No matter what type of poker you play, be it humble free online poker or serious money stuff there is one skill that, if you don’t have it, means you will lose badly a lot!
Even the blind mouse finds the cheese sometimes, and no matter how unlucky you think you are, how many chips you have, or how many people are left in your tournament, the most important thing is that you are patient with yourself.
Sometimes you get so tired of seeing terrible cards and your chip stack starts to drain enough to the point where you get desperate, and start calling with J5 off-suit, or other hands with the same idea. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, so have many of us and it’s a killer 95% of the time.
A key to success through patience is not to be patient just pre-flop, it must be all hand. Let me show an example, You draw a K (c) Q (d), and you call with 2 other people in the hand. The flop comes out K (h) A (h) 8 (h). Clearly this is a very risky hand, and most of the time you will fold no question.
But if you’re in that desperate or drained state of mind after a series of bad cards you may well get false confidence, and this will get you beat 85% of the time even though there are only 2 others in the hand.
Patience is one of the many obvious traits important to poker success. More so, is consistency with patience. Sometimes we may get carried away for a bit and then the losses occur. To build this consistency try to make rules on what you are willing to call pre-flop and what you won’t.
Obviously free online poker is a much different game than live, as online is much more fast-paced and live is more in-depth and slower. Despite many complaints from my peers, I like to milk out every second of my time limit for each decision. I recommend this to any competitive and casual online poker players, because it may be the difference between a bad beat and a great fold.
Many times in online free poker play you will run into, what we call “Donks”. Most of the time they will have a much larger chip stack, and will win hands using brawn and bluffing. It?s important not give into his bullying, and play it slow. If you get a good flop, let him make the mistake. The classical check-raise works well, but if you move too early, your chance will be lost to cash in. “Donks” can be a great source of chips, if you be patient and play it out right.
We will all get bad beats, it’s unavoidable. Bad beats happen to all poker players, no exceptions and there is not a thing you can do about them. What we can do, though, is play smart, take your time, and, again, be patient.
This is all very important no matter what sort of poker you play and how experienced you are, which neatly brings us to the final point. You can read as many poker articles, magazines and books, but nothing can compare to experience, so just go out there and play poker online for free at first to build your skills and understanding of the game and develop that all important patience habit.
And what better place to learn patience than to play poker free at http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you don’t have the fear of losing money like you do at on money sites or live tables yet you can still win real cash.
Plus the NoPayPOKER blog at http://www.NoPayPOKER.com/articles contains a huge pro written free poker games training series, with lessons from basic at how to play poker for beginners courses to masters level. Complete the intermediate level course at least and you will find yourself in the top 10% of online poker players worldwide.
This free poker online article we’ll look at when and how to use semi bluffing.
One question you may be asking at this point is what a semi bluff is. A full, or stone cold bluff is when you have a hand with no potential at all. But if you bluff where you have a bit of something and that’s what we call the semi-bluff.
For example, when you have a hand like Ad-Kd at a board of 6h-7h-8s-10h and you bet large or raise your opponent?s bet large, you are executing a pure bluff.
This is due to the fact that the hand didn’t get better with the Flop and got even worse at the Turn. But if you put your opponent on a weaker hand like A-Q or even a draw like A-J, then you can push him out of the pot by betting substantially. This big bluff is the only chance you have should you choose to go for it rather than fold. If he calls your bluff, then your A-K can’t stand much pressure.
Now lets say you have 7-6 and the Flop shows 5-4-J. Your opponent checks. You figure out that your opponent may have a raggedy Jack in there, so you check. Your intention is to fold if your hand does not improve and/or if he plays aggressive, but your primary reason for checking is to catch a 3 or 8 and nail the opposing A-J, K-J or 9-9 later on.
But what is he checks and you bet? Betting in this situation serves two purposes. Increasing the pot if you manage to improve to your Straight is one. Two is to kick your opponent out. If he has nothing well, naturally, he shall move out. (With 9-9 he may move out.)
But what if he has the Jack? If he had a weak Jack (say, J-8) he may put you on a bigger Jack, say, A-J, or K-J and he may move out. Because you bet (or raise) it indicates that your pocket cards somehow fit the community cards.
Now, he may call, and you proceed to the Turn and the River. You figure out now he may have A-J or K-J. Or he may continue with 9-9.
If your hand doesn’t improve yet on the later rounds then you can pure-bluff your opponent all the way or stop.
But what if you hit your Straight? Then there is a possibility that he was putting you on a weaker Jack after the Flop (like J-8) and he may even raise with A-J or K-J. He has no idea that the Straight was completed!
He has no idea that the Three or the Eight helped you vastly. You can now crush your opponent. This is the semi bluff part.
Now there are two ways for you to win: Win by the bluff where he folds and you get the pot. Or through the “semi”, both of you will show down your hands, and you win a larger pot.
Also, you can check and check until you complete the Straight, but you show your opponent your hand. The next time he will play with you, he might be scared if a similar situation arises.
If you semi-bluff, however, you still show your opponent if he decides to continue, but additionally, you can make your opponent fold so he cannot guess what you have.
Overall lesson? You can be more unpredictable with semi-bluffing so get practising! And what better place to play poker online for free than http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you don’t have the fear of losing money like you do at on money sites or live tables yet you can still win real cash on risk free free poker online.
