Have you ever heard of the saying that Jack of all trades and master of none? We are sure you must have been hearing this since your grandfather’s time. We know that nobody wants to be a Jack, who knows a bit of all trades but has not mastered any one of them. That is why we have designed this special poker guide for you which gives you an unmatched poker learning experience with power-packed poker strategies, poker actions, and poker rules at the same platform to turn you into a poker master. On this page, you will comprehensively learn about ‘how to play poker online
Poker is a mind game that is played all over the world with great enthusiasm and excitement by the players. Having gained so much popularity among poker lovers, it has geared up the spirit of learning poker among the people who like playing mind-sports. Some people also play it for fun and relaxation, whereas some play it as a hobby. Everyone comes to play online poker with a purpose which could also be to earn real money online while playing.
In the journey of learning poker, you will come across the process that will help you take a ride to the different destinations that come on your way to learn how to play online poker in India. To know how to play a poker game, let’s get familiar with these destinations that will help you understand better about the game.
Poker is played with a standard pack of 52 cards including 4 suits (spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds, arranged as per their order of value) of each card. The cards are ranked from high to low in this order: Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. A minimum of two and a maximum of nine players can play at a time on a table. The players are generally seated in a round-table arrangement in poker and the turns always go clockwise on the table. Before you start playing poker online, you must deposit some amount that is needed to play a game on that platform. That amount will be credited to your poker account and will be reflected in the same. You can use this deposit amount to buy the chips for the cash games and also tickets in case of tournaments.
Poker terms are specialized words that have a specific meaning related to poker. Like all other games, poker has its poker dictionary or poker glossary that combines all the relevant poker terms which are important to know if you are a beginner at poker. Some of them are poker check, poker call, poker turn, check-raise, ante, straddle, royal flush, straight flush, etc.
The game of poker has different formats of play. You can choose to play your favorite poker variant as per your choice. The famous poker variants that are played online are Texas Holdem, Omaha Poker, and Poker Tournaments. All poker variants have different sets of poker rules. Out of these, Texas Holdem Poker is the most popular variant of poker because of its easy and simple rules. The main objective of playing Texas Holdem is to win the pot (the money that is put on the table in the form of bets to play the game). Learning Texas Holdem rules is very easy for you. You can learn to play it with the help of our Poker Guide available on Poker Guide.
The core concept of poker revolves around making the best combination of five cards that are dealt to you. The one who makes the best combination or hand wins the game. To play poker online, firstly, the dealer will deal you two hole cards also known as private cards that you are not supposed to reveal to anyone before the final round of poker. After dealing these cards to you, five community cards are dealt on the table which is common for everyone. All the players use these community cards in addition to their hole cards to make the best hand to win the pot.
Hand Ranking is basically a combination of cards that you make after you are dealt with five cards on the table. The best hand ranking has the maximum probability to win. The various hand rankings are arranged in a sequential order starting from the best to the lowest hand in poker.
This hand is a combination of cards - A, K, Q, J, and 10 of the same suit. Straight Flush This hand comprises five cards of the same suit in a consecutive sequence, like 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
On this particular hand, there are four cards of equal rank, that is why it is called the Four of a Kind or Quads. Like A (of diamonds), A (of spades), A (of clubs), A (of hearts), and any other card as the fifth card.
On a Full House hand, there are three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. A combination of 10, 10, 10, 8, 8 is an example of Full House.
This hand comprises any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequential order. Like 2, 6, K, 8, 4 (all of the diamonds suit). If two players have a flush then the person with the highest card of that suit wins.
Straight is when there are five cards in a sequence regardless of their suit. Like 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (of any suit). If two players have a straight, then the person with the higher card wins.
Three cards of the same rank and the remaining two are not a pair. Like K, K, K, 7, 4 is an example of Three of a Kind.
On this hand, there are two pairs of different ranks and one card of any other rank. Like in 8, 8, 5, 5, J.
This is a hand in which two cards of the same rank make a pair and the remaining three are from different ranks. Like in 9, 9, 5, 2, K.
In a High Card hand, there are no combinations formed, so the card with the highest rank is valued. In case of a tie the player having the second-highest card wins, and if necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest, and smallest card can be used to break the tie.
It is the first or foremost round of poker which starts before the actual betting rounds begin. In this round, the two players sitting immediately clockwise to the dealer are known as Blinds. The first player just left to the dealer is known as Small Blind, whereas the second player left to the dealer is known as Big Blind. They initiate the bet which is mandatory for them as per the poker card rules. The total size of these blinds will determine the stakes of the poker game you would play. The bet amount posted by the big blind is double the bet amount posted by the small blind. Once they bet, the other players can choose to take any betting action about which you will learn after this. In case there are only two players left in the game, then the dealer is expected to make the ‘big Blind’, whereas the other player has to make the ‘small blind’. These forced bets or blinds are made to collect some money/chips in the game which would work as a stimulator for the players to play the game. In case of a situation where you do not have enough chip stack to make the blind bet, you have to put everything you possess (chips) at stake. After this round, the other betting rounds start.
It is the betting round that starts when all the players are dealt only with the face-down hole cards.
