Beginners
Beginner
This section is here to help people who are new to poker and want to learn how to play before "swimming with the sharks." So, where to go first? Here is a great start.
The following is specifically for a person who wants to start out, by getting information before playing for real money. A new player should play some of the free games to start, but only to get used to hand values and how to bet, fold and raise. Free online poker is not at all like the real money games. I have seen people who consistently win on the free tables go to the real money tables and lose horribly. The free tables really are for fun only.
I personally started out at Paradise Poker. I read the book "Play Poker Like the Pros" by Phil Hellmuth Jr., and I was ready to kick some butt with my new found knowledge. I very quickly learned that reading a book on poker does absolutely no good against the vast playing styles out there. Some players will stop at nothing to see if you are bluffing or you actually have a hand, some will fold to every bet made, and some just keep calling even though they have an unbeatable hand. I realized quite a while later that the book I read was designed for players at levels that were just too far out of reach for me. It is a great book to read, but it offers very little help at low limits. Needless to say, I lost my shirt playing with the techniques I learned from the book. I have now moved on, and learned more and more about the game. I am now sharing this knowledge with the world, or whoever may want to hear it.
Texas Hold 'Em poker is the best game for a beginner to learn by far. Other poker games like Omaha High or 7 card stud which entail a great many more possibilities for calculating odds and perhaps even trying to count cards, Texas Hold'Em can be learned in a few minutes by anyone, and you can be playing fairly well with a few hours practice. In order for you to learn the game, however, you must play and you also need to play quite often.
A Texas Hold em
poker game goes as follows:
1- The betting structure will vary. Sometimes antes will be used,
but most games start with two players to the left of the dealer placing
out a predetermined amount of money so there is an initial amount
to get things started. This is called "posting blinds".
2- The dealer shuffles up a standard deck of playing cards (52 cards
in all).
3- Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called your
"pocket cards" or "hole cards".
4- There is a round of betting starting with the person to the left
of the blinds. This round is usually referred to by the term "pre-flop".
5- The amounts that a player can bet depends on what type of game
it is. Limit or No Limit games are the most common, but there are
pot limit games out there as well.
6- Much like most games of poker, players can call, raise, or fold.
7- After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card
of the deck. This is called a burn card. This is to prevent cheating
in case someone saw that card.
8- The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table.
These cards are called "the flop". These are community cards
that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to
form a poker hand.
9- Next, there is another round of betting starting with the player
to the left of the dealer.
10- After the betting concludes, the dealer burns another card and
flips one more onto the table. This is called "the turn card".
Players can use this sixth card now to form a five card poker hand.
11- The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting.
In many types of games, this would be where the bet size doubles.
12- Finally, the dealer burns another card and places a final card
face up on the table. This is called "the river". Players
can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in
their pocket to form a five card poker hand.
13- There is one final round of betting starting with the player to
the left of the dealer.
14- After the final round of betting, all of the players remaining
in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player
to the left of the last player to call. It's called the "showdown".
Players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community
cards to form a poker hand. In Texas Hold'em, players can use one,
both, or none of their cards to form the best poker hand. In some
cases, the cards that are on the board will be unbeatable, or at least
nobody still in the hand can beat it.
15- The player who shows the best
hand wins! There are cases where players with equal
hands share the winnings. This would be called a "split pot".
Once you understand the basic structure of the game, you can play texas hold'em and even some of the many hold'em variantions. Hold'em is an easy game to learn, just difficult to master. The "mastering" part is the costly part, especially in the traditional setting of a casino poker room. Thankfully, you can practice all you want for free in online poker rooms. The only way to learn the game is to play, but as I previously stated, the free games are not like the money games so watch out. See our Game Rules for information on the various poker games out there.
Check out Titan Poker to get a feel for the action. Play all you want for free, and start playing for real money as soon as you feel ready. They have both low limits for newer players as well as high stakes tables. They have tournaments with as low as a 50 cent buy-in and they also have freeroll tournaments which you can win money as well.
Click the banner to download and create an account with Titan Poker. You can play for free, or for real money. Try it now. When you make your first deposit, you will automatically get a 100% bonus up to a maximum of $500.00.
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