Bullets in poker normally mean pocket aces but not this time. This other type of bullet, just as handy in free poker games as cash games, is actually a bluff-bet.
- By ‘first bullet’ we mean a continuation bet.
- By ’second bullet’ we mean a bet at the Turn like continuation bet.
- And by ‘third bullet’ we mean a bluff on the river.
How come we still fire bullets even if we don’t have the best hand?
That’s exactly the reason. I bluff on the pot because we do not have anything.
For example, say you’ve got A-8 on a Flop of K-K-5 (Flushes not possible), we push a continuation bet on the Flop in the hope that the opposition believe that we have the King and helpfully fold for us! If they raise though then we’ll be out of this hand.
The Flop above would be a hard board to raise if you have nothing. It would be fair to assume that anyone raising will very likely have a King, typically most players who do not have one will fold if someone does bet. That first bettor should be you, not anyone else.
If someone calls at the Flop above, it’s the end of the hand for us, too. If they have the Five, they have the best hand, and even if we pair one of our hole cards, there is still the lingering possibility that the caller possesses a King and is slow-playing it, so we slow down. The first bullet is sufficient.
Now, this is a situation where we can fire the second bullet.
In this example i have 7-6 and the Flop shows 8-5-K. You have first mover position so you bet. While you do not yet have a hand you will get the pot if the opposition fold.
But, if someone calls, and the Turn doesn’t give you a made Straight, (say 8-5-K-J) it’s still possible to fire a second bullet. It’s possible your opponent has a King, but it’s also possible it’s only an 8 or the like, and after that second came up overcard popped out, he may have started to feel rather uncertain.
Perhaps he thinks that you are betting because you have a King (which you do not have) so you continued betting to indicate that amid the Jack, you’re feeling undaunted.
If you succeed in making the other guy fold then great. However, we want to hit our Straight. If we hit our Straight, and fire a third bullet, our opponent has no clue that the last card helped us immensely!
He might interpret it as a bluff again and call. If he folds, then it is just what we expect if he was hanging on with a weak hand. But he might also have called since he had the King all along and is now beat.
On the other hand, suppose we do not hit the Straight. I fired two bullets. Shall we fire a third?
Say the river came 8-5-K-J-7. The third card made possible a possible Straight. That is among the reasons to bluff. Make it larger - make it look genuine.
Finally, suppose the Board did not help us fully, like in a Board of J-3-7-9-2 and we have A-10.
I fired two bullets (with the pure goal of making the opponents fold) already. Shall we fire a third?
If we had A-7 with this example, we can just check-check and hope that out pair of Sevens are good in a small-pot showdown. On the other hand, if we have A-10, we should bet again.
Which is the only way to win the pot. That is among the most effective to keep an aggressive game throughout. And, that is among the most effective to spare us the embarrassment of checking Ace high and forcing to reveal it first.
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A turbo tournament is a cash or free online poker games tournament where the blinds increase exceptionally rapidly.
In normal poker games the blinds increase every 12 to 15 minutes or so. But in turbo poker games you will find them going up frantically every 3-6 minutes!
Given these numbers, a turbo tournament is upto 4x as fast as a normal tournament.
So how do you factor in a speed of upto 4x into your playing style? Does it mean you will play more hands? No at at all.
For instance, if in a ordinary tournament you “small-ball” - a poker type of play where you play more hands than your opponents, like 7-6 (even offsuit) and A-x (suited) which others feel somewhat woozy when holding. And if you hit the Flop hard, you bet hard as well - because in the earlier levels the blinds are low in relation to the average stacks, so in risk-reward/Return On Investment terms it makes it worth while.
But in turbo poker games this style doesn’t work. Blinds increase, but the number of hands never increase; in fact, they decrease. If you are playing, say, 60 hands in the first four levels of an ordinary tournament, in a turbo tournament you will be playing just 15-20 hands, most of them you will fold, of course.
What hands do you not fold?
- A-A, K-K, Q-Q, of course.
- In early levels you can also try out connectors because your opponents might be a bit scared about losing their chips early with a, say, weak Ace or King.
- However, in the later levels, where everyone is near to blinding out, also put A-x or K-x (where x is greater than 10) and smaller pocket pairs in your arsenal.
Why? Because, simply, if you do not play, the blinds will not just eat you - they will devour you!
Should you move all-in with a wide range of hands than you are comfortable with in an ordinary tournament, you may make the others fold.
And even with a caller, you may be on a classic coin flip when you have a pocket pair; you could be a favorite if you have A-x (x>10) and the caller is a weak Ace; and you will have two live cards with K-x and Q-x.
In the late levels the game will be mostly preflop; a series of crapshoots; so make the most of preflop aggression.
However, you may also make the most of postflop aggression in the late levels.
Suppose you’re in the button with K-x where x is weak and the blinds call. You sense that the other two players have weak hands. Now the flop comes somewhat scary (A-8-3) for instance.
If you possess the Eight or the Three and both your opponents check, you can bet. However, it’s also possible to bet if both of them check even if you have nothing. You’ve got position; you are the best player to decide whether each other player has something.
Close to the bubble, if you’re sinking in chips, move all in with A-x, K-x or Q-x. Most likely you will be drawing live. Others will be afraid to call you because they don’t know what you have and they will be the one sinking in chips if they call you incorrectly (or if you luck out).
