How to Play Poker

This is the beginning of a wealth of information about the most exciting card game ever devised – Poker. You either already know the game or will learn it as you read through MPL's pages; if you're looking for a specific topic, you can always visit our blog. Poker is a thrilling, challenging, and rewarding game. Once you've been bitten by the poker bug, there's rarely a way out. 

You will quickly discover that there are numerous variations of poker, but the one thing they all have in common is that you must use your best five cards to make your hand. All forms of poker use a fifty-two card deck made up of ranks beginning with a two, commonly referred to as a deuce, and continuing by number through ten, followed by Jack, Queen, King, and Ace in that order.

In poker, there are four suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs, all of which have equal value. So, the fifty-two cards in a complete deck are made up of four different suits of thirteen different ranks.

Playing Poker on MPL

Always remember:

• A standard poker hand is made up of five cards. 
• Each poker hand is ranked in a predetermined order. 
• The higher the rank, the less likely you are to get it statistically. 
• Because two pairs always beat one pair and a flush always beats a straight, the higher the rank of your hand, the better. 
• When players have the same hand rank, the best hand can be determined in a variety of ways. 

When a player has more than five cards and chooses five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards have no bearing on the ranking. Poker ranks are always based solely on five cards.

Poker Hand Rankings 

To play poker, you must understand how hands rank and which hand will overpower which combination in a showdown. 

Royal Flush: The highest poker hand is a Royal Flush. It is made up of the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of the same suit. Because all suits are the same, all royal flushes are the same.

Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 3-4-5-6-7. When comparing two straight flushes, the one with the higher top card wins. An ace can be taken as a low card, 5-4-3-2-A is a straight flush, but its top card is a five rather than an ace, making it the lowest type of straight flush. The cards can't "turn the corner": 4-3-2-A-K isn't a valid combination.

Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, for instance, four queens. The fifth card can represent anything. This combination is sometimes referred to as "quads," and in some parts of Europe, it is referred to as a "poker," though this term is not used in English. When there are two fours of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards wins; thus, 2-2-2-2-K is defeated by 7-7-7-7-3. It can't happen in routine poker, but if it happens in some other game or variant of poker, the one with the higher fifth card is stronger.

Full House: A full house consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, such as three jacks and two sixes (colloquially known as "sevens full" or more specifically "sevens on tens"). The rank of the trips determines which full house is higher when comparing full houses. For example, J-J-J-6-6 outperforms 7-7-7-A-A. If the trips were equal, the rank of the pairs would be used to determine the winner.   

Flush: When two flushes are compared, the highest card determines which is superior. If the top two cards are equal, the second highest card is compared; if those are also equal, the third highest card is compared, and so on. A-Q-9-5-3, for example, beats A-Q-9-5-2 because three beats the deuce.

Straight: Five cards of different suits in a row, such as 7-8-9-10-J. When two sequences are compared, the one with the higher ranking top card is superior. Aces can count both high and low in a straight, but not both at the same time, so A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. The lowest kind of straight is 5-4-3-2-A, with the five as the top card. 

Three of a kind: Three cards of same rank (and diff suits). Trips is another name for this combination. When comparing two threes of a kind hands, the hand with the three equal cards of higher rank is superior. K-K-K-3-2, for example, beats J-J-J-K-Q. If you need to compare two threes of a kind where the sets of three are of equal rank, compare the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand, and if those are equal, compare the lower odd card.

Two pairs: A pair has two cards of the same rank. When you have two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise, you'd have four of a kind), and there's an odd card to bring the hand up to five cards. When comparing two pairs hands, the hand with the highest pair wins regardless of the rank of the other cards - so K-K-2-2-4 beats Q-Q-2-2-4. If the bigger pairs are similar, the lower pairs are compared, so 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K, for example. Finally, if both pairs are identical, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 wins. Q-Q-5-5-4.

One Pair: A pair is a hand that contains two cards of equal rank and three other random cards. When comparing two hands like that, the hand with the bigger pair wins - so 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. . So J-J-A-9-3 triumphs over J-J-A-8-7 because 9 is greater than the 8 in the latter hand.

High Card: Five cards that don't form any of the above stated combinations. When two such hands are compared, the one with the highest card wins. If the highest cards are same, the second cards are compared; if they are the same, the third card is compared. So K-Q-9-5-3 beats K-Q-10-5-4.

Blinds & Ante’s

A process involving a button, small blind, and the big blind is used in many of the world's most popular poker variants. 

The blinds are compulsory bets that rotate around the table after each hand, shifting one player clockwise. This is how the button moves around the table, always one position to the right of the small blind. 

Some poker games also include antes, which are mandatory bets that must be placed into the pot prior to each hand. 

Here's an explanation of how the button, blinds, and antes work in a poker game.

The Small Blind and Big Blind

In many poker variants, the small and big blinds are the game's backbone. The blinds system is used in the world's two most popular poker games, Texas Hold'em and Omaha poker, and it's critical to understand how these mandatory bets work. 

In blinds games, each hand starts with the big blind in one position to the direct left of the small blind. Before each hand, players in these positions must place predetermined bet amounts. 

These amounts are typically noted in the game listing for poker cash games. In a live casino, for example, a 2/5 cash game means the small blind is 2, and the big blind is 5.

The Button

The button is a poker table position that is always one spot to the right of the small blind. The button, also known as the "dealer," has the advantage of being the last player to act in all postflop betting rounds. 

A round disc that goes around the table identifies the player in the button position. This disc, which sometimes displays "button" or "dealer," moves around the table with the blinds. 

Players in the button position are referred to as being "on the button." Other poker table positions include the cutoff, which is one spot to the left of the button, and the hijack, which is one more position to the left. 

