How Do You Play Poker For Beginners
- Poker Instructions For Beginners
- How Do You Play Poker For Beginners
- How To Play Poker For Beginners 2 Players
Poker can be a challenging game to play. It requires focus, confidence, and the ability to read people, but it can be overwhelming for new players—you’ll have a lot more fun playing if you know the ins and outs of how to play poker and nail down the basics.
Because there are so many different forms of poker, I’m only going to cover the absolute basics, but I’m also going to give you tips that will just help you become a better player generally and not quit before you get a chance to experience this awesome game in depth.
Now whether you win money playing poker or not is up to you—you get out what you put in—so if you really want to win a lot of money in poker and compete with the big boys, you have to put in a lot of time and effort (beyond just learning the basics).
If you’re still reading, I’m willing to bet that you’re serious about learning this incredible game, so keep in mind that while some of these tips will only be usable in in-person poker games, some of these tips will be usable against machines or in-person—either one.
1- Learn The Hand Rankings
Welcome to Poker 101 for dummies – where beginners learn to play poker. Poker 101 will give you a grounding in the mechanics of the game and get you started with some winning strategies. Read through the following pages to get an understanding of all poker related info plus lots of extra tips and tricks.
Poker hand rankings indicate which possible poker hands have the most value, and to do that, you’ll need to understand how the cards themselves are ranked.
Here’s that ranking from lowest to highest:
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Jack
- Queen
- King
- Ace
Cards also come in different suits:
- Hearts
- Clubs
- Diamonds
- Spades
- Texas Holdem online is the most popular version of the classic poker game. The casino game follows the standard poker process of hole cards and community cards. In Holdem each player starts off with two hole cards which are hidden from the rest of the table. The community cards are dealt out in stages.
- Tips to play poker for beginners As they say Poker is not simply a game of odds, moves and calculations, it’s a game of controlled and exploited emotions. As an amateur, a Poker player should be well versed with the rules of the games and the card rankings. I would also recommend getting use to the terminologies and vocabulary too.
Hands are created out of combinations of cards and suits. Here they are in order from least valuable to most valuable:
- High card (the highest card in your hand)
- Pair (two 2s, two aces, two kings etc)
- Two pair (a pair of 2s and a pair of 4s for example)
- Three of a kind (three 7s, three kings)
- Straight (five cards in a sequence regardless of suit, so 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 10, jack, king, queen, ace)
- Flush (five cards in the same suit regardless of sequence, so 2, 7, 10, ace, 3 of hearts for example)
- Full house (a pair and a three of a kind, so 2 kings and 3 aces)
- Four of a kind (four aces, four 3s etc)
- Straight flush (five cards in the same sequence and suit, so 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 all hearts)
- Five of a kind (five aces, five jacks—this usually requires your deck to have a joker in it—the joker is a wild card and can be any card you choose)
Whoever has the best hand wins.
You need to have these hands memorized if you’re playing poker so that you’ll know how you’re actually faring as you play, but don’t worry—it’s easier to memorize than you think.
Pairs are the least valuable thing. Another thing to remember is that a pair of 2’s is less valuable than a pair of 3’s. The pairs move up in value as the numbers get bigger. The most valuable pair you can hold is a pair of aces. So a pair of aces will beat any other pair. But a pair of aces will lose to three of a kind, even if the three of a kind is all 2’s.
Generally, the more cards that match in a hand, the more valuable that hand will be. So if only 2 cards match in a hand, it’s not very valuable. But if all 5 cards in a hand match, for example in a royal flush (10, jack, king, queen, ace, all the same suit), it’s very valuable. So remember that the fuller your hand is, the more value it will probably has.
Also remember that the higher number each of your cards is, the more value it will have. Ideally, you will have a hand of higher value cards that is full. Having 4 kings is a great hand. A straight flush from 10 to ace is also a great hand. But a pair of twos won’t win you many games.
You’ll find it easier to memorize the poker hand rankings once you’re playing. Try to remember the methods I’ve told you for remembering the rankings and you’ll catch on faster.
