Poker is a game that can be learned in days or years, but it takes a lifetime to master it. There are many variations, each with their own rules, but the best known is Texas Hold'em. The basics always remain the same: it is a game of luck, strategy and which requires good observation skills. It has psychological components, such as being able to interpret the body language of the players at the table to understand when to pass, bluff or unmask an opponent's bluff. Once you understand the basic rules, hands and jargon of the game, you can start focusing on strategy, in order to become a master.
Steps
Part 1 of 6: Getting Started
Step 1. Memorize the ten simplest five-card combinations and their score (highest to lowest)
This step is critical to success in poker. To get started with each hand, print out a chart and study it. Knowing the scores will help you know when to bet, bluff or fold:
Remember that if two players with the same combination face each other, the winning hand is the one with the highest value cards. If two hands are identical (the suits don't matter), the players are tied and the pot is split equally between the two
Step 2. Play for glory or a few bucks with friends
If you are a beginner, do not bet real money or set a very low stakes. Get used to using chips and considering pots by using small coins for your bets. This is a fun and easy way to practice your new skills and try your luck.
You can also impose a low limit for all players, such as € 2 or € 5 and just watch when you run out of chips
Step 3. Learn the rules of conduct at the table
Nobody wants to feel inadequate during a game of poker, so learn some of the rules to follow so that you look more experienced and feel more comfortable. Remember to respect other players and if you don't know what to do in a specific circumstance, try to be discreet and not too conspicuous.
- Pay attention to the game so you know when it's your turn to speak. If you are distracted, you slow down the game, disrespect other players and make them irritable.
- It is usually acceptable to have a chat at the green table, while verbally provoking your opponents, revealing your cards and lying about your hand are generally considered bad behavior. If you're not playing with friends, just make a few comments or exchange a few words.
- Instead of slow rolling, that is, revealing a winning hand to your opponent after wasting time, respect the other players and immediately show all your cards at the end of the hand.
Step 4. Learn to be a dealer
If you are not sitting in a casino, the players at your table will likely alternate in the role of dealer or dealer when they are in the button position. The dealer shuffles the cards, then deals them clockwise, from the first player to his left, ending with himself. The cards must be dealt face down, one at a time, until everyone has five (or 2 in Texas Hold'em).
- The cards remaining in the deck are placed face down in the center of the table and dealt to the players starting from the first.
- After each hand, the button, which indicates who is the dealer, passes to the player to the left of the dealer.
- If the dealer is always the same person, for example as happens in casinos, only the button is passed by the owner to the player on his left (the one who received the cards first in the previous hand).
Part 2 of 6: Playing Texas Hold'em
Step 1. Learn the four betting rounds of Texas Hold'em
This version of poker is considered the best known (it is very popular on television and on the internet). In each hand, players can check (pass the word to the next), call, raise or fold (fold). The dealer deals two cards to each participant, then reveals the community cards in the center of the table: starting with the flop (3 cards), then the turn (1 card) and finally the river (1 card). After the four betting rounds, the players who did not fold reveal their cards at the showdown.
Step 2. Assess the risks of your starting hand
In the first round of betting it is important to know if the cards you have are good enough to play, in the hope that together with the common ones you can get a good combination. In Texas Hold'em, you start the hand with two cards and have to decide whether to bet or fold.
You should almost always raise if your hand is a pair of 10's, face cards or aces. Ace-king and ace-queen are also good hands. If you are dealt one of these combinations, bet before the flop to increase the pot size
Step 3. Learn which hands to call pre-flop. This is the betting round before the "flop", when the dealer reveals three community cards. If you have ace and face or two consecutive face cards of different suits, you are in a good position to call.
- Two consecutive cards of the same suit are also a good hand;
- If you have a small pair, you should try your luck and call. Do not raise, as this is a hand that does not have much value and is often beaten by higher pairs.
Part 3 of 6: Developing Your Strategy
Step 1. Learn when and how to fold
The secret to success in poker is knowing when to fold a hand and accept losing part of your stack (your chips) or when to go ahead and risk losing more chips, knowing that you have a good chance of winning the pot.
- If after the flop you have a hand that doesn't interact with community cards, check and fold. Don't keep betting money with a combination you can't win.