The blinds are placed to the left of the dealer or button in all hands that use the blinds system. 

Antes

Antes are mandatory bets that must be placed by all players at the table or, in some formats, by the big blind player. 

A 1/2 cash game with a 1 ante, for example, requires each player at the table to put 1 into the pot before each hand. This is in addition to the blinds, so pots in games with an ante begin larger than pots in games without an ante. 

Many poker tournaments employ a big blind ante system, in which only the player in the big blind posts the ante prior to each hand. 

Betting Actions

Bet, Call & Raise

There are 5 betting rounds in poker, depending on whether or not anyone has already bet on this round. Let's begin with your options if someone has already placed a wager (known as opening the bet). 

If you don't like your hole cards, you can fold, giving up your cards and withdrawing from the game. Any chips you put into the pot is gone, once you fold. The dealer places your folded hand in a pile of other discarded hands (known as the muck) after you have folded it.

Assume that you want to continue in the hand after someone else has bet. In that case, you have the option of calling or raising. A call is when you match the amount your opponent already bet in order to see the next card (or to see the showdown, if the last card dealt was the river card). If you really like your hand, you can raise it, forcing the original bettor to match your raise if they want to stay in the hand.

Betting Rounds in Poker

Preflop

Each round of Texas Hold'em begins with mandatory bets placed by players in the small and big blind positions. These positions rotate clockwise around the table, with each hand moving one player to the left. 

The dealer deals each player two hole cards, one at a time, beginning with the player in the small blind. The preflop betting round begins once all players have two hole cards.

Playing the Flop - The First 3 Community Cards

When all preflop betting is finished, the dealer deals the first three of five community cards. These three cards are called as the "flop," and they are available to all active players. 

If they are still in the hand, the flop betting round begins with the small blind. If the small blind folds before the flop, the flop round begins with the next active player to the small blind's left. 

The first player to play has the choice of checking (putting no money in the pot and passing the action to the next player) or betting. The action then shifts to the next player placed at the left of them. 

That player can call or raise the first-to-act player's bet. If the first player checks, the next player has the option to check and they all can see the next community card for free (without betting).

Playing the Turn - The next Community Card after Flop

After the flop betting round, the dealer deals a fourth community card, known as the "turn," or "fourth street." 

The turn betting round is conducted in the same manner as the previous round. The first player to act (again, the small blind or the last remaining player on the left) has the option of betting or checking. 

If the first player to act bets, all other players can call or raise. If the first player to act checks, the other players can also check until someone bets.

Playing the River - The Last Community Card

The dealer then deals the fifth and final community card after the turn. This card, known as the "river" or "fifth street," advances to the final round of betting. 

The river betting round follows the same rules as the flop and turn. When all players have finished their turn (either calling the last active raise or checking if that is an option), the remaining players in the hand turn their hole cards face up. 

This is referred to as a showdown. The winner is the player who has the best five-card poker hand using any combination of hole cards and community cards. 

The best poker hand is known by the above card rankings.

Showdown 

If two or more players still have cards after all rounds of betting in a poker hand, it's time for a poker showdown! 

While hearing this term may conjure up images of cowboys from the Wild West in your mind. A "showdown" simply refers to players turning over their cards and revealing their hand. Following that, a winning hand is determined, and the player who holds it, wins the pot and any money in it.

Variations in Poker

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em is one of the most popular poker variants played worldwide. the game is played out in four betting rounds - Pre flop, Flop, Turn, and River. Each player is dealt two hole cards and five community cards are dealt on the table. The objective is to make the best 5-card hand using by combining the hole cards and community cards.

Pot Limit Omaha

Omaha, like Texas Hold'em, uses hole cards, community cards, and blinds. 

In contrast to a Texas Hold'em poker game, each player in an Omaha poker game receives four hole cards. Players must use exactly two hole cards and three community cards to form the best five-card poker hand. 

The point is to use two hole cards to make the best poker hand differs from Texas Hold'em, which allows players to use any combination of hole cards and community cards to make the best poker hand. 

Pot-Limit Omaha (Omaha with pot-limit betting rules) is the world's second-most popular poker variant. Omaha can also be played as a split-pot game or with a fixed-limit betting structure.

Stud Poker

Stud poker games are very different from community card games such as Texas Hold'em and Omaha. 

In a Stud game, each player receives their own deck of cards, some of which are face down and some of which are face up. The game does not use blinds because each betting round begins with a specific player being required to post a "bring-in" based on their face-up card. 

Seven Card Stud is the most known Stud poker game in the world. Each player is dealt a starting hand of two down cards and one face-up card. In a Stud poker game, the face-up card is known as the door card. 

The player with the least ranking card must post the bring-in, which is typically less than the size of a full bet. If they wish, the first-to-act player may also open the action with a full bet.

Razz

Razz is a lowball-style version of Seven Card Stud. In other words, the goal of the game of Razz is to get the lowest possible hand. 

In Razz poker, the ace is the lowest possible card and does not work as a high card as it does in other poker variants. Straights and flushes are not allowed in Razz.

Short Deck Poker

The game is a fast-paced, enjoyable variation on the well-known Texas Hold'em format. Short Deck originated in Asia a few years ago and is gaining popularity. 

Due to some recent star-studded High Roller events, the game is gaining popularity in the United States and is now being played in Las Vegas. 

All of the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are removed from the standard 52-card pack, resulting in a game with only 36 cards. This means that the 6 is the lowest card... Unless you use an Ace as the lowest card. 

The Ace, like in Hold'em, can be used as a High or Low, but in the Short Deck version of the game, it can also make up the low and high ends of a straight. As an example, a straight is a 6 7 8 9 (in this case, the Ace is a '5'). Also note, a flush here is bigger than a full-house, as they are rare to get.