General information about Texas Holdem Poker
Poker tournaments
Ranking of poker hands
Glossary of poker terms

Poker Information

Once considered a game played by dodgy characters in smoky backrooms, poker has now become part of mainstream culture.

There are numerous TV shows featuring the game together with hundreds of books telling you how to play better poker and win.

Online poker has been exploding in popularity in recent years and there are numerous websites where you can play either for free or with your own money.

Even if you play with your own cash there are sites with extremely small limits allowing you to have a good nights card playing entertainment with minimal risk to your bank balance!

Texas hold em

This is the most popular form of the game on TV and online.

Two cards are dealt face down to each player after which betting commences.

Subsequently five more cards are dealt which can be used by all players to make the best five card hand when combined with their two original cards.

We won't go into the full rules on this page at this moment, but can assure you it's an easy game to pick up.

Most sites let you watch others playing before you join the table so you will quickly get the hang of it.

Pot limit vs. No limit

With a pot limit game the amount you can lose is limited. If you play at a table where the compulsory bets (blinds) are small the pot limit will be relatively small. The larger the blinds the higher the limit on the pot.

With no limit poker all of your money is potentially at risk. You can throw it in the middle at any time.

Poker tournaments

1. Sit'n'go tournaments

   Played on a single table, usually with 10 players. You pay an entry fee which consists of an amount which goes into the prize pool plus a commission for the tournament organiser. You will see it written as $5 + .50c - ie. $5 goes into the prize pool with 50c going to the organisers.

   In this example 10 players paying $5 would give a total prize pool of $50. Usually this is split between the last three finishers.

   The compulsory bets (blinds) rise quickly meaning there is plenty of action and the game is usually over within an hour. It's a lot of fun and with tournaments starting from $1 entry fee it's a cheap hours entertainment with the possibility of a profit at the end of it.

2. Multi table tournaments

   Much the same as a sit'n'go tournament but there can be many hundreds, if not thousands of entrants. As players are knocked out the remaining players are moved from table to table until only ten remain at the final table.

   Again entry fees can be very low but with many more players prizes are much larger and can be distributed between many more people. There are also bonus prizes like entries to some of the most prestigious poker tournaments in the world for the winners.

   The largest tournament with the biggest prize in poker is the World Series of Poker which is the unofficial world championship of poker.

Ranking of poker hands

The ranking of poker hands used in the most popular variant of the game, Texas Hold'Em.

Listed from 1 (the strongest) to 10 (the weakest).

1. Royal Flush
   10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit.

2. Straight Flush
   Any five card sequence of the same suit - e.g. 7-8-9-10-J of spades.

3. Four of a kind
   Four cards of the same rank - eg. K-K-K-K.

4. Full House
   Three of a kind combined with a pair - eg. 7-7-7-5-5.

5. Flush
   Any five cards of the same suit but not in sequence - eg. 3-5-8-10-K of hearts.

6. Straight
   Five cards in sequence but not of the same suit.

7. Three of a kind
   Three cards of the same rank - eg. 8-8-8.

8. Two pairs
   Two separate pairs - eg. 5-5-7-7.

9. One Pair
   Two cards of the same rank - eg. A-A.

10. High Card
    When none of the above hands are made the highest card decides the winner.

Glossary of poker terms

Here we list some common terms used in poker. These are listed alphabetically.

This is not a definitive guide and more poker terms will be added in due course.

Some of these are general poker terms and others refer specifically to the most popular game of texas holdem.

• Action
  The betting in a hand or game. The player who puts in the first bet is said to start the action.

• All-in
  When a player has bet or called for all of the chips they have on the table.

• Bad Beat
  A strong hand that loses when an opponent has been very lucky.

• Big Slick
  A starting hand consisting of an Ace with a King

• Bully
  A player who raises continually trying to get others to fold.

• Call
  When a player matches the bet made before him by another player.

• Calling Station
  A player who tends to call frequently with relatively poor cards, making it difficult to bluff them out of a pot.

• Cowboys
  A starting hand of two Kings.

• Drawing Dead
  When no cards left in the deck will help a player win the hand.

• Early Position
  One of the first players to make a decision in a round of betting.

• Family Pot
  A hand in which most or all of the players seated at the table are involved.

• Fill up
  To make a full house.

• Fish
  A poor poker player.

• Flush
  Five cards of the same suit in no particular order. If they are in order, eg. 2-3-4-5-6 of the same suit it is called a straight flush and if they are 10-J-Q-K-A it is a royal flush, the best hand in poker - see ranking of poker hands.

• Heads-up
  A game contested by only two players, or the latter stages of a tournament when only two players are left.

• High-low
  A type of poker game where the pot is split between the best hand and the lowest hand.

• Hole Cards
  The hidden cards held in a player's hand, only to be used by them.

• Kicker
  The side card or the less significant card. For example if you are dealt A-5, the 5 is the kicker.

• Ladies
  A starting hand of two Queens.

• Late position
  One of the last players to act in a round of betting.

• Monster
  A very strong hand.

• Muck
  To discard your hand.

• No Limit
  The maximum bet or raise any player can make is for all of their chips they have on the table during the hand.

• Nuts
  The best possible hand at any given time.

• Off suit
  Starting hand with cards of different suits. eg. 8 of hearts and 7 of diamonds

• Outs
  Any cards that could improve a hand to become the winning hand.

• Pair
  Two cards of the same rank. eg. 7-7 - a pair of sevens.

• Pass
  Another word for FOLD.

• Pocket Rockets
  A starting hand of two Aces.

• Quads
  Four of a kind.

• Rag
  A seemingly worthless card.

• Rainbow
  A flop with cards of three different suits.

• Shark
  A very good poker player.

• Slowplay
  To play a strong hand weakly in order to deceive opponents.

• Tell
  A gesture which gives away the relative strength of a players hand.

• Trips
  Three of a kind.

• Under the gun
  The first player to act in a round of betting.

• Wired Pair
  Two hole cards of the same rank.