I hope this helps you if you are a Turbo poker tournament player. If you have not played much or any Turbo games then be sure to practice with free online poker before you risk any real money.
You can play poker online free turbo tournaments today as well as more chilled out freerolls, SnGs and poker leagues at our free online poker site at http://www.nopaypoker.com.
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In our poker online freelearn how to play poker guide we are going to unravel a lot of the bizarre words and phrases used in poker to name the various cards hand combos. At the end you will no longer be totally perplexed when playing poker and words such as Fat Ladies, Duck and Trey (to mention just some) are being bandied about!!
Firstly lets see what the popular nicknames for individual cards are. Then the ranked order of ‘pocket cards’ (what you get dealt at the start of a poker game).
I’ve split pockets into 2 sections, paired and unpaired, in the case of unpaired I’ve listed the ones that are considered most playable. Finally you’ll learn some of more popular and famous hands.
Depending on where you play you may hear the 13 cards used in poker called several different names. A letter or number symbol is also often used to identify the cards.
Now when you begin a poker game you get two cards called your pockets or pocket cards.
If you get 2 cards of the same type, e.g., 2 Queens, then you have what are known as a Pocket Pair, this happens about 6-7% of the time (or once every 16 deals)
In order of “power” they are:
- AA - Pocket Rockets, Rockets, Bullets, or American Airlines
- KK - Cowboys, King Kong, Gorillas, Kangaroos, Monarchs, or Krispy Kreme
- QQ - Ladies, Hookers, or Siegfried & Roy
- JJ - Fishhooks, Hooks, Jokers, or Jay Birds
- TT - Dimes or Tension
- 99 - Gretzky, Popeye’s, or Phil Hellmuth
- 88 - Snowmen, Fat Ladies, Dog Balls, or Race Tracks
- 77 - HockeySticks, SunsetStrip, or Mullets
- 66 - Route 66, Kicks, or Cherries
- 55 - Presto, Speed Limit, or Nickels
- 44 - Magnum, Sail Boats, or Middle Age
- 33 - Crabs or Treys
- 22 - Ducks, Pocket Swans, or Deuces.
You’ll always at least want to go onto the flop with pocket pairs but of course once every 16 isn’t often.
The following unpaired pockets though, are ones you may play depending on the risk and cost in the game and what you’re reading from other players, in order of potential, they are:
- AK - Big Slick or Walking back to Houston
- AQ - Little Slick, Big Chick, or Doyle Brunson
- AJ - Blackjack, Ajax, or Jackass
- AT - Bookend or Johnny Moss
- A5 - High Five
- A4 - Topped Four
- A3 - Ashtray or Baskin and Robbins
- A2 - Hunting Season or Acey-Deucy
- KQ - Marriage (if suited) or Mixed Marriage (if not suited)
- KJ - Kojak, King John, or Tucson Monster
- KT - Kate or Katie
- QJ - Maverick or Oedipus
- QT - Quentin Tarantino
- JT - Days of Old
- T9 - Paint Plus Connector
- 98 - Oldsmobile
- 87 - RPM
- 76 - Union Oil
- 65 - Medicare
- 54 - Jesse James or Colt.
There are many names for the bigger and final hand combos, here are a few of the ones you may hear more often.
- KKK - Alabama Night Riders or Three Wise Men
- TTT - Thirty Miles of Bad Road
- 222 - Huey, Dewey and Louie.
- AA88Q - Dead Man’s Hand
- AKQJT - Broadway
- A5432 - Wheel
- 3 of a Kind - Set (if you have a pocket pair matched by a ‘board card’)
- 3 of a kind - Trips (if one is in your pocket and two are ‘board cards’)
- Full House - Boat or All The In-Laws
- 4 of a Kind - Quads or Quad Set.
I hope this was a fun and useful article, if you are at the stage of learning the card names then I suggest when you play you play free poker online where you can learn without fear of loss.
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In part two of the learn how to play poker for beginners free poker lesson series we will step on from part 1 where we outlined the bare bones of the game.
Where part 1 simply outlined how the game works, in this part you’ll learn exactly what you do action by action in a real hand and at the end will be able to go play.
To begin, the action starts as the blind bets are laid by the Small and Big Blinds (SB and BB). Now it’s time for cards! If this means nothing to you go back to How To Play Poker For Beginners part 1.
From the Dealer Button (DB) going clockwise rounf the table each player gets 2 cards, face down, handed out one at a time (so the DB goes round the table twice). These are your Pocket Cards, also known simply as pockets and alternatively hole cards.
Now the betting begins; and, after all, isn’t that why you decided to take up the game of poker? Isn’t that why you’ve entered the multi-table freeroll tournament in the first place? Isn’t that betting and winning buzz thing the reason why you’ve joined a free poker site?
Of course that’s why you’re there, poker is all about winning money at the end of the day! Nothing more, nothing less (with the possible exception of social interaction in the chat lobby or the table’s chat box).
At this stage in the hand (holding 2 pocket cards), each player is betting on what hand they feel their pocket cards could lead to.
The betting begins with the player to the immediate left of the Big Blind (BB).
This player sits in what’s known as the Under The Gun position, UTG for short. This is because the Small and Big Blind position players were forced to lay down bets before they got any cards.
Thus, both the SB and BB are already taking part in the hand; albeit not voluntarily, at least not yet; they’ll have to wait until the betting comes around to them.
