The most popular types of Poker
Poker today has many different types, each with its own unique and interesting features. They are suitable for a variety of people’s preferences.
In the US and other countries, they play the following 3 popular types of Poker:
(1) Draw poker
Draw poker is also divided into many different subcategories, but the most popular is still the Five-card draw. In this genre, the gameplay is as simple as this:
- At the beginning of the game, each player will be dealt 5 cards, and they have to keep the secret for themselves. If those cards have no chance of winning, the player has the opportunity to exchange those cards for cards with a greater chance of winning.
- When 5 turns have passed, players begin to raise, discard, and add cards at will. In the betting table, whoever has the highest score will win.
In general, playing Draw poker is also quite simple. When you master this genre, you can switch to other variations of higher nature.
(2) Stud poker
Seven Card Stud is a popular game in America. This game has a way of playing completely opposite to Draw poker.
Initially, the player will be dealt a number of cards, some of which will be face down, and some will be opened for everyone to see.
When playing Stud Poker, players will not be able to swap cards for other cards. This is a difficult game genre, requiring players to have a lot of skills and good tactics to win.
(3) Community card poker
Another popular card game genre today is Community card poker. At the beginning of the game, each player will be dealt community cards that are turned out for everyone to know, and the private cards (hole cards) must be kept absolutely secret.
The player’s task is to combine the private cards with the community cards to form the best pair of cards. The game will end when all cards are opened to compare strength.
Currently, there are two popular styles of playing: Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hold’em. When participating in any genre, players need to find out clearly to be able to win the fastest.
In particular, Texas Hold’em is the most popular globally and on online casinos Singapore nowadays. Each player will be dealt 2 cards and 5 community cards.
Players need to link the cards through 3 rounds of 3-card Flop, 1-card Turn, River. The player will combine the strongest hand in the final round and compare it with the opponent.
Depending on the card, you will have different options such as False, Check/Bet, Call, Raise.
How to play Poker?
Poker has many genres. But among them, Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker game. So if you just talk about the word, then everyone will implicitly refer to the game Texas Hold’em.
We will also learn to play Poker according to this genre in the following section.
(1) Basic Poker Rules – General Rules
Poker is played with a deck of 52 cards. There are private cards dealt with each player, and community cards are revealed on the table. Players compete through betting rounds.
The winner is the one with the strongest hand combination (from private and community) when all are face up at the end of each hand, or the last one that no one follows, and thus wins without needing to play card round.
Poker table with 2 – 10 players. When playing poker online, people often play at tables of 9 people, 6 people, and 2 people.
On the poker table, there is always a round symbol with the letter D (Dealer). It rotates from player to player clockwise after each hand.
Based on that, to determine the player’s position on the poker table (who must act first, etc. Don’t worry, you will know the details below).
Each player is dealt 2 separate cards (trumps). There will be 5 community cards turned face up in the middle of the table.
A full poker hand consists of 4 betting rounds.
In the end, the player with the strongest hand (combined with the cards and community cards on the table) will be the winner.
However, the game can also end at any time. When there is a bettor and all others discard their cards, the Dealer is the winner.
After each betting round, all bets are pooled in one place, called the Pot. In principle, a betting round ends only when everyone’s bets are equal, and no one raises a bet.
The winner will win everyone’s bet (Pot). If you have bet all money before everyone (all-in), you can only eat the amount in the Pot up to the time of all hands.
(2) The sequence of a complete poker hand
At the beginning of a poker game, the two players to the left of the Dealer position will have to place a required bet, called blind money.
The first player to the left of the Dealer places a small blind. The next player places a big blind – the big blind.
The big blind is equal to 2x the small blind, and it is also the minimum bet on upcoming betting rounds. The reason is called blind money because players have to bet before even knowing what they are dealt.
After the blind money has been placed, the dealing will take place. Each player is dealt 2 cards and enters the 4 betting rounds below.
Round 1: Fre-Flop
The first betting round takes place as soon as each player knows what their hand is. The next player to the left of the big blind will have to act first.
Each player can choose to discard, follow, bet, etc. Like that, the turn takes place around the table in a clockwise direction.
The betting round ends when everyone’s bets are even. All bets are pooled in one place (Pot). The hand moves to the next round: the Flop.
Round 2: Flop
Now the first 3 community cards will be revealed in the center of the table. They’re called community cards because everyone can see them and combine them with their own hand to create the best 5-card hand (you’ll learn more about the hands below).
A betting round begins with the first player still playing to the Dealer’s left hand. The selections are similar to the previous round.
But players have the option of checking to pass the turn to the next person if no one has bet before.
Round 3: Turn
The fourth community card, the Turn, is flipped. This card is, of course, also used to combine with your hand to create the best hand.
The remaining players will proceed to a new betting round with the same play as the previous round.
Round 4: River
River is also the last card turned over. At this point, everyone already knows what hand they have.
The remaining players will proceed to one final betting round. The gameplay is still the same as before.
If more than one player remains at the end of this last betting round, they will all face-up (Showdown) to determine who has the strongest deck according to hand rankings.
The game ends after the Pot is awarded to the winner. The Dealer position will move to the next player clockwise. And a new game of cards begins!
Poker Bet Limits
During a game of Poker, you can bet on strong hands or trick your opponent. But what is the bet limit? This is the content of this section.
Currently, people play Poker according to 3 main types of bet limits. They are no limit bet, fixed limit, and pot limit.
No Limit
As the name suggests, a No-Limit poker game has no limit on the number of bets/pots. When it’s their turn, each player can bet/promote any amount, up to all that they have on the table.
Example: You sit right behind the big blind at a No Limit 1$/2$ table. After dealing, you are the first to act. You can bet from a minimum of 2$ to follow the big blind to a maximum of your full amount (all-in).
Fixed Limit
In a poker game with a fixed bet structure, each player can follow, bet or raise, but only with a fixed amount. The fixed amount for each betting round is predetermined.
Example: In a fixed limit 1$/2$ Poker table, then:
- 1$ is called a small bet (small bet), applied in the first 2 betting rounds (Pre Flop and Flop). That is, each time, you can only bet/raise a fixed amount of 1$.
- 2$ is called a big bet, applied to the last 2 betting rounds (Turn and River). That is, each time, you are allowed to bet/raise a fixed amount of 2$.
Pot Limit
In pot-limited poker games, each player can bet or raise the maximum amount equal to the pot size at that moment.
Example: You are still sitting right behind the big blind in a $1/2$ Pot Limit table. As the first to act after handouts, you can:
- Skip
- By bet 2$.
- Or wager any amount that ranges from $4 (minimum add $2) up to a maximum of $7 (first by $2, turning Pot into $5, and then by $5, making a total bet amount is 7$).
The above is a brief description of 3 popular bet types in modern Poker. When you go to online poker floors, you will see poker tables of these 3 limit types, but the most are No Limit.
When playing, you don’t need to calculate how much you can bet because that has software to take care of.
Therefore, at this stage, there is no need to worry if you do not fully understand how to calculate in fixed or Pot limit. When you play in real life, you will quickly get the hang of it.
Wrapping Up
We are sure that you have learned the rules of world poker through the above sections. Theory must go hand in hand with practice.
Right now, create yourself an account to practice for free or play for money at online poker casinos.