There are many variations of poker, but all of them share some common characteristics. Players in all poker games have to use five cards in the best combination which is known as a 'hand', according to its strength this will determine their position in the game. Learning the relative strength of the hands is one of the first things that any aspirant poker player should do.

Betting on the strength of one's cards is central to all versions of poker - the worth of these bets is put into a pile or 'pot' in the middle of the table that all players vie for. Finally, all games finish with a winner being declared, who is either the player with the best hand or the only person who hasn't folded.

Poker variations

» Texas Hold'em
» Omaha Poker
» Omaha High Low
» Seven Card Stud

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em is probably the most popular version of poker, and luckily it's about the easiest to learn as well. The aim of the game is to make the best five card poker hand using the two cards that the player has been dealt and the five cards on the table that everyone can see and use.

The game starts at the 'dealer' position and proceeds around the table in a clockwise fashion. The dealer position is marked by a disc or button that moves around the table after each hand, this ensures that all players get the dealer button.

The blinds are placed

In Hold'em there are four rounds of betting, but before that two bets must be placed to ensure there is some money in the pot to play for. These are known as the 'blind' bets, because they are made before anyone has seen their cards.

The player first to the left of the dealer button places the 'small blind' - this is half the amount of the first bet. The next player to the left then places the 'big blind' which is the full amount of the first bet.

Cards are dealt

Now each player is dealt two cards each, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. These are called 'hole' cards and cannot be seen by any other player.

Betting

Now the first round of betting starts, with the first player to the left of the big blind. This position is known as 'under the gun'. The player can either 'call' - or place a bet equal to the big blind; 'raise' - increase the amount of money bet or fold - throw in his cards and give up his interest in the game.

When the betting comes round to the small blind position again, that player must put in half the small bet once more in order to call. This will mean he has put in the full amount of the small bet. The betting stops when everyone has put in the same amount.

The flop

Now the first three 'community' cards are dealt, these cards can be seen and used by all the players.

A round of betting follows, where players can raise, call, or fold. If the betting comes round a second time, players can also 'check' which means they wish to stay in the game but not to put any additional money into it.

The turn - A fourth community card is dealt. The third round of betting follows.

The river - The fifth and final community card is dealt. The fourth and final round of betting follows.

Showdown - If there are any players left in the game, the person with the highest card wins.

Omaha

Omaha poker is very similar to Texas Hold'em. So, although Omaha is not hard to learn if you know Hold'em, the tactics between the two games are very different.

The aim of the game is to make the best five card poker hand using the four cards that the player has been dealt and the five cards on the table that everyone can see and use.

The game starts at the 'dealer' position and proceeds around the table in a clockwise fashion. The dealer position is marked by a disc or button that moves around the table after each hand, this ensures that all players get the dealer button.

The blinds are placed

In Hold'em there are four rounds of betting, but before that two bets must be placed to ensure there is some money in the pot to play for. These are known as the 'blind' bets, because they are made before anyone has seen their cards.

The player first to the left of the dealer button places the 'small blind' - this is half the amount of the first bet. The next player to the left then places the 'big blind' which is the full amount of the first bet.

Cards are dealt

Now each player is dealt four cards each, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. These are called 'hole' cards and cannot be seen by any other player.

Betting

Now the first round of betting starts, with the first player to the left of the big blind. This position is known as 'under the gun'. The player can either 'call' - or place a bet equal to the big blind; 'raise' - increase the amount of money bet or fold - throw in his cards and give up his interest in the game.

When the betting comes round to the small blind position again, that player must put in half the small bet once more in order to call. This will mean he has put in the full amount of the small bet. The betting stops when everyone has put in the same amount.

The flop

Now the first three 'community' cards are dealt, these cards can be seen and used by all the players.

A round of betting follows, where players can raise, call, or fold. If the betting comes round a second time, players can also 'check' which means they wish to stay in the game but not to put any additional money into it.

The turn - A fourth community card is dealt. The third round of betting follows.

