RPU.com - Rookies Poker University

TEXAS HOLD EM POKER - Online poker guide for rookies.

Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular poker game, and any instructions or hints on this page refer to that game. It is best to learn Texas Hold Em, before any other variation of poker.

PLAYING IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN !!

The basic poker hands are shown below.
If you already know the basic rules, the best way to get good at poker is to join one of the big online poker sites and practice at the low limit games, before moving onto the No Limit tables.

HINT - Don't practice too much at the FREE online tables.
Most players tend to play completely unrealistically at free tables, usually always playing complete hands and never folding. These tables are good for absolute beginners and for learning the software interface, but poker is all about the tactics involved when betting for real money.

Players generally play 'tighter' (playing only good starting hands) as the stakes increase, and tightest of all with No-Limit poker.


Depending on your budget or preference, various types of tables are offered at online poker rooms:

LOW or FIXED LIMIT tables are a good place to learn.
The bet and raise amounts for each round are a fixed size.
eg - At a 0.50 / 1.00 table - bets are limited to $0.50 before the flop and $1.00 for the last 2 cards.
You can play for as little as 0.05c at most poker rooms.

POT LIMIT tables - Any bets or raises are limited to the size of the current pot size.
eg If the pot size is $20, you can't bet more than $20

NO LIMIT tables - No maximum bet amount. Players can go 'All In' at any time, betting their entire bankroll. This is the type of poker you see on TV with all the big name players, and is alsothe most common game online.
No Limit Texas Hold'em is all about big pots and drama.
Many different tables are offered with different sizes of starting bets, or blinds.
The size of the blinds tends to determine the average pot size, so players with a modest bankroll can still find plenty of No Limit games.

ONLINE POKER GUIDE - BASIC RULES

Texas Holdem is a community card game - 2 cards are dealt privately, face down, to each player, and up to 5 cards are made public:

The Flop - 3 community cards are dealt upright by the dealer.
The Turn - The fourth community card.
The River - The fifth and final community card.

A poker hand is made up of the best 5 cards available out of 7 total cards.

POKER HANDS.

Knowing the ranking of the hands is the most basic thing to learn before you can play poker.
The winner of the pot has the best 5 card hand at the end of each game.
Or alternatively, is the last remaining player if everyone else has folded. In this case, the winner is not required to show his hand to other players - It is your choice to show or muck your cards..

Hand Rankings from high to low:


Royal Flush - The top ranked numbers in sequence, all of the same suit - Very rare




Straight Flush - Five suited cards in a sequence of numbers. In a situation comparing two Straight Flushes, then the highest number wins. Aces can count as either low or high.




Four of a Kind - Sometimes called Quads. Higher ranked quads beat lower ranked ones.




Full House - 3 of a kind plus a pair. A Full House is often described as "Threes full of Twos."
eg Jacks full of Aces. If more than 1 player has a full house, then the winner is the one with the highest set of Threes.




Flush - 5 cards of the same suit. If more than one player has a Flush, then the highest card determines the winner, eg An Ace High Flush beats a Jack High Flush.




Straight - 5 cards in a row with mixed suits. Aces can count as high or low - At either end of the Straight. Hands cannot 'wrap-around' with the Ace in the middle.
A straight is described as a High Card Straight. Eg a Five High Straight




3 of a kind- Also known as Trips or a Set - 3 cards with the same number.
If 2 players have the same 3 of a kind, then the next highest card - known as the kicker - decides the winner.




2 pairs - The highest pair wins in a contest between 2 pairs, then the kicker is used as a decider if 2 players have the same pairs.




Pair - The highest pair wins. AA is the best starting hand possible. Sometimes known as Bullets or Pocket Rockets




High Card - If no other hand is made, the player with the highest card wins.





In general, if 2 players match the same hand, then the player with the next highest card wins.
Suits do not have any factor in determining the winner.

ONLINE POKER ROOMS

The basic poker rules are the same online.
Player choose their preferred game from the Lobby, which shows a list of all available games, and the number of players at each table. If your preferred table is full, then you can go on a waiting list which notifies you when a space becomes available.
Once you join a game, the poker software shows an overhead view of the table, player positions, and poker chips, and deals the cards automatically after each round of betting.
New players can choose to post their blind bet , out of turn, to join the game in mid-progress, or wait until their turn comes around to automatically post the blinds.
When it is your turn to bet, you have a choice to Call, Check, Raise or Fold, which you do simply by clicking a button.
At the end of the game the pot is distributed to the winner, the dealer button moves clockwise, Blinds are posted automatically and a new game begins.
The poker room makes its money by collecting a small percentage of the winners pot, known as the rake. The rake is usually around 2-3% of the pot - far smaller than in real Vegas casinos.

BETTING ACTIONS

Call - To call means to match the previous bet and continue playing
Raise - To raise or increase the size of the bet. This can be a fixed amount in a limit game, capped at a certain pot limit size, or all of your chips in a no-limit game (Going 'All In')
Check - To check is to neither bet nor fold. If all players check, then the next card is dealt.
Fold - To give up your hand and quit that particular game.