And, with this round of betting, each player has three choices:
1) To fold. Usually when they think that their pocket cards are garbage (or rags). By folding in this first round you won’t lose anything but nor can you play the rest of the hand.
2) To raise. Usually when they think that they hold really good pocket cards.
3) Or to call, (match) the Big Blind. You may do this if you think your cards have at least a bit of potential.
A 4th option you may have heard about, checking, often available in subsequent betting rounds, isn’t an option at this stage.
Once the betting comes round to the SB (Small Blind) if this player wants to fold then they lose their blind chips, if they have terrible pockets then this may well be the best thing to do. Or, this player can call the Big Blind (by simply putting up the difference between the Small Blind and the Big Blind). Or as SB you can choose to Call whatever Raise has been made, make a new Raise or Re-raise the bet amounts to a new level, I advise you watch and learn this process at the start and as SB keep it simple and just Call the BB unless you have awful cards in which case fold them.
Then, the Big Blind (BB) player gets to act. If there has been no raise then the BB can Check (do nothing and let the play pass by), or Call, Raise or Re-raise.
About Raises
In a No Limit Texas holdem tournament the amount a player can use to raise is limited only by the chips they hold (limit games as the name suggests have a limit) If his stack of chips is 1,500, he’s allowed to raise by any amount up to and including the 1,500 (all of his chips).
If the player uses all the chips then this is the infamous All In bet. Any time a player raises with all their chips it is called Moving All-in.
And, of paramount importance, especially since you’re at the how to play poker for beginners level of the game, make certain that YOUR use of an All-In bet is very low.
Please try not to become yet another free online poker ‘chip-flinger’ (someone who tosses chips around without regard to the quality of their cards).
When the opening round of betting is completed it’s time to see ‘The Flop’. Things will now start to get really interesting!
The Flop is the set of three cards that are dealt face up in the center of the table by the Dealer.
1) Each player may use these community cards’ to build their hand. Make sure to read and print a guide to what card hands beat what so that you have a feel for what you are trying to build!
2) Again, as here-to-fore mentioned, the middle of the table where these cards are dealt is typically referred to as ‘The Board’.
3) With ‘The Flop’ exposed, it’s time for the next round of betting. And, the betting that will occur is based on the 5 cards now available to each player, i.e., 2 Pocket cards and 3 Board’ cards.
The betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the Dealer Button, regardless of whether the Dealer is still active in the hand or not.
The player to the left of the Dealer Button will keep the initial betting action for the rest of the hand. Later, you’ll come to learn that this is the worst position to be in at the table.
Apart from that, the betting process is the same as it was in ‘pre-flop’ betting. However, bear in mind, all of the players who were dealt ‘Pocket’ cards may not be currently playing the hand as they could have folded during the opening round of betting.
So, whichever remaining player is ‘to the immediate left’ of the Dealer Button (DB), it is that person who will be the first player to act; through the hand providing he doesn’t fold.
He can check or bet.
A) If he checks, he’s simply passing the choices of checking or betting to the player who sits to his left.
B) If he doesn’t check, and decides to bet, then those that follow will have 3 choices:
1) They can fold
2) They can call
3) Or they can raise. But, since a bet was made, those that follow don’t have the option of ‘checking’.
When the round of betting has finished, it’s time for another card to be dealt face up on The Board.
This fourth card is called The Turn card, or 4th Street, and, again, the card may be used by all of the remaining players (those players that have not folded). It’s another ‘community card’.
Thus, each remaining player now has use of 6 cards, 4 Board cards, and 2 Pocket cards. There are 4 cards on The Board, one additional card to come.
It’s now time for the fifth and final community card to be dealt: The River, or 5th Street.
And, seeing as all the cards have finally been dealt, each player remaining in the hand can see what their best five card hand is. Therefore, it’s now time for the final round of betting. And, when the betting ends, the hand is over.
It’s time to see who wins.
Each player who has remained in the hand shows their cards, starting with the last person to initiate a bet. At a cash or free online poker site the software will handle the process of showing the cards.
The winner is decided via use of the universal poker hand rankings. You’ll find that in subsequent chapter; entitled ‘What Beats What’.
If a player wins a pot because every other player has folded, he can decide whether to show his cards or not.
Most people don’t, and it’s almost always advised by me never to show your cards. If you’re not required to do so; keep ‘em guessing!
Yet, when you reach an ‘advanced level’ of play, you’ll get a whole different perspective from me. You see, there are occasions when ‘deceitful strategies’ are going to be added to your acquired set of playing skills. And, a part of the ‘deceitful strategies’ will have you showing your cards. Not now though.
Summing up How To Play Poker For Beginners Free Online Poker Rules Part 2
In part 1 you learned the bare bones of poker, the structure and concepts of the game. Now that you’ve read part 2 you ought to now understand the actual mechanics of a hand of poker. In part 3 we are going to start working on more poker words and terminology, all those crazy card and hand nicknames will be unveiled! But so long as you’ve understood the first 2 parts you can now go and start to play poker. However I do advise you read up on what cards beat what first! Then you will have some sort of idea whether you should fold, call, raise or check!
At this stage I strongly urge you not to attempt to play on sites where real cash is involved, you are going to lose all or nearly all of it 99% certain!
Have patience (by the way that is a key poker skill you have to master) and start out on one of the excellent free poker sites you will find online. Later when you are more skilled there’s plenty of time to win thousands of dollars and the time spent playing free online poker will set you up for this.
