How to play poker

How to Play Poker Online Poker

Overview

The word ‘Poker’ is a general name given to multiple card games where players wager on the strength of the cards that they hold. The players’ wagers are contributed to a communal pot that is won by the player with the highest hand or to the player that wagers and goes uncalled by his opponents.

All poker sites featured on FreerollTimes.co.uk offer the following types of poker games: Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo. All of the games are fairly similar and they all use the same Rank of Hands to determine a winner.
All poker games use the same basic betting options:

* Check – To abstain from betting, but continue to stay in contention for the pot because no other player has yet to bet on that round.

* Bet – To make a wager by putting chips into the pot.

* Call – (Match the bet). To post an amount equal to the bet of another player.

* Raise – (Increase the bet). To make a bet increasing the size of a previous bet on that betting round.

* Fold – To turn in the cards to the dealer to terminate your play of that hand.

All poker games use structured betting. The player has no options with regard to the minimum size of the bet. If the game is a limit game, the max bet allowed is structured. If the game is No-Limit, the player may bet from the minimum up to the amount of chips he has at the table. If the game is Pot-Limit, the player may bet from the minimum up to the size of the pot, provided he has enough chips to do so.

* Blind Bet – A forced bet that must be posted before the player receives any cards.

* Qualifier – A requirement that a hand must meet in order to be eligible for part of the pot. For example, Omaha Hi/Lo has an “8-Qualifier”. That means that in order for a hand to qualify as “low”, it must have 5 individual cards that are a ranking of 8 or less. Example of an 8 or less hand: 8 - 7 - 6 - 2 - A The best low hand is: 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 – A

* Dealer Button – A marker moved clockwise around a poker table to denote an imaginary dealer.

OPF recommends that all new players learn the game of Texas Holdem first. Texas Holdem is the most popular poker game and the easiest to learn.