Poker Basics

How the game of poker is played.

Let's start with Poker Basics, so you understand the game.

The essential of the poker game is to have the best hand to win the pot. This is the money or chips lying (placed) in the middle of the poker table.

This can happen in two different ways. A player can either display to her opponents the best hand, which either can be a high hand or low hand. This depends on which kind of the poker game being played.

Or she can bluff the other players and induce them to believe that she has the best hand.

Also in poker a player can win half of the pot. If there is a tie, the winners split the pot. In the poker game known as high-low-split, the highest hand and the lowest hand win one half of the pot each.

A poker hand starts by a player or players putting a certain amount of money into the pot. The amount can be in the form of an ante, one and more blinds (small and big blinds), a bring-in bet or any combination of these.

In a poker game with an ante, every player must put a small percentage of the starting bet into the pot before any cards are dealt.

In a poker game using blinds (small or big), one or more players will be chosen to make a bet or partial bet before any cards are dealt.

During the course of a hand, after each round of cards is dealt, players find themselves with options to bet and raise.

If at any time a player wants to stop playing her hand, she can discard it (or fold) when it is her turn. That player is not in the pot anymore.

If a player bets or raises and nobody calls her bet, she wins the pot.

If one or more players calls, then the player showing the best hand wins the pot.