Nick is Marketing Manager for leading free poker site NoPayPOKER. NoPayPOKER.com uses a virtual currency, FreeD which makes the poker games totally risk free, this makes NoPay the ideal place to how to play poker online. More experienced players also like it as it’s a great place to try new ideas and stategies out, plus the fact that the FreeD can be swapped for real Dollars is a nice touch too!
In the second part of my learn how to play poker for beginners free online poker course we’re moving on from the basic game structure outlined in part one.
Where part 1 simply outlined how the game works, in this part you’ll learn exactly what you do action by action in a real hand and at the end will be able to go play.
To begin, the action starts as the blind bets are laid by the Small and Big Blinds (SB and BB). Now the cards get into action. If you are not sure what is meant by blind bets, small and big blind then you need to go back to part one of the guide for a definition.
Moving clockwise around the table from the Dealer (DB), each player receives two cards dealt face down, one card at a time. These are also called Pocket Cards or hole cards.
Now the betting begins; and, after all, isn’t that why you decided to take up the game of poker? Isn’t that why you’ve entered the multi-table freeroll tournament in the first place? The whole betting and winning with it’s associated moves of dare and deception is the main reason you’ve joined that online poker site be it free online poker or massive stakes isn’t it?
Of course it is, the game of poker is all about winning money! With the possible exception of the social side anyway, the table and lobby conversations though if you are at all serious about money then this is a very minor reason.
At this point in the hand (holding 2 pocket cards), each player is betting on what hand they feel their pocket cards could lead to.
The betting begins with the player to the immediate left of the Big Blind (BB).
This player is often referred to as the ‘Under The Gun’ (UTG) position at the table. He’s given the UTG label primarily because the Small Blind and Big Blind players were forced to put up bets prior to receiving any cards.
Thus, both the SB and BB are already taking part in the hand; albeit not voluntarily, at least not yet; they’ll have to wait until the betting comes around to them.
And, for this round of betting, each player has three choices:
1) To fold. Usually when they think that their pocket cards are garbage (or rags). By folding in this first round you won’t lose anything but nor can you play the rest of the hand.
2) To raise. You raise if you think you’ve got good cards.
3) Or you can call to match the Big Blind bet. Usually when they think that their pocket cards hold some potential.
A 4th option you may have heard of, checking, often available in subsequent betting rounds, isn’t an option at this stage.
When the betting reaches the person who posted the Small Blind (SB), if they want to fold then they’ll lose the chips they were forced to put into the pot prior to the cards being dealt. Or, this player can call the Big Blind (by simply putting up the difference between the Small Blind and the Big Blind). Or as SB you can choose to Call whatever Raise has been made, make a new Raise or Re-raise the bet amounts to a new level, I advise you watch and learn this process at the start and as SB keep it simple and just Call the BB unless you have awful cards in which case fold them.
Then, the Big Blind (BB) player gets to act. If no raise has taken place, he has the option of either checking (opting to do nothing; thus telling the Dealer to proceed), or, he has the option of calling a raise, or initiating a raise; or even a re-raise.
About Raises
As this is a No Limit Texas Hold Em tournament, the amount of any one raise is only limited by the number of chips the player who is doing the raising is in possession of. If his stack of chips is 1,500, he’s allowed to raise by any amount up to and including the 1,500 (all of his chips).
Should he opt to make a 1,500 chip bet, it would be called an All-In bet. Any time a player raises with all their chips it is called Moving All-in.
And, of paramount importance, especially since you’re at the how to play poker for beginners level of the game, make certain that YOUR use of an All-In bet is minimal.
Please try not to become just one more free online poker ‘chip-flinger’ (someone who tosses chips around without regard to the quality of their cards).
Once the opening round of betting is completed it’s time to see ‘The Flop’. Things will now start to get really interesting!
The Flop is the set of three cards that are dealt face up in the center of the table by the Dealer.
1) Each player can use these community cards’ to build their hand. Make sure to read and print a guide to what card hands beat what so that you have a feel for what you are trying to build!
2) Again, as here-to-fore mentioned, the middle of the table where these cards are dealt is commonly known as ‘The Board’.
3) With ‘The Flop’ exposed, it’s time for another round of betting. And, the betting that will occur is based on the 5 cards now available to each player, i.e., 2 Pocket cards and 3 Board’ cards.
The betting begins with the player to the immediate left of the Dealer Button, regardless of whether the Dealer is still active in the hand or not.
The player to the left of the Dealer Button will keep the initial betting action throughout the hand. Later, you’ll come to learn that this is the worst position to be in at the table.
Apart from that, the betting process is the same as it was in ‘pre-flop’ betting. However, bear in mind, all of the players who have been dealt ‘Pocket’ cards may not be currently playing the hand as they could have folded during the opening round of betting.
So, whichever remaining player is ‘to the immediate left’ of the Dealer Button (DB), it is that person who will be the first player to act; through the hand providing he doesn’t fold.
He can check or bet.
A) If he checks, he’s simply passing the choices of checking or betting to the player who sits to his left.
B) If he doesn’t check, and decides to bet, then those that follow will have 3 choices:
1) They can fold
2) They can call
3) Or they can raise. But, since a bet was made, those that follow do not have the option of ‘checking’.