- If you have a good hand after the flop, bet. This will cause weaker hands to fold and increase the value of the pot.
Step 2. Decide if it is worth "going fishing"
In this case, continue a hand in hopes of getting the cards you need. If your hand can win based on the cards that come out on the turn and river, you need to consider whether it is worth staying in the game. Calculating the odds can help you make this decision. If you decide to continue, you must bluff until you complete your combination.
If the card you need is not revealed, you can bluff or fold. In some cases, if you are a skilled actor and are lucky, you can win an entire game with a bad hand
Step 3. Practice and observe other players to develop quick reactions
The more you play and observe, the more skilled and faster you will become. Since all poker games are different, it is important to have good instincts instead of trying to memorize and apply complex systems. Try to react to situations that arise and see how other players behave.
Step 4. Consider your bankroll carefully
As long as you are a beginner, you should never invest more in poker than when you are willing to lose for fun. The bankroll represents the money you wish to commit to the table and you should never add any more money after you have completely exhausted it. Wait until you have earned enough to lose that amount again and play for fun.
- Beginners are usually advised to only play at tables where they can easily afford to lose 200 bets at the highest limit. Consequently, if the limit is € 5, your bankroll should be € 1000 and you shouldn't risk more.
- If poker becomes a real passion, take note of your winnings and losses. This will help you figure out if your new hobby is profitable in the long run.
- Remember that you need to keep track of your gambling income so you don't get into trouble with the taxman.
Step 5. Learn to read the most popular tells in poker
At the green table it is more important to observe your opponents than your cards. This is an advanced aspect of the game, but it is always useful to recognize the tells (the signals that betray strength or weakness) of other players and even more those that you show. Watch out for betting habits, such as betting early, often (perhaps with weak hands) or late in a hand (as an attempt to intimidate). Body language cues can also give you information about your opponents' hand strength, and knowing the most frequent ones, you will learn to avoid them yourself, so that you keep your strategy secret.
- Some classic tells include rapid breathing, sighs, dilated nostrils, flushing, shining eyes, blinking fast, excessive swallowing, or an increased pulse in the neck or temples.
- Players often put their hand in front of their mouth to hide a smile, while their hands shake when they are nervous.
- If a player looks at their chips at the time of the flop, they probably have a good hand.
- If a mediocre player tries to impress you by staring at you, he is probably bluffing.
Step 6. Learn to recognize "closed" and aggressive players
This will help you determine their betting habits and better evaluate their hands. You can see if an opponent is closed or cautious if he folds often in the early betting rounds, staying in the game only when he has good cards.
- Very closed players do not lose large sums, but are often spotted in a short time by the more experienced ones. Since they have a tendency not to risk a lot of money, they can often be persuaded to fold by a bluff.
- Aggressive players like to take risks and often raise in the early betting rounds, before evaluating the behavior of opponents at the table.
Part 4 of 6: Play More Professionally
Step 1. Check to avoid betting
You can use this term if you are the first to speak or if all players before you have checked. By checking your turn at the start of a hand, you decide not to add chips to the pot, but rather pass the word to the next opponent.
- On subsequent betting rounds, you "check" indicate that you wish to stay in the hand and that you will not add more chips unless someone else is betting them.
- If another player raises, no one can "check" anymore; when the word comes back to you, you will have to call the bet, raise or fold.
Step 2. You can say "open" if no one has bet yet and you want to do it first
For example, you can increase the ante (the chip to participate in the hand) by 1 € or the minimum agreed bet. If you decide not to open, the turns continue clockwise, until one player opens or everyone checks. If everyone passes the word, it's time to choose one to four cards to swap or announce the "suit", holding the entire hand. If the remaining cards in the deck are not enough to complete all the changes, those discarded by the players who have already received them are shuffled and dealt.
The dealer must shuffle the discarded cards and add them to the bottom of the deck
Step 3. You can say "I call" if you want to tie the bet of the last player who placed the bet
For example, if the player on your right has just bet € 10 and it is now your turn, you can say "call" or call to equalize that amount. At that point, put € 10 in chips in the center of the table.
