Are you new to poker and just want to get a basic understanding on how to play and how it works? Then this article is for you! Below I have outlined how to play poker and all the basics you need to know to get started.

If you have never played poker before then I will try to explain it without going too deep and too much into detail.
The most common type of game is no limit holdem and this is the type that I will describe here.

With no limit holdem there are different game types for poker that you can play including cash game, tournament, sit and go and other variations. The most common ones are those I have just mentioned but my main focus with this site and what you’ll be learning is cash game play.

In no limit holdem every player is dealt 2 cards, also named hole cards. The goal is to try and win over your opponents either by bluffing or having the best hand. I won’t go into much details here but there are different starting hands that you can have, some of the best starting hands are AA, KK, QQ and AK. In contrast one of the worst starting hands you can have is 72. You can read more about starting hands here.

Position in poker

Before you have been dealt the starting hand you will be seated at a specific position at the table. In short these are the different positions you can be in:

• Early Position (EP)
• Middle Position (MP)
• Late Position (LP) including the button
• Blinds (small blind and big blind, SB, BB)

The best position you can have is to sit on the dealer button being in late position because then you get to see what everyone does before it’s your turn which is very useful.
The blinds are called small blind and big blind also in late position are close to the button. Before every new round starts the players sitting on the blinds will have to play the blinds automatically if it is online. For NL2 which is the lowest limit in cash games the blinds are 0.01 cents and 0.02 cents. The small blinds pays 0.01 cents and the big blind pays 0.02 cents.

Play your poker hand or not?

A fullring cash game consists of 9 player and in a shortring also called 6-max, there are 6 players at one table. In both instances, when you are dealt your starting hand of 2 cards you need to decide if you want to play your hand or not. This depends on a lot of things such as the position you’re currently at in relation to the blinds, what the starting hand is, and what action there has been before you.

Let’s assume you’re the first one to act in Early Position (EP) and you have a good starting hand such as KK. Then you want to raise your hand by using a raise size of 3-4 big blinds. One big blind on NL2 is 0.02 cent, this would mean raising it 4 times the big blind would be 0.08 cents.

The other players will then have to decide if they want to join the hand or not.
Their options after you have raised will be the following:

• Fold, not play their hand
• Call, pay 8 cents
• Reraise, raising your initial raise

If all the players fold it’s quite easy and you win the pot and the money.
When someone calls you it will go on to the next part where you will see cards on the board.
If a player reraises you, they might have a better hand like AA. After a reraise the action is back to you and you will have to decide if you want to raise again, just call or fold.

When you play there can be several players in one hand. For example, there can be a lot of players who call and want to see which cards will come on the board.

The board

The board consists of the 5 cards in total. The first one is called the FLOP where 3 cards are dealt from the deck. After that it goes around for every player again who will have to choose what to do next. Here the player can decide to check. To check means that the player checks and see what the other players do first. Checking is always free and doesn’t cost any money. However if someone bets the player can’t check anymore, the player will have to call the amount that was bet to see another card.

After the flop has been dealt and all the players have made their decision a new card will come. This street is called the TURN, and it will only be one card from the deck. The action is then back to the players and they will have to decide what they want to do.

After the turn the final street and card will come, the name of the street is the RIVER. This is the final card that will be dealt before showing which player has won. In short the player who has the best hand will win the pot and also the money, but you can also win by bluffing. That means that you’re trying to get your opponent to fold by betting.
If you want to know which hands beat which you can read about the different hand rankings here

Summary of how to play poker

That was a short introduction on how to play poker for beginners. I hope that you have some kind of basic understanding now. Please keep in mind that poker is a very complex game and it takes a long time to master. However when you master the game it can be very rewarding.

In short I have gone through

• which position you can have
• the starting hand
• the board, flop, turn, river
• betting, checking, reraising, folding
• when you win a pot

There is much more to learn, but that you now have a basic understanding of how the poker game works. However before you go rushing off to the tables I suggest you read some of my other articles for poker beginners to get a better understanding.  I wish you all the best on your poker journey and all the best at the poker tables!