Poker is one of the most popular forms of online gambling, but it can be daunting for new players to learn. It's important to be familiar with the rules before playing.

Even those that have played offline poker before will find online poker requires a slightly different skillset. This page contains everything a newcomer needs to get started playing poker online.

Basic Rules Of Poker

The basics of how to play poker can be summed up as this: construct the best hand you can using your whole cards (which are dealt to you face down so only you can see them), and five community cards (which are shared by all the players at the table).

Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the dealer must pay blind bets to get the pot started. The small blind is paid by the player immediately left of the dealer and the big blind by the next player to the left. Then, it's time for the game to begin:

Players are dealt two cards that only they can look at; they must then choose to:

1. Bet/Call – Bet the same amount as the big blind to stay in the game.
2. Check – Pass on betting. If there's action from other players in the betting round though, you will have to decide whether to call, fold or raise.
3. Raise – Wager more than the big blind; this choice forces other players to bet more money too.
4. Fold – If you're not happy with your hand, you can give up. This means you can no longer win the pot.

Once initial betting is done, the flop (three face up community cards) is dealt and players can begin to assess whether they have a good hand. This is followed by another round of betting, during which players can check, call, raise or fold. Next, the turn (a fourth community card) is dealt, and players enter another round of betting. The river, a fifth and final community card, is now dealt. This is followed by a round of betting that gives players their final chance to try to push their opponents to fold. Now comes the showdown, during which players who are still in the game compare poker hands and determine who has won the round. If a tie cannot be broken by a kicker, the pot is split between the players with the highest hands.

Poker Terminology

All In-To place all of one's chips into the pot.

Blinds-Bets that must be placed by the two players to the left of the dealer before any cards are dealt.

Bluff-To bet in a way that implies your hand is better than it is.

Call-To match the amount wagered by previous players in order to continue with the hand.

Check-To pass on betting, provided there's nothing for players to call.

Fold-Giving up on a hand, either because you think it's too weak to compete or because bets are too high for you.

Hand-The best combination of your cards and community cards that you can put together.

Kicker-The high card that determines the winning hand if two players should tie.

Limit-Refers to the level at which bets, pots and/or raises are fixed.

Raise-To increase the betting level required by other players to stay in the hand.

While luck plays a part in online poker games, strategy and psychology can wholly subvert the outcome of a poker match if the player is not proficient in the basic skills. The skills below will help you build strong strategic and psychological foundations in your poker game, and help you build winning poker hands and potentially beat more advanced players.

In a nutshell, variance is the upswings and downswings in poker. While complex mathematics is used to understand variance and related outcomes like win rate, intermediate poker players should understand that variance reflects their overall performance.