Poker for Dummies FREE!

We've had a good number of visitors requesting us to address "how to play poker for dummies" so this page is aimed at the new poker player who has no real experience of the game and needs to learn poker basics then progress to our other sections like how to win at poker once they are comfortable.

To start, you should first remember the game of poker is what it says - just a game, and before you start staking your house on a game of poker play it as such, you can play free poker here

How to start playing poker - the poker basics

Poker, although there are many terms you might not yet understand, is quite a simple game once you get to understand what the dealing and subsequent betting is all about.

Poker Dealer Button

This is placed where the dealer is sitting at the poker table. After each hand it will move directly to the left of the dealer, and that player then becomes the poker dealer.

Poker Small Blind

Before the cards are dealt, two forced bets are made to get chips in the pot and encourage other players to bet. The first of these is the "Small Blind" - sat to the left of the poker dealer this is half the value of the ... you guessed it "Big Blind".

Poker Big Blind

The big blind is the minimum bet that can be made in the game once the cards are dealt.

Poker Dealing

The dealer deals two cards (one at a time) to each player with chips in the game - these are known as the "pocket cards".

After the Pocket Cards are dealt out

Now all active players have the cards in their pocket (hence the name "Pocket Cards") play moves around the table to the left - this player has the choice to "Call" - match the big blind value, "Fold" - decide his cards are no good and decline to play in this hand, "Bet" or "Raise" the stakes by increasing the amount required to play in the hand.

When it is your turn

When it comes to your turn to act, you need to decide whether your hands are good enough to play in this hand - your decision should be based on how much of your "stack" of chips this requires and how many other players there are still in the game. Remember, if somebody has "Bet" or "Raised" then this is the amount you need to match to stay in the hand.

Poker Sit and Gos

The basic casino and online game of poker is where a new player to a game can sit down in any seat with his chips and play until they decide to leave - through lack of chips, sufficient profit, time to get back to doing some work etc. In these games the blinds stay the same every hand.

Poker Tournaments

When you play in a poker tournament the "blinds" are set to increase at an agreed time, or after an agreed amount of hands. Without this increase the tournament game could go on forever. So the blinds increase ensures more of each players "stack" is committed at the start of every hand - this inevitably results in a conclusion sooner rather than (much) later.

Best Poker Sites

Where you play poker, and the actual games you choose to join have a great bearing on how well you will do. If you choose to play at a small poker room you may find the players there are more experienced than at the larger best poker sites.

Poker Terms

In our poker terms section, you can ensure you know all the terms relating to poker, so you are never caught out and distracted by players discussing or mentioning poker terms (you can chat on just about every Texas Holdem Poker game).