POKER: Rules and Strategies

Poker is a very famous card game, with players betting on their ‘hands’. The bets are placed in a central ‘pot’. Texas hold ’em, which is the most popular variant of the game, is being described here.
RULES:

1. One player acts as the dealer. A ‘dealer button’ is used to denote this position, and moves clockwise after each ‘hand’.
2. The small and big ‘blinds’ are placed respectively by the two players on the left of the dealer.
3. The dealer deals two cards to each player, face down. These are called the hole cards.
4. A ‘pre-flop’ betting round starting with the player to the left of the big blind takes place. After this first betting round, three cards (called the community cards) are placed face-up on the table (called flop).
5. The first active player to the left of the button starts the second betting round, after which another community card called the ‘turn’ is placed face-up.
6. The third betting round, beginning with the first active player to the left of the button, takes place. After this, a fifth community card called the ‘river’ is dealt.
7. There is a final betting round on the same format.
8. All the remaining players show their hands, and the player with the best hand wins. If there is a tie, the ‘pot’ is split.

STRATEGY:

• It is important to have a clear picture of what you want. Don’t make plays just for the sake of making them.
• One of the most important aspects of playing hold ‘em is playing tight, i.e. playing few hands, but making sure you are aggressive enough in the hands that you do play. For this, it is important to be able to judge when you have good hole cards, which can lead to a good hand.
• In poker, it’s very important to think long term. The aim of any player should be to make money in the long-run, not being affected by short-term triumphs or setbacks.