Once the round of betting has finished, it’s time for another card to be dealt face up on The Board.
This fourth card is called The Turn card, or 4th Street, and, again, the card may be used by all of the remaining players (those players that have not folded). It’s another ‘community card’.
Thus, each remaining player now has use of 6 cards, 4 Board cards, and 2 Pocket cards. There are 4 cards on The Board, one additional card to come.
It is now time for the fifth and final community card to be dealt: The River, or 5th Street.
And, given that all the cards have now been dealt, each player remaining in the hand can see what their best five card hand is. Therefore, it’s now time for the final round of betting. And, when the betting ends, the hand is over.
It’s time to see who wins.
Each player who has remained in the hand shows their cards, beginning with the last person to initiate a bet. At a cash or free online poker site the software will handle the process of showing the cards.
The winner is determined via use of the universal poker hand rankings. You’ll find that in subsequent chapter; entitled ‘What Beats What’.
If a player wins a pot because every other player has folded, he can decide whether or not to show his cards or not.
Most people don’t, and it’s generally advised by me never to show your cards. If you’re not required to do so; keep ‘em guessing!
Yet, when you reach an ‘advanced level’ of play, you will get a whole different perspective from me. You see, there are times when ‘deceitful strategies’ will be added to your acquired set of playing skills. And, a part of the ‘deceitful strategies’ will have you showing your cards. Not now though.
Summing up How To Play Poker For Beginners Free Online Poker Rules Part 2
In part 1 you learned the bare bones of poker, the structure and concepts of the game. Now that you’ve read part 2 you should now understand the actual mechanics of a hand of poker. In part 3 we are going to move on to more poker words and terminology, those crazy card and hand nicknames are going to be unveiled! But as long as you’ve understood the first 2 parts now you can go and start to play poker. However I do advise you read up on what cards beat what first! Then you will have some sort of idea whether you should fold, call, raise or check!
At this stage I strongly urge you not to attempt to play on sites where real money is involved, you cannot help but lose all or nearly all of it 99% certain!
Show patience (incidentally that is a key poker skill it’s essential to master) and start out on one of the excellent free poker sites you can find online. Later when you’re more skilled there’s plenty of time to win a pile of cash and the time you spend playing free online poker will set you up for this.
Nick runs marketing for leading free poker site NoPayPOKER.com. NoPayPOKER.com uses a faux currency called FreeD which means the poker is 100% risk free, this makes it the perfect place to how to play poker for beginners, plus if you’re more experienced it’s a great place to practice, oh and the the fact that the FreeD can be cashed in for real Dollars is a nice touch too!
In this learn how to play poker for beginners guide we will look at how the game of poker works. I know that at first look poker seems incredibly complicated but good news, it’s not. We’ll start by using free online poker tournament freerolls as the example, you should start with this type of game so they are the perfect example.
free online poker freeroll tournaments vary from 20 to hundreds of players. A good point with these game is that most of the other players you’ll find on them are no more than average and many are beginners too.
The first step is to fire up your free online poker software and find a game. As mentioned each of these tournaments will have multiple tables. You can divide the number of players by 10, and you’ll know how many tables are a part of the tournament. You round up to eliminate the decimal point, if any; e.g., 68 players divided by 10, equals 6.8, rounded up, means there are 7 tables in the tournament.
Next the poker site software will put you on a random seat and random table. There are loads of games running daily round the clock on good free online poker sites so don’t worry about your success (or lack of!) initially, there are always more games to enter.
Who Wins and How?
Basically the winner of each hand is the one with the best combination of cards.
The outline of the game process is this:
You take your seat and the game starts. The software selects the “Dealer Button” (DB) and the “Blind” players make their blind bets (don’t worry this is covered below!)
The games first action is to give 2 cards to each player that only the player can see, these are called pocket cards. This is followed by a round of “blind” betting; generally, no more than 3 raises to the original bet are permitted; and this restriction of raises will be true in all future rounds of betting.
Next, the Dealer will expose 3 cards on the table. These are called community cards, and can be used by all of the players who are participating in the hand.
At this point, another round of betting occurs.
Next the dealer adds one more card to the community cards to make four face up cards for all players to use.
This is followed by another round of betting.
Last, the Dealer will add a 5th card to the community cards. Again followed by another round of betting.
Now lets look at this in more detail:
Your 2 face down cards are known as “Pocket Cards”. They are dealt out, one at a time, left to right, to everyone at the table. You only see your own pocket cards.
The Dealer then exposes 3 “community cards” to all players on the table. This stage is known as “The Flop”.
When he exposes the 4th “community card”, it’s known as “The Turn” (or, 4th Street).
And, when he exposes the 5th “community card”, it’s known as “The River” (or, 5th Street).
All 3 to 5 “community cards” that are exposed on the poker table at any one time are known as “The Board”.
Every player who is participating in the hand through the process of betting (if you “folded”, you’re no longer in the hand), attempts to make the best possible five-card hand.
They can use any 5 of the 7 cards that are available to them; one, both, or none of their pocket cards, together with 3, 4, or 5 of the “community cards”.
The player with the best 5 card hand wins all of the money that has been bet (The Pot).
The “Dealer Button” is involved in every hand to be played. One of the game’s participants gets the Dealer Button (DB); the selection of the player who first receives the DB is done by the free online poker software.