Step 4. "Raise" to increase your bet
This strategy allows you to increase the value of the pot. Following a raise or re-raise, a new betting round begins in which the players remaining in the hand must either call or raise the last bet to continue, or fold. If all participants call or fold, without re-raises, the hand continues.
- If a player bets $ 20 and you think you have a winning hand or want to bluff, you can raise when it's your turn by saying "raise to $ 30".
- However, don't say "I see your 20 and raise to 10…". While this is often seen in movies, it's actually pretty unfair at the table.
Step 5. "Fold" when you want to fold
Folding or folding means discarding your cards and abandoning the pot, along with all your bets up to that point. Wait to receive the next hand if you still have chips or if you haven't reached your loss limit. To fold a hand when it's your turn, place the cards face down on the table and push them onto the discard pile.
You can fold at any point in the hand when it's your turn. You can also ask for chips to be exchanged, get up from the table or watch
Step 6. Show your cards at the end of the hand
This stage is known as the showdown. Once all the players who haven't folded say "check" or call, they must reveal their cards. Look at the uncovered hands; whoever has the highest combination wins the pot. In the event of a tie, the pot is split equally among the winners.
Part 5 of 6: Learning the Popular Variants of Poker
Step 1. Learn the basics of Italian poker
This variant often has custom rules that are established at the start of the game, such as whether to use jokers or other wild cards, which cards are high or low. The objective of the game is similar to that of Texas Hold'Em: to get the best five-card hand, but without using community cards.
- Determine the betting structure and decide whether you will play with a fixed limit, with one dictated by the pot or without limits.
- Decide who makes the cards by asking "Who is the dealer first?". Depending on the group you are playing with and where you are, the dealer can be chosen by chance or by mutual agreement. Alternatively, the organizer or host may decide to deal the cards first.
Step 2. Learn 3-card draw
In this game we start with the ante. The dealer then deals three cards to each player and all participants must decide whether to bet or fold. At the end of the hand, the dealer reveals the cards and whoever has the best hand wins the pot.
Step 3. Learn some of the lesser known variants
If you become a real fan of the game or if you want to impress friends with your poker knowledge, learn the rules of other variants, such as Straight Poker, 5-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud, Lowball, Omaha, Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple, Cincinnati and Dr. Pepper.
Part 6 of 6: Understanding Poker Hands
Step 1. Memorize the names and cards that make up the hands, then focus on their meaning:
- The best hand is the "royal flush", consisting of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades). Two royal flushes of different suits tie unless otherwise indicated by the rules of the specific variant.
- A "straight flush" is made up of five consecutive cards of the same suit.
- "Four of a kind" means a hand with four cards of the same rank (and different suits of course), accompanied by any fifth card (for example four aces and a nine). If you have four aces, consider that no ace is available to the other players, who therefore cannot have a royal flush.
- A "full" is made up of three of a kind and a pair;
- A "flush" is made up of five cards of the same suit;
- A "straight" is made up of five consecutive cards of different suits.
- Three cards of the same type are a "three of a kind". In this case your five-card hand is complemented by any two cards.
- The "two pair" is a hand made up of two cards of the same rank, plus two other cards of the same rank (other than the first), plus any one card.
- The "pair" means two cards of the same rank. In this case the five-card hand is completed by any three cards.
- "High card" is the hand with the lowest score (in this case it is said that you have "nothing"). The five cards in your possession are all of different values, they are not consecutive and they are not all of the same suit.
Advice
- If you do not participate in a cash game (play for real money), choose a person who acts as the banker. She will be responsible for the distribution and control of the chips.
- You can assign someone to the role of scorer, so you can keep track of the player's wins and losses, as well as the leaderboard.
- You can bluff, or lead your opponents to believe that you have a much better hand than you have, by betting large amounts. If your opponents believe your bluff, you can win the pot even with a weak hand.
- Don't bet more than you are willing to lose. Fold your hand if other players raise the stakes too much.
- Watching tournaments with professional players is a great way to study the dynamics of the game. You can watch them on television or on the internet.
Warnings
- Remember that poker and gambling in general can be very addictive. Don't overdo it and don't risk too much money.
- If you develop a gambling problem, you can contact support groups or call the national support line.
