Online Poker Guide – Find the Best Casino to Play Poker

Online poker is open to everyone and you don’t have to go to the casino to play poker. You can play while staying at home for the lowest possible limits (literally pennies) or moreover for free (play money).

The basic rules of online Poker

There are days when more than 100 million people around the world play poker online and thonline pokere number of poker players is still growing.

A standard deck of 52 playing cards is used with 4 different suits: hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs. The Ace is the highest and the 2 is the lowest. In poker, all suits are equal.

The first step to mastering online poker is to learn the basics. These values are the same for all forms of poker (unless you are dealing with Hi Lo variations). The worst possible hand is 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and the best possible hand is an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten of the same suit (Royal Flush). The subsequent hand is one pair. A pair consists of two identical cards. See below all starting hands ranked from strong to weak:

Royal Flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten of the same suit.

  • Straight Flush: Five following cards of the same suit.
  • Four of a Kind: Four identical cards.
  • Full House: Three matching cards (Trips/Sets) and a pair.
  • Flush: Five cards of the same suit that does not form a street.
  • Street: Five consecutive cards that are not of the same suit.
  • Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same suit.
  • Two Pair: Two pairs of cards.
  • One Pair: Two similar cards.

High Card: Five cards without having formed a poker hand. In this case, the highest card is the value. A hand of 3, 5, 10, J, A is an Ace High.

The way of play

carribean stud poker

Online poker is often played by two to ten players around a poker table. The hand begins after the dealer has dealt each player two cards. In the case of Pot Limit Omaha you will receive four cards and in the case of Draw Poker and 7 Card Stud it is possible to receive up to 5 or 7 cards. In Poker, you can use your own two cards and five dealt cards on the table.

Dealing

The dealer gives first each player one card and then himself if he plays poker. Then a second card is dealt in the same way. All cards should be dealt face down. The two cards (also called Hole cards) are in the player’s possession until the hand is completely dealt with. Then a new round begins and the same routine takes place. The button (dealer) does move aside, allowing the next player to shuffle and deal with the deck.

The betting rounds

In one round you have four rounds of betting. The first betting round starts immediately after all participating players have received a card. The action goes clockwise and there are six possible actions: check, bet, fold, call, raise & re-raise. Each player must wait his turn and make a decision based on the hand strength. All possible actions will be on your screen during an online poker game.

The flop

After each player has made a decision, three new cards will appear in the middle of the online poker table. These three cards are called the flop. They have shared cards and each player may use them.

The Turn

Next is the second round of betting. After each player has made a decision, the fourth shared card, also known as the “turn”, is dealt out on the table. Again a round of betting takes place. Now, after all decisions have been made by the players at the table, a fifth and final card is dealt, also called the ‘river’.

The river

All players are allowed to place one last bet on the river and have the opportunity to bluff away opponents (pretending to have a stronger hand) and still win the pot. It is common for a player to try to pick up a pot without having a strong hand.

Possible actions

In poker, there are five possible actions to make, depending on whether a player hasn’t already placed a bet. See below the options that follow after someone has already placed a bet, also called the “opening bet”.

Fold

If you are not satisfied with your starting hand, you can fold (discard your cards) and no longer participate in the pot. Any money you have invested in the pot at that time will be lost. Now your hand is dead and you can’t retrieve it, even if you suddenly realize you’ve thrown your hand away by mistake.

Call & raise

Would you like to stay in the hand after a bet has been placed? Then you get the option to go along (call) or raise the bet. In case of a call, you must place the same wager as the opponent’s wager at that time. However, if you think you have a stronger hand, you can also raise. The first player with a bet must now place the same amount as you in order to stay in the hand.

Re-raise

When you choose the raise option, the original player has the option to re-raise. In this case, you’ll need to match that amount of money to go with the hand. Most poker options limit this type of betting to a certain limit, usually at three or four raises.

The 3 types of tables available online

On any online poker site, you can play :

1- Tournament

It’s a bit like the Poker World Cup: a lot of participants, only one winner and several places of honour. All players pay their entry fee (the buy-in) and play in a gigantic Royal Battle with usually big winnings at the end.

2- Sit and Go

It’s like a Tournament but with fewer people (usually 9, 6 or 2 players). So there are fewer people on the table and therefore more chances to win, but the potential winnings will also be less significant. The Sit and Go allows you to win minor titles and to progress, even to qualify (some SnGs offer you tournament tickets).

3- Cash Game

You arrive at a table with a fixed blind amount (if the blinds are for example €/$/£ 1-2, that means you have to pay €/$/£ 1 in small blind and €/$/£ 2 in big blind, and you have to put in at least €/$/£ 2 to get in a move). And you can leave the table whenever you want.

How do I sign up to play online poker?

Registering at online poker sites is simple, fast and secure. Registration on the sites is free and you can get a bonus, usually when you make your first deposit.

To play online poker, it’s very easy:

  1. You choose one of the online poker casino
  2. Then create your player account in a few minutes by filling out the registration form.
  3. Send your personal details as requested in order to fully validate your registration and to be able to withdraw your winnings.
  4. Make a deposit if you wish
  5. Choose the table and type of online poker
  6. Start to play

You should logically now know how to play online poker, and be ready to play a few tables (freeroll to start with if you’ve never played poker before).

Good luck to you!