2- Start with Small Amounts of Money
I know we all see the superstars of Poker on TV playing high stakes with millions of dollars at stake—most players want to jump right in and be a superstar of Poker immediately. Unfortunately, we can’t all do that. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t have a million dollars to lose.
Try to resist the temptation to start playing poker gambling for high stakes off the bat. You’ll win more money if you gambe for extremely high stakes, but you’ll also lose more money. There’s no reason to rush into playing the game.
Part of this reason I suggest starting off with low amounts of money has to do with tip #1. Tip #1 suggest learning all the possible combinations of hands before you begin playing. Playing with low stakes helps you accomplish tips #1 and #2 at the same time. I also feel it’s easier to learn the layout of all the poker hands in real games. It’s more fun to actually play poker than it is to memorize a bunch of spreadsheets.
If you spend time playing low stakes games, you’ll find you’ve learned all the poker hands and which ones are more valuable quickly and easily. Then, once you’ve learned them all, you’ll be able to move up to higher stakes games.
Another reason to start with low stakes games is that it’ll simply be less stressful. If you’re playing for small amounts of money, you won’t be as concerned about losing than if you are playing for $10 or $100 hands. Play with low stakes until you become more comfortable with the game.
3- Stay in Good Shape and Rest Well
Poker is a mental game, so if your mental state is bad when you’re playing it, your game will suffer. Take care of yourself when you play poker so you can put your best self on the table.
Humans can only take so much turmoil—if you’re drinking or tired, you’ll make mistakes that could cost you a lot of money.
People also can get stuck in patterns. If you make it a habit to play poker on weekends after a long work week, you’ll get used to playing poker tired. If you’re always drinking before or while playing poker, you won’t be the best poker player you can be. If you want to make money playing poker, you need to take resting seriously.
Make a ritual out of how you play poker. Play it on the same day every week, and make sure you get lots of rest beforehand. Eat healthy every day, and your body will be in better condition, allowing you to play at a higher level. Even working out regularly can keep you mentally fit and make you a more competitive poker player.
You may think it’s silly to stress how important this is, but it has a real impact on your game. Why take all the time to study poker and become professional if you’re not going to put your body in the best position to play the game?
4- Learn Odds
Odds are that you already know what poker odds are (see what I did there). But you need to learn as much about poker odds as possible if you want to make a lot of money playing poker.
Let’s start with pot odds. Pot odds are a concept that helps you understand if it’s worth your time to continue with your hand.
In most poker games, there’s a pot (the chips that everyone has bet so far) and a series of cards that are drawn during each round of betting. Not all poker games have this, but many do. When you get your initial cards, you may not yet have a good hand, but you may be able to create a good hand with the cards that are coming.
When you don’t quite have the hand you want, you need to calculate the odds that you’ll get the hand you want.
This list shows common Texas Hold Em Hands and how many cards you need to improve your hand. Here are a few different types of incomplete hands:
- Gut-shot (you need one card to create a straight, but you’re missing a card in the middle. Your hand might be 2, 3, 5, 6)—4 outs (an “out” is the card you need to get to complete your hand)
- Open-ended straight draw (you need one card to create a straight, but you’re missing a card on the outside. Your hand might be 2, 3, 4, 5)—8 outs
- Flush draw (you need one card to create a flush, but you’re missing a card of the right suit. You might have 4 hearts in your hand)—9 outs
- Flush draw & gut-shot (you need one card to create a flush or a straight, but you’re missing a card in the middle and a card of the right suit. Your hand might be 2, 3, 5, 6 all spades)—12 outs
- Straight flush draw (you need one card to create a straight or a flush, but you’re missing a card in on the outside of the straight, and you’re missing a card of the right suit. Your hand might be 2, 3, 4, 5 all clubs)—15 outs
Multiply the outs by two to find your odds of hitting the hand by the next card and multiply them by 4 to find the odds of getting the cards in the next two hands.
This tip is also related to tip # 2. If you start with low money, you’ll have a lot of chances to learn exactly how odds work without losing a lot of money. Play at low stakes until you fully understand odds.
Conclusion
Poker can be a challenging-yet-fun game to play. If you’re spending some time in Las Vegas, Oklahoma, Atlantic City, or any other place where gambling is legal, you’ll probably want to play poker. You can even play poker online—you just don’t want to be the one losing money at the table.
