If you want to learn how to play poker, there are hundreds of guides, videos, and other tidbits to help you out. Here is one of them, which will help you learn how to play poker in a few easy steps. This guide teaches the rules of 5 card draw poker. This is one of the easiest poker games to play, and is relatively simple, however, knowing the rules alone won’t help you learn how to play poker, you will also need a relatively good ‘poker face’, or have the ability to bluff your way out of tight spots.
The rules are pretty straightforward. At the beginning, each player is dealt 5 cards. After a round of betting, the players have the option to discard up to 5 of the cards they are holding, and exchange them for random ones from the deck. At no time can any player hold more than 5 cards. The reason that they discard their cards is because they are hoping to make a certain ‘hand’, as it is called. A hand simply means the 5 cards you are holding, and there are good and bad hands.
There are several sets you can make with your 5 cards. When you start to learn how to play poker, you must have this list memorized, or you could be in serious trouble. In ascending order of value, here are the combinations that can be made. One pair (two cards of the same value;6,6). Two pair (two sets of matching cards; 6,6,4,4). Three of a kind (10,10,10), Straight (5,6,7,8,9; not of the same suit), Flush (5 cards of the same suit) Full House (Three of a kind AND a pair), Four of a Kind (5,5,5,5), Straight Flush (4,5,6,7,8; all of the same suit) and Royal Flush, which has to be the cards 10,J,Q,K, A all of the same suit.
The higher the hand worth, the lower the chances are of getting it, and you should familiarize yourself with these odds rather than making wild bets on the hopes that you can draw out miracle cards. If you really want to learn how to play poker, you will start off small, with low stakes, and try to bet low as you get used to the ‘odds’ of poker. Appealing to deities does not help your overall strategy, neither does alcohol (as it slows down the cognitive processes) so you would be best off staying sober and playing low stakes till you grasp the ropes.
A small word about bluffing. This is something that you pick up after you learn how to play poker; and can be difficult to matter. Bluffing is when you pretend to have a real good hand and bet real high in the hopes that everyone will be too scared and fold. Remember, a good bluff must never let the other player know that he was bluffing (they may be able to catch him the next time). That’s why when you call a crazy bluff, you better make sure everyone folds and simply thinks that you had a great hand. Following the rules will help you learn how to play poker, playing it often enough is the only way you can get good.
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