. In some Poker variations, the figure of a Royal Flush can beat another
There is also another hand which can beat all others, including Royal Flush, which can be found in some specific Poker variations. This is the “Five of a kind” which, as its name, consists of five cards all of the same card like 4-4-4-4-(Joker) where if the Joker card is in play can take the part of any other chosen number. However, in Texas Hold’em this hand does not exist.
Both online and in physical casinos, you can meet the No-limit Texas Hold’em. Different from the usual variation where the bets a player can apply are accurately calculated. In the No-Limit variation, you guessed it; stakes can be as high as a player’s amount of chips are.
Apart from the “fold”, “call” and “raise” actions a player can make, there is also the “check” – a player states that he/she doesn’t wish to raise. The “double” where a player can double the bet another player has raised, and the “all-in” where a player raises all the available chips (=money) he has available to him.
Different Poker Games
On online casinos, you can join a table with predefined bet amounts, a high-roller one, where the bets and blinds are usually a lot higher, or a No-limit table where, according to the previously mentioned information, has zero limits on the amount of money a bet can be.
There also tournaments like the “Sit n Go” where, after buying-in, each time you come first on a table, after winning all of the other players’ chips, you either win a prize or, in the case it is a shout-out tournament, proceed to the next stage where the same policy is applied.
There are also freeroll tournaments where you can buy-in absolutely for free and win a respectable amount of money, should you be the winner.
Remember always to play responsibly and without an urge. These are the rules of playing Poker online you have to know. You could either register on a gambling website, and start playing on a table, or you could join a Sit n Go or any other tournament instead and go for big money.
No matter which way you prefer and choose to follow, we wish you may win. Good luck in all your online Poker gambling adventures!