If you play with low stakes, learn hand rankings, stay in good shape, and learn the outs, you’ll be on your way to making lots of money playing poker.
What tips do you have for a new poker player? Let us know in the comments!
It’s poker night once again but you’re not exactly thrilled because you’ll likely end up on the sideline watching your buddies play, tinker with your smartphone or watch a TV series or movie on Netflix.
If you’re contented with how the usual poker night plays out, then by all means, you can do nothing.
However, there’s always the option to learn the game – the best part is it’s not that hard.
Today, we have written a quick guide on how to play poker for beginners. By learning the basics and picking up the lingo, you’re on your way to hit the tables.
Guide on How to Play Poker for Beginners
We’re assuming that you are a beginner poker player as opposed to a complete newbie to card games. If you are a beginner to card games, we recommend that you check out a guide for playing cards from Wikipedia.
There are two variations of poker that are played on a basic level: Stud and Draw Poker. These two types have very similar gameplay with a few differences.
Stud Poker
In this type of poker, each player is dealt 5 cards (in some games it can be up to seven cards).
The participants will then evaluate their hand and wager accordingly.
The player who wagers the most number of chips gets the win for that betting round unless another player decides to contest the largest bet. When this happens, the players who are still playing will reveal their hands.
The strongest hand wins all the wagered chips on the table.
Draw Poker
Each player is also dealt with five cards, and then a betting round takes place.
If a player decides to play his hand, he may improve his cards by exchanging as many as 3 cards for three new ones from the dealer’s deck.
If the player draws an ace, he can trade the remaining four cards for new ones.
Round of Betting
At its core, Poker is pretty much a game of chance.
However, when there’s the concept of betting involved, poker becomes a game of skill, strategy and psychology.
Poker Instructions For Beginners
Below are some of the basics for a round of betting in poker. With each betting round, each player is given the following options:
- Raise: A player can increase the wager to continue playing i f he believes he has a winning hand that will beat the other players. A player can also use this opportunity to do a poker bluff by doing a raise even if he doesn’t have the strongest hand but wants the other players to think he is.
- Fold: A player can fold to stop continue playing for that betting round because he thinks that his hand has no chance of winning especially when someone raises the wager. He loses the initial wagered chips but will not lose any more during that round.
- Call: If a player raises the wager, the other players have the option to fold their hand, raise the wager even higher or to call – this means matching the amount raised by the other player.
- Check: If no player has raised to increase the wager, the other players can check which is basically forfeiting the chance to bet.
Card Values
One of the most important things to learn about poker for beginners are the card values. If you know your card values, you can play any type of poker game with little to no difficulty.
Here’s the ranking of the hands from highest to lowest value:
How Do You Play Poker For Beginners
- Royal Flush: The strongest poker hand which is made up of 5 consecutive cards with the same suit that runs up to the ace. Your odds of getting a Royal Flush is 1 in 650,000 deals. Example: 10♥ J♥ Q♥ K♥ A♥
- Straight Flush: Made up of 5 consecutive cards from the same suit. Example: 9♦ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦
- Four of a Kind: Made up of all 4 of a given number across all suits.
- Full House: When you have 3 of the same number, plus a pair in the same hand. Example: 9♠ 9♦ 9♥ 5♣ 5♥
- Flush: Made up of 3 cards from the same suit. If two persons have a flush, the one with the highest card in the flush wins.
- Straight: Made up of 5 cards with consecutive numbers, regardless of the suit.
- Three of a kind: When you have 3 of the same number in your hand.
- Two Pairs: When you have 2 pair of cards in your hand. When two players have two pairs, the one with the highest pair wins.
- One Pair: When you have 2 of the same number in your hand.
- High Card: If there are no combinations, the hand is valued according to the highest valued single card. A (aces) is the most valuable card, then followed in descending order: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
How To Play Poker For Beginners 2 Players
Wrapping Up
That wraps up our poker guide. Hopefully, you have learned enough of the basics on how to play poker for beginners. Have fun!
For more information about card games, be sure to check out CardGameInfo.com.