At a casino, it’s a round disc, about the size of a hockey puck, and the letter D is usually emblazoned on its flat surfaces. At a paid or free online poker site, the software will automatically place a symbol of sorts on your PC screen to identify the DB.
the DB position is very important as the a players to the left of the DB have to make the blind bets.
The DB is the best position to have and blind the worst, no something to worry about now, the NoPayPOKER.com intermediate level article series Building A Bankroll goes into great depth on this subject. Additionally, at the end of every hand, the Dealer Button (DB) moves one position to the left; thus, everyone acts as the “virtual dealer” in an Internet game, and, everyone is forced to place “blind” bets.
Blind Bets? What are they?
This is how the game starts.
The player to the immediate left of the Dealer Button (DB) is compelled to put up the Small Blind (SB).
The player to the immediate left of the Small Blind (SB) is compelled to put up the Big Blind (BB).
These “blind bets” are placed in the pot, in front of the dealer. This essentially kickstarts the betting, and, it”s all done before anyone has gotten any cards!
This, for the lack of any other rational reason, means that the winner of the hand that’s about to be played, will, at a minimum, collect the small amount of money that has been “forced” into the pot by the blind bets.
In a multi-table freeroll, or any No Limit free online poker tournament game, the size of the Small Blind (SB) and the size of the Big Blind (BB) are very low at the start of the game. And, every player in the game begins the game with the same amount of free online poker faux-money; or, for practical purposes, poker chips.
Usually, in 15 minute intervals, the size of the “blinds” increase.
As an example, if the beginning “blinds” were $10 (SB) and $20 (BB), within 15 minutes the “blinds” would change to $20 (SB) and $40 (BB).
And, thereafter, as the game progresses, the “blinds” continue to go up every 15 minutes.
In the end, at the final table in a tournament (the last remaining 10 players), the “blinds” could easily reach the point of being $2,000 (SB) and $4,000 (BB).
Now don’t be alarmed, the dollar amounts tied to the Small Blinds (SB) and Big Blinds (BB) in the preceding paragraph, during all freeroll games played on free online poker sites are “fictional” amounts of money. It’s not real money. It’s merely a “tournament representation” of money; it’s free online poker faux-money, they’re poker chips, not real dollars.
This is one reason why it is a very good idea to learn to play poker as a beginner on free poker sites, it can get very expensive very quickly if you start on a real money site!
Winning and Money
The good news with a poker tournament is that the 1st place player doesn’t take all the money. Yes, the absolute winner does get a lions share but other players do get a cut too. How many players and how much is determined by the number of players who enter and the size of the pot. You an find out this information before the game starts.
As the game progresses players are knocked out and tables amalgamate. At some point only those who will share the money are left. If you are still in at this stage then you are now “in the money” or “in the bubble” as it is also commonly called.
When just 10 players are left you will be on the “Final Table”, typically to win any decent amount you need to be here even in very large poker tournament though places lower than this can often at least pay back your cost of joining the game if it is a buy in game.
Right at the end with just 2 players left you will be “head to head”…but that is a story for another day!
Summing up How To Play Poker For Beginners Part 1
In this stage we looked at basic game processes. In part 2 we’ll get into more detail on the stages described and look at what you actually physically do and consider some essential basic free online poker strategy.
Nick is from top free online poker site NoPayPOKER.com. www.NoPayPOKER.com is USA legal and uses faux currency which makes it totally risk free and so is the perfect place to learn how to play poker for beginners as well as practice your game if you are more experienced or want a break from the stress of money sites!
The standard (and indeed common sense) poker strategy followed by average skill poker players who mostly play free poker sites or low stakes and, for some reason find themselves up against strong players is not to play at all. In cash games, in a table surrounded by good players, the “novice player” only has to leave and find an easier table. But in tournament poker, it is not so simple to avoid being trapped on a table with some good or even exceptionally talented poker players.
In this article you will learn why good players will generally easily beat the novice, and, if you are a novice or less advanced player what you can try to do to survive and even prosper if you find yourself circled by hungry sharks!
A good player can defeat a novice player because a good player knows the general pattern of a novice player, given the Board cards, the novice’s actions and his position. Good players can also put them on a hand.
The good player knows when the novice has a suited connector; a pocket pair, or even, in some extreme cases, a Set. The good player can play a Straight weakly (or even fold it occasionally) when the Board pairs and the novice suddenly pours down his chips.
Let us make some systematic analysis about our novice player. For the purpose of this we will say that a player wins a pot when, (a) he wins the hand in a showdown or (b) he makes all his opponents fold. So if the novice player is to win a pot against good players what hands should be played and how?
Suppose he tries to win under the condition (a) - to win in a showdown. Then he has to play the good players through the preflop, turn and river. At each stage the good player will get more information from the novice player than the novice player can get from the good player.
If the good player has more information, then he knows immediately whether the novice player has a good hand or not. He can continue to showdown and probably win a big pot, if he keeps on value-betting our novice. Or he can lose a small pot, if he slows down and just checks. Or he can make the novice fold.
Suppose our novice now tries (b) to make his opponents fold. (Let us assume the Board can help him only a little, and his hand, from the flop up to the river, will not be of showdown quality.) Throughout the flop, turn, and the river, the good player will extract more inferences from the Board cards than the novice player will.
If our novice, who normally has the tendency to get excited, overrepresents a hand unnecessarily, then he will just be called by the good player (unless he plays really strongly, but he can’t overdo this either).