Getting Started - THE BLINDS

In most online Texas Holdem games, the action begins with the 2 players to the dealers left posting 'Blinds' - these are small 'blind' bets to get the game started before any cards are dealt. The player to the left of the dealer places the SMALL BLIND , and the player to his left places the BIG BLIND. These bets are fixed amounts and every player takes turns to post the blinds as the dealer button moves clockwise round the table after each game.
The big blind is normally the smallest bet available, with the small blind being half that amount.
eg $2 big blind and a $1 small bling.
An alternative to the blind system is an ANTE - a small bet posted by every player to start the pot. In poker tournaments the blinds or ante size constantly increases as the tournament progresses, and players are eliminated.

Online poker sites show the dealer button and the blind bets marked clearly. Blinds are posted and cards dealt automatically, so all you have to do is concentrate on the betting.

FIRST ROUND OF BETTING.
The player to the left of the big blind (3rd player to the left of the dealer position) is first to bet, and betting moves clockwise in turn.
Players can Call, Raise or Fold at this point. No Checking is allowed yet, as players must at least match the big blind to remain in the game..

SECOND ROUND - THE FLOP
After all players have made their bet, 3 community cards are dealt, known as the Flop.
This is when you see what the possibilities are for a good hand. eg you may have a good pair, or 4 suited cards with the chance of making a flush.
Betting begins with the first player remaining to the dealers left.
The option to check is now available where you can choose to neither call nor bet if there has been no bet made before you. If all players check then the next card is dealt.
Sometimes checking is used as a form of bluff, to pretend you have a weak hand.

THIRD ROUND - THE TURN
Another round of betting.

THIRD ROUND - THE RIVER
Last round of betting.
The remaining players show their cards and the person with the best 5 card hand out of 7 ( the 2 private or 'pocket' cards plus the 5 community cards) wins the pot.

-----------------------------

POKER STRATEGY

Poker strategy at its most basic involves common sense.
Players with a good hand should generally bet or raise to try to get more money into the pot, and players with a weak hand should fold, or check in the hope that their hand will improve.

A lot of educated guesswork is also involved, You can try to work out what hand your opponent has, and what hand they think you have. Bluffs can be made where you try to make other players think you have a better hand than you actually have, in the hope that the other player will fold.

Players are often classified as Loose or Tight players, depending on how many hands they are willing to play. Players can also be seen as 'Aggressive' or 'Passive' depending on how often they are willing to bet or raise. Other players make decisions partly based on how they classify you after a number of hands have been played.
eg someone who hardly ever raises is usually considered to have a good hand when they eventually do bet. When playing poker for money, the best types of players to play against are those who simply call all the time, hoping for a good hand on the river.

You should adjust your game style depending on the number of players, playing one-on-one with only one more player means that you can play much looser, as there is a 50-50 chance that you will have the best initial hand, compared to 10% in a 10 player game.

Be aware of the best possible hands available when the flop is shown, not just your own hand, and take note of how others play , eg someone raising after a possible flush is made on the turn.

Also to be considered is your poker position. As the dealer button moves round the table with every game, the positions change - The best position to be in is the final person to bet - then you have the most information as to what hand other players likely have, eg if no-one else has raised before you.

TIP for online poker rooms - THE WAITING LIST

Every poker room has its share of players with a wide range of skills - from professionals to total newbies.. Obviously it's advantageous when playing for real money to get in at a table with one or two beginners out of their depth.
Far too often, online players just go to the first table they see an open seat at.
However, it can be advantageous to open up several full tables and watch the action for a few minutes - often there is are complete beginners playing almost every single hand. If this is the case, use the WAITING LIST facility to reserve the next seat that comes up.

Similarly, if the table you are playing at has a bunch of experienced tight players, you don't have to stick around trying to outsmart them, when it is easier to make money simply by switching to an easier table - No need to stick around and battle it out with the big guns when there are easier pickings elsewhere..

COMMON MISTAKES

Calling too much

The most common mistake with beginners is calling too much with a weak hand. It's more fun at first to be in the action, but not so much fun when you realise that you are losing more.
If you don't have a good possible hand before or after the flop, then their is a high probability that someone else has. Waiting it out in the hope of improving your hand sometimes works, but in the long run, you will lose far more money than you gain. Newbie players are often identified by calling almost every hand. With online poker games, the poker software usually provides statistics which show your ratios eg what percentage of hands you see the flop.
Only see the flop at large multiplayer tables if you have a pair or high cards eg KJ
and be prepared to fold if you don't get your desired cards on the flop.
Generally, good players only see the flop about 25% of the time.

Bluffing too much

Often online multiplayer games involve up to 10 players, and the chances are that at least one player has a pretty good hand. With the fixed bet sizes it doesn't cost too much to call and 'keep you honest'. If you are going to bluff, then make it seem believable if eg a flush or full house is possible from the cards on the table.

Going on TILT

Getting mad and playing badly after a few 'bad beats'.. Not so much a factor in low limit poker, but getting beaten on a lucky last card can be infuriating for some players when it happens a few times too often. And don't feel the need to get revenge on a particular opponent and win your money back fast. Especially if he is gloating in the chatbox. It often just results in losing even more as you are suckered into taking bigger risks. There are faster ways to win your cash back against other poorer players.

Just remember that the law of averages will balance things out in the end. And if you play consistantly well, you will eventually win more often.

Good luck at the tables !!!

========================

In the UK?
Check out our UK live poker guide.