How to Play

Why are professional poker players so successful in winning millions of dollars? It's not just luck. There's a great deal of skill involved in playing Texas Hold'em, and whether you're playing in an NZSOP poker night, at the casino, or on the Internet, it takes knowledge and inside information to be a winner.

Here we’ll provide you with the basic rules for the most popular type of poker in the world, Texas Hold’em. But the best, and quickest, way to learn is to head down to your nearest NZSOP venue and become part of the action. Your Tournament Director is there to help, and there are more than enough friendly players to show you the basics and get you on your way to becoming an accomplished poker pro.

The Basics of Texas Hold'em

NZSOP Hold'em is played with eight players at a full table with a rotating blind system. The blind system is designed to generate chips to put into the pot and stimulate betting. There are two types of blinds, the big blind, which is equal to the minimum bet, and the small blind, which is half the amount of the big blind. For instance, if the blinds are 100/200, then the big blind would be 200 and the small blind would be 100. The blinds rotate clockwise exactly the same as the dealer button, to make sure the game is fair for all players.

After the blinds are placed, each player is dealt two cards face-down (called hole cards). Then each player starting with the player to the left of the big blind has an opportunity to call (place an amount of money equal to the previous player's bet) the big blind, raise the bet (to place a bet higher than the previous player's), or fold (resign from the round of play). When the action (or betting) gets to the player in the small blind position, he/she can call the partial bet they initially placed, raise the bet, or fold. The player in the big blind has the option to raise or check (to decline to bet) if there are no raises as he/she already has a full bet in the pot. Any player who calls the big blind and has the pot raised behind him/her then has the option to call the raise or reraise the pot.

After the first round of betting, three community cards (called the flop) are placed face up in the center of the table. A second round of betting is now conducted starting with the player to the left of the button (dealer). Each player still active in the hand may check or bet. After a bet, each player may call the bet, raise, reraise if there was a raise, or fold.

The fourth community card (called the turn) is then placed face up in the center of the table followed by another round of betting.
Finally, the last community card (called the river) is placed face up in the center of the table, and the last round of betting is conducted. After all bets have been placed, a showdown occurs, which simply means that players still in the hand show their hole cards to see who wins the pot.

Players can use any combination of their hole cards and the community cards to form the best five-card hand possible. Players can use both of their hole cards and three community cards, one hole card and four community cards, or all five community cards.

Now that you know about poker blinds and how to bet, we will look at how hand rankings work.

Ranking of Poker Hands

In order to succeed at poker, you must memorize the ranking of hands. All poker players should know, for instance, that a flush beats a straight. Here is the ranking, from the strongest to the weakest hand.
* Royal Flush: A royal flush is a straight flush with the ace as the highest of five cards. For example: A-K-Q-J-T

* Straight Flush: A straight flush is a straight all of the same suit. For example: 9-8-7-6-5. In the case of two straight flushes during one hand, the one containing the highest card is the winner. The pot is split if both players have the same high card. (A "hand" can mean either the cards in a player's hand or a round of play; in this case, "hand" refers to a round of play.)
* Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank. For example: 9-9-9-9. Four of a kind is often referred to as "quads." The highest four of a kind is four aces followed by four kings on down to four twos.
* Full House: A full house consists of three of a kind and two of a kind. For example: K-K-K-6-6. This would be called "kings full of sixes." If there are two full houses during one hand, the one with the largest three of a kind wins. In Texas Hold'em, it is possible for two players to have the same three of a kind; in those situations the pairs determine the winner. If two players have identical hands, the pot is split.

* Flush: A flush consists of five cards of the same suit. For example: K-J-9-7-2. In the event of two flushes during one hand, the flush with the highest card wins. If they are the same rank, it goes to the next highest card, and on down to the fifth card if necessary. If the two hands are identical, the pot is split between the winners.
* Straight: A straight consists of five cards of any suit in order. For example: Q-J-T-9-8. As with the other hands, in the event of two straights, the one that starts with the highest rank wins. Aces can be used as a high card above a king or as a low card below a two to make a straight. You can't, however, use a king, ace, two sequence; and an ace below a two cannot be used as the high card.
* Three of a kind: Three of the same rank. For example: Q-Q-Q. Three of a kind is often called a "set" or "trips."
* Two Pairs: Four cards of two ranks. For example: J-J-6-6 This would be called "Jacks up." In the event of two players holding two pairs at the same time, the highest pair wins. If both high pairs are the same rank, then the higher second pair wins. If both high and low pairs are the same, the pot is split.

* One Pair: Two cards of the same rank. For example: 8-8. If two players have an identical pair, such as two aces, the next highest card in each player's hand is compared to see who wins. This is often called a "kicker" and is frequently necessary in Texas Hold'em. (The kicker will be explained in more detail in the next chapter.)

* High Card: In the event no player has a hand containing at least one pair, the hand with the highest card is the winner.

Here is a list of card abbreviations and their ranks:

A - Ace ("bullet")

K- King ("cowboy")

Q - Queen

J - Jack

T - Ten

9 - Nine

8 - Eight

7 - Seven

6 - Six

5 - Five

4 - Four

3 - Three

2 - Two ("deuce")

Coming soon: Poker terms, advanced tournament strategy, how to bluff, how to calculate odds, and poker betting tips!