The river - The fifth and final community card is dealt. The fourth and final round of betting follows.

Showdown - If there are any players left in the game, the person with the highest hand wins.

Omaha high low

Omaha high low poker is very similar to ordinary Omaha. The only difference is that the both the high cards and the low cards win the pot. This means that the ordinary poker hands win half the pot, and the other half is won by a hand comprised of five unpaired cards lower than eight. For more information on low cards, please check our hand ranking page. Omaha high low is played using very different tactics from both normal Omaha and Texas Hold'em.

Both high and low five card poker hands are made up of the four cards that the player has been dealt and the five cards on the table that everyone can see and use.

The game starts at the 'dealer' position and proceeds around the table in a clockwise fashion. The dealer position is marked by a disc or button that moves around the table after each hand, this ensures that all players get the dealer button.

The blinds are placed

In Hold'em there are four rounds of betting, but before that two bets must be placed to ensure there is some money in the pot to play for. These are known as the 'blind' bets, because they are made before anyone has seen their cards.

The player first to the left of the dealer button places the 'small blind' - this is half the amount of the first bet. The next player to the left then places the 'big blind' which is the full amount of the first bet.

Cards are dealt

Now each player is dealt four cards each, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. These are called 'hole' cards and cannot be seen by any other player.

Betting

Now the first round of betting starts, with the first player to the left of the big blind. This position is known as 'under the gun'. The player can either 'call' - or place a bet equal to the big blind; 'raise' - increase the amount of money bet or fold - throw in his cards and give up his interest in the game.

When the betting comes round to the small blind position again, that player must put in half the small bet once more in order to call. This will mean he has put in the full amount of the small bet. The betting stops when everyone has put in the same amount.

The flop

Now the first three 'community' cards are dealt, these cards can be seen and used by all the players.

A round of betting follows, where players can raise, call, or fold. If the betting comes round a second time, players can also 'check' which means they wish to stay in the game but not to put any additional money into it.

The turn - A fourth community card is dealt. The third round of betting follows.

The river - The fifth and final community card is dealt. The fourth and final round of betting follows.

Showdown - If there are any players left in the game, the person with the highest hand wins half the pot while the other half goes to the person with the best low hand. It is possible for the same player to have both the best high and low hands, but if there if there is no low hand all the pot will go to the high hand.

Seven card stud

In stud poker games, players are dealt a card facing down followed by some cards facing up followed by and a final down card. Stud poker used to be the most popular form of the game, and it's still great fun even though Texas Hold'em is played more often now.

The game starts at the 'dealer' position and proceeds around the table in a clockwise fashion. The dealer position is marked by a disc or button that moves around the table after each hand, this ensures that all players get the dealer button.

Antes

In 7-card stud there are five rounds of betting, but before the play starts all players have to post an 'ante', this is a preliminary bet that ensures that there is some money in the pot for everyone to play for.

Cards are dealt

The game starts with each player being dealt two 'hole' cards that only they can see and a 'door' card that is visible to all. The player with the lowest ranking up card starts the game with a token bring-in bet, if everyone has cards of the same rank the player with the lowest ranking suit starts the game (suits are ranked in alphabetical order: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades).

The third street - The betting starts with the player to the left of the person who made the bring in. Players can either 'call' - or place a bet equal to the big blind; 'raise' - increase the amount of money bet or fold - throw in his cards and give up his interest in the game.

Fourth street - A second up card is dealt. The player with the two highest up cards starts the betting, where players can raise, call, or fold. If anyone has a pair, they can make a double bet.

Fifth street - A third up card is dealt. There's another round of betting in which the player with the two highest up cards starts the betting.

Sixth street - A fourth up card is dealt. There's another round of betting in which the player with the two highest up cards starts the betting.

Seventh street/The River - The final down card is dealt (this is the third down card, and the seventh card card overall). The final round of betting is started by the player who started the previous betting.

Showdown - If there are any players left in the game, the person with the highest hand wins the pot.

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