The Complete Rules of Poker
(Originally published on Pokeri.info)

The rules of poker are easy to learn by sitting behind experienced players following their play or by testing "fun money" games. This can be done in all of the best poker rooms.

Generally, the goal is to get the highest hand. In H/L (high/low) games, the pot is split between the high and the low hand. Hence, you can play for the best hand or the "worst" hand. Best of all, you can play for both of them at the same time.

 

Online poker is played with three different forms of betting: fixed limit, pot limit and no-limit. In fixed-limit games, the size of bets and raises is predetermined. For example, in $1/2 fixed-limit games, the bets are $1 on the first two rounds and $2 on the final rounds and the raises must be of the same size. In no-limit games the stack is the only limit.

 

 

In less common pot-limit games, the raises are limited to the size of the pot. Your call is also included in the pot. Accordingly, if there is $5 in the pot and the player on your right has bet $1, you are allowed to call first $1 and then raise as much as there is in the pot at the moment or $6, totalling $7. In online poker rooms, the counting is made by the program and there is no need to be that good at figures.

 

Each player in turn can check (if no one has bet yet), bet (if no one has done it yet), call (wager as much as the previous player has bet), raise, or fold. If the player has checked first and someone has bet later on, he can call, raise (check-raising) or fold.

 

 

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