From these, we gather that the pieces of information needed to make a decision is:
1. Your cards.
2. Your perception of the opponents’ cards.
3. The Board cards.
4. Tells your opponent provides.
5. Tells you reveal to your opponent.
6. Previous tendencies of each player.
7. Position.
Both the novice and the good player has (1) and (3), but the good player’s judgment is usually more accurate with all these criteria. A good player, for example, will believe that 8-7 (his cards) is not so nice-looking in a flop of 10-7-3 (the Board cards), but a novice player may. As for (4), (5), and (6) which stems from (1), (2) and (3), the good player is usually more aware of these. And good players care more for (7) than novice ones.
So if our novice wants to play a pot against a good player, he cannot really rely fully on the information above, for he cannot interpret them well. So our novice should look for a spot in which the good player also cannot rely on most of the information above, so that they will be on equal footing. When is it? Answer: Preflop. How to play? All-in.
Preflop, your perception of the opponent’s cards is less accurate than after the flop falls. Also, because there are no Board cards yet, tells are less reliable. Finally, because a novice is less likely to have previous tendencies resulting from experience, the experienced player has little hold on (6). And preflop all-ins are dependent on hand strength mainly than position.
By moving all-in you may make your opponent fold (which is a win) or entice him to a showdown. Don’t call yourself all-in, however, unless you have a premium hand. Once your opponent does this move, if he is a good opponent, he knows that you are vulnerable.) When he does want a showdown, he is deprived of postflop information that will increase his chances of making an good decision. At this point, even though good player is still good, he has to play in terms of novice play.
The good hands the novice can have are still the traditional all-in hands: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, etc. A-K (or similar) is quite shaky, but if you can lull someone with 7-7 to play with you, you are still about 50-50 with him.Whereas if you take him to the Flop, he will have more opportunities to play his 7-7 better than you would play your A-K, and you will be defeated most of the time. Let us say your chance to win above is just 25% postflop; why don’t you take the 50-50 instead?
In summary
It takes some time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking donk “chip flinging” seen on many NoPayPOKER.com tables.Most players it seems can’t or won’t put the time in, they claim to play just for fun which misses out on the key fact that winning lots and beating all these “fun” players is a lot more fun!
Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this donk fun zone is very good news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can go mercenary and hunt the “fun donks” down in low stakes real money games as well as free online poker tournaments sites that pay out real money while you happily build your skills and bankroll!
To make this work first, play free poker tournaments to learn how to play poker tournaments where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!
When you play both play free poker games and any size cash poker Three-bets mean good hands (or bluffs). 4-bets mean even better hands (or even better bluffs). I dare you!
But despite even for the most skilled players in the world, the best hands still come from luck! Here is a perfect example:
BLINDS 50k/100k, ante 10k
PREFLOP:
A has K-K, raises to 290k
A great start for A but he holds temptation at bay with the measured raise. He certainly plays K-K shrewdly. A lot of players might play A A or K K weak pre-flop in preparation for trapping later. A however just plays his K K like a standard hand.
B has A-Q, raises to 650k
A to call 360k
B’s reraise is to try and find out if A has a decent hand or is just trying to steal. With suited connectors, A can call, but with K-K, A does better:
A reraises to 1.49m
B to call 840k
Now A plays K-K conventionally. He is making the pot bigger. Basically he is saying “I Dare You!” If his reraise was small (like only reraise to 720k) it would be “I Want a Call” not “I dare” and B moght well call, but A has nothing to worry about if B calls unless an Ace drops.
But he does not want a call. It is OK if B folds (which is just expected if B had no hand, but he wants B to put him on a bluff and push him.
B, meanwhile, is thinking something. Because A’s raises are from the cutoff, B may think that the second is a bluff (and good for A if he knows this is what B is thinking). So what does B do?
B moves all in
A to call 3.76m
Now B is the one daring A!
A could have thought any of these:
(1) Was B trying to bluff me out? (He can’t, if he is. In fact, I want him to do that.)
(2) Did B trap me with a four-bet with the A-A? or K-K? (There is a small possibility.)
(3) How much will I invest? I had 10.7 million at the start and I am going to invest 5.3 million. About half my stack. But I am going to try to knock him out, anyway.
(4) Did B have A-x? (Most probably. They do it all the time. However, I’m quite uneasy if it’s worth half my stack.)
But A didn’t, because he instantly called. Moreover, A could have thought instead, “My ploys were successful. I trapped him. Now he’s finished.”
A calls 3.76m (Pot about 12 million)
Three-bets and four-bets almost always signify A-A, K-K or with some brave players, A-K or Q-Q. B had A-Q, which is not so good for a call (A may have figured out that B held A-Q, so he reraised instead of trapped; if he just called, then an Ace may fall and he may not continue with his K-K) but even worse for staying in a hand with plenty of raises and reraises.
However, luck has the last word in this hand.
The board ended up Js-7h-3s-Ad-Qd, which clinched B’s win.
Summing up
I know this may seem like a lot to take in all at once, the fact is though that while poker is an easy game to learn it is hard to be very good at, hence the crazy stupid “chip flinging” you will come across on many poker sites.
Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you.
The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves on free online poker and low stakes real money games sites and happily build your skills and bankroll!
To make this work first, play free poker sites to learn to play holdem where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!