This round begins when the dealer deals three face-up community cards on the table. These cards are common for all and are used to make the best combination by all the players. Again, bets are placed in this round.
After the Flop round, we have the Turn round in which the dealer deals the fourth community card on the table and then the betting begins.
This is the round where the dealing of cards ends with the last or fifth community card. In this round of betting, the bets are made after the fifth/final community card is dealt. Betting in every round continues till each player either matches the bets placed or folds up. If no bets are made in a round, then the round gets completed after every player has taken the action to ‘check’.
This is the last or the final round in a poker game as per the poker game rules. In this round, the winner is decided by displaying the cards on the table. After the river round is over with more than one player remaining on the table, the last person who put a bet/raise will display his/her cards in this round. In case, if there was no bet placed in the last round, the player who is sitting immediately left to the dealer button shall display his/her cards first.
The motive behind playing poker is winning money apart from just relaxation and enjoyment. In poker, the game starts right after the cards are dealt by the dealer and then it goes clockwise starting from the player who is sitting just left to the dealer. To win, every player has to take certain actions when it is their chance to play with the dealt cards on the table/board. Choosing any of the following actions is totally at your discretion; it will display your poker skills.
Betting is the key element of poker that drives a player to play the game. A player can opt to ‘bet’ in a hand even when none of the players have chosen to ‘bet’ in that particular round. Once you choose to ‘bet’, your opponents have to either ‘call’ or ‘raise’ in order to stay in the game.
‘Raise’, as the name suggests, is the action taken to increase the existing betting amount in a particular hand. This action can be taken to match the highest bet and even make a greater bet than the previous one. The subsequent players are then supposed to ‘call the raise’ or ‘re-raise' in order to retain themselves in that hand.
By making a ‘call’ in poker, you intend to match the highest bet or raise to stay active in the hand.
A player choosing this action indicates his/her refusal to bet (or open the betting, in case he is the first player on the table). Taking this action would lead to passing on your turn to the next player on your left side at the poker table. A player can check only when there is no betting in the existing round.
Taking this action would mean that you drop out of the current hand as a result of low hand ranking or no combination of cards at all.
Can you imagine poker without betting? We know that the answer is a definite ‘no’ as betting creates thrill and doubles the spirit of the players to play and win. When a player chooses to bet, he shows the ability to stay in the game. Certain betting structures are possible in the most famous poker variants. These are:
In the games that offer a ‘No Limit’ betting structure, a player can bet or raise the bet to any amount without any limit.
Poker variants that offer this structure have already set a predefined limit of betting for a particular round or game.
This structure is mostly used in the famous poker variant known as Pot Limit Omaha which allows a player to bet or raise the betting amount to and including the total size of the pot.
As a beginner, you should play the hands that you are sure of. Being aggressive and taking too much risk in the beginning when you are learning the game can cost you even much more than expected. So, be selective with the poker hands and play only the ones that can get you the pot.
As a novice poker player, adopting bluffing as a strategy may not prove to be fruitful to you as bluffing is an art that needs regular practice and understanding the strategies of the opponents, so this may become a part of your play once you become a regular poker player. Initially playing premium hands cautiously is good to go.
This poker strategy may seem to be a basic one to you when you play online poker. But, it really helps as at the beginning of your poker play when you are at the learning stage, playing against weak players will help you boost your confidence and you can also learn from your mistakes to become a pro poker player in the long run.
Being in position in poker refers to being at the button. The button or the dealer button is a very advantageous position in poker. When you are in this position that means you are the last one to act at the table. So, playing more hands from here will be beneficial for you as till your turn, you will be able to assess the strength of your opponents and Every poker pro will tell you that the best position to play from is the button. Try to play as many hands when you are in later positions. Play tight and safe when you are one of the early players. Play maximum hands when you are on the button.
If you have just joined poker, then playing at a single table is better rather than shifting to different tables or doing multi-tabling frequently. Sticking to one table and observing your opponents’ play will help you make better decisions.
High-stakes games involve high risk, which can be easily handled by a pro poker player. For beginners who are learning how to play online poker, playing in high stakes is not advisable.
If you have the passion to become a poker expert, then being committed to the game is what you need. Play regularly to master the skills of poker and learn the poker rules thoroughly. The more you will play, the better your game will be.
Learning poker rules to play poker online in India is a beginner’s first step to know how to play poker. Getting familiar with different poker terms and learning the interface is foremost important for a beginner to learn poker.
Acehigh provides you the best online poker platform where you can connect with the like-minded people of the poker world and discuss different strategies and learn from them. We also offer you the opportunity to play with your friends on our website. You can also chat with other players while playing online poker.
Calculating poker odds is also an important skill to learn while learning how to play poker online. Poker is based on arithmetic calculations of poker odds and outs that tell you the possibilities of getting you to the pot or getting a particular hand on a street. So, to be an advanced poker player, you must possess the skill of calculating various poker odds and outs.
Poker is all about practice and learning. To get a hands-on experience of how to play poker online, click on the 'Play Now' button on your screen and experience the best poker play with India